,
10 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
Hi Steve, yes most UK manufacturers, rely on just-in-time supply chains and fluid international trade routes.
As a representative for UK manufacturers let me give you an example:
As a representative for UK manufacturers let me give you an example:
The Honda plant in Swindon, which is shutting down and moving production of certain models to outside of the UK as a result of the threat Brexit poses to these supply chains.
2 million components flow from supplier in the UK and the rest of the EU to its production line each day, but the plants warehouse only has parts for 36 hours’ worth of production.
Just-in-time production methods cut costs for the manufacturer which can then be passed on to customers in the form of cheaper prices.
Components are only ordered when they are needed and parts from anywhere the EU can arrive there in as little as 5 to 24 hours depending on how far away they are coming from.
In the event of a no deal Brexit, the British Government’s calculations say those deliver times would increase to between 2 and 9 days.
Officials at the Port of Dover have estimated that a border delay of just 2 mins per truck would result in 27km tailbacks – adding extra fuel and labour costs as well are impacts firms’ production cycles.
For Honda Swindon, they would consequently require a warehouse of 300,000 metres squared to cope. The costs to buy, maintain, and run such a facility would be astronomical, which is why Honda have decided it would not be worth it and are moving their factory and jobs overseas.
And that’s without mentioning the consequences of a no deal for tariffs, Rules of Origin, regulatory equivalence, mobility of workers, Intellectual Property Protections, GDPR, kitemarking, arbitration, REACH regulations, and force majeur terms in contracts, among other concerns.
But it is not just UK car makers who are rely of these things and who are afraid of a crash out Brexit. All UK based manufacturers need a deal.
