British manufacturers are more worried by rising energy costs than by labour costs, falling consumer spending or the burden of regulation, according to a survey of 1,000 manufacturing members of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

The outgoing IMechE president John Wood warns that although the UK “is showing clear international leadership by moving forward with its transition to a low-carbon economy, this is going to mean higher energy costs for everybody.

“The Government needs to make sure it doesn’t force energy-intensive industries out of the UK and into countries with more lax climate change targets,” he adds. “This is of benefit to neither the UK economy nor the environment.”

Some 60% of the manufacturers polled said that increasing energy costs were a “high concern” to their business, while 52.4% said the same about the increasing costs of supplies and components.