Transportation Technology

transport technology | technology and the future

The transport technology sector remains top for job creation worldwide. Birmingham and the West Midlands region in general has an illustrious transport manufacturing heritage – supporting the aerospace, rail and automotive industries – and is still a world leader in the latter.

While the past two decades have seen the relative share of employment and wealth generation shifting from manufacturing to the service industry, Birmingham retains a large, specialised and experienced automotive workforce. Moreover, the city’s universities have research strengths in low carbon and energy-efficient fuel types – which ties in with automotive production of low carbon vehicles.

The large presence of companies within the automotive supply chain and Birmingham’s central location in the UK is ideal not just for vehicle manufacturers but also for companies within the supply chain whose clients are spread across the UK.

Birmingham’s advantage

The Birmingham region's transport industry is thriving and can look forward to more prosperity. The following advantage are playing an important part in this development:

Birmingham has an industrial heritage that had a large focus on transport manufacturing, in particular in the automotive sector
Today, Birmingham retains a sizeable, specialised and experienced workforce in automotive with almost 300,000 people working in transport technologies and its supply chain
Birmingham’s universities have research strengths in low carbon and energy efficient fuel types – which ties in with automotive production of low carbon vehicles
Large presence of companies within the automotive supply chain
Birmingham’s central location in the UK not just for vehicle manufacturers but also for companies within the supply chain whose clients are spread across the UK.
The transport technology sector contributes £360 million to the city's economy.
215 transport technology companies are located in Birmingham across automotive, rail and aerospace.
In January 2012 Business Birmingham unveiled designs for a concept car dubbed the Birmingham Bolt to investors at Auto Expo, India's largest automotive show, in Delhi, to highlight the strengths of the areas' existing supply chains.

Capabilities and Assets

Automotive sector

Birmingham was a key city in the industrial revolution, earning titles such as ‘Workshop of the World’ and ‘City of a Thousand Trades.’ This early industrial heritage aided the development of the automotive sector, which began with bicycles, progressed to automobiles, and has now led to ground-breaking developments in hydrogen, electric and hybrid vehicle technology plus other renewable energy production. The sector in Birmingham and the West Midlands has seen a strengthening of its position as a luxury car maker with the presence of Jaguar and Land Rover producing and exporting successfully to developed and emerging markets. The presence of such large players is strategically important; their success maintains a strong local supply chain and drives innovation in collaboration with universities in Birmingham and the wider region.

Rail sector

Birmingham is home to a world renowned centre of research into railway engineering and technology and several of the world’s major engineering consultancies such as Amey, Atkins, and WSP. Arup, for example, is the world leader in the design of High Speed Rail systems, including HS2 in the UK. Network Rail, which owns and operates Britain’s railway infrastructure, is based in the city and is the key procurer of goods and services, as well as a driver of innovation in the sector.

Aerospace sector

Aerospace is a globally integrated industry with a handful of successful manufacturers drawing on a large web of suppliers from across the world. The sector directly employs around 101,000 people, supporting a total of 230,000 jobs across the UK economy. Birmingham has two significant tier one suppliers with operations in the city; GKN (transparency systems) and Goodrich. These tier one suppliers support a range of tier two and three suppliers. Rolls-Royce has a presence in the region and the West Midlands makes up a quarter of the firm’s supply chain in the manufacturing and servicing of Rolls-Royce aero engines.