UK manufacturers stockpile goods ahead of Brexit

Firms fear imports of raw materials will dry up or rise in price when Britain leaves the EU, survey says

Manufacturers are stockpiling goods ahead of March's Brexit date as the prospect of queues at Britain's ports grows more likely.

Production remained strong across the manufacturing sector in recent months, with firms fearful that imports of raw materials will dry up in the event of a no-deal Brexit or go up in price should a deal go ahead. In response, they are making as many goods as possible and piling them up in storage, according to a quarterly survey from the EEF, the manufacturers' trade body.