Two words – ‘carbon’ and ‘people’ sum up the biggest challenges facing manufacturing, according to CEO and chaiman of GSM Group Barry Dodd. Speaking this week at a manufacturing lunch organised by Leeds Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by law firm Irwin Mitchell, he argued that rising fuel costs in energy and logistics combined with new ‘carbon taxes’ will make it critical for business,…

UK Manufacturing recorded its strongest growth for 23 years in March, according to the National Institute for Economic and Social Research. Manufacturing output grew by 2.3% in March – the sharpest rise since 1987 – strengthening growth within the wider economy and suggesting that the recovery is more secure than previously thought.

The rise in output has been driven by a…