Slovakia ranks among top twelve manufacturing destinations

• In a ranking of countries with the best conditions for the manufacturing sector, the Slovak Republic stands in twelve place, after countries of Hungary and USA

• Slovakia owes its success in particular to its security, with a risk profile that is the third lowest worldwide

The Slovak Republic achieved top twelve in global ranking this year in the annual Manufacturing Risk Index (MRI) compiled by Cushman & Wakefield, which assesses criteria such as operating costs, labour, and economic and political risk. This year, Hungary edged ahead of the Slovak Republic in the 47-country comparison.

Patrik Janščo, Associate and Head of Industrial services and leasing at Cushman & Wakefield Slovakia: "Slovakia has risen to the top of the world in terms of the industrial and manufacturing sector in recent years. It has been ensured by a combination of factors such as reasonable cost power of labor and its availability, economic and investment environment, expanding infrastructure, and government incentives. Another competitive advantage of Slovakia compared to neighbouring countries is the Euro. However, despite the unfavourable development of energy prices and construction costs, Slovakia is still a sought-after client within the countries of Central and Eastern Europe".

Asia and CEE countries top the rankings

This year, Asia dominated the Baseline scenario ranking, which gives equal importance to a country’s operating conditions and cost competitiveness. Of the top 12 locations, half are in APAC, particularly due to their abundant supply of low-cost labour.

Table 1: Ranking of countries in the Global Manufacturing Risk Index 2022, Baseline scenario

Source: Cushman & Wakefield

The Central and Eastern Europe region is also strongly represented, with Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia all making the top 12. Poland overtook the Czech Republic (having been as much as five places below last year) thanks to its cheaper labour and electricity prices, which are lower there than in many of the other CEE countries.

Jiří Kristek, Partner and Head of the Industrial Team, Cushman & Wakefield: “Judging by their position at the top of the ranking, CEE countries can be expected to remain very attractive for industrial and manufacturing investment. It’s quite striking to see how Poland has leapt ahead from previous years, along with Hungary and Slovakia, so CEE countries are gaining ever greater importance in terms of global demand for manufacturing destinations.”

Europe: rising labour and energy costs

Overall, many European countries have bolstered their longer-term economic outlook and risk profile, thanks to improvements in their ability to achieve sustainability targets, efficient use of resources, and the creation of green economic opportunities.

However, uncertainty about energy supply in European countries has increased their economic risk and negatively impacted their economic prospects in the near term. This, along with higher electricity prices (notably as a result of challenges in supply and rising gas prices due to the war in Ukraine) and labour costs (as a lack of staff availability has pushed wages for workers higher), has meant that countries such as France, Netherlands and Spain have suffered falls in their rankings this year. How swiftly these challenges are resolved will make a significant difference to the competitiveness of many European countries as production locations in the near term.

America: risks and reshoring

The 12 top-ranked countries this year include Colombia, which has improved by one position (mainly thanks to cheap labour and electricity), as well as the USA, which has gone in the opposite direction, down to tenth place this year from third the year before. Similarly, Canada – which was just ahead of the Czech Republic in fourth place in 2021 – has fallen to 19th this year. Both North American countries have maintained a stable cost environment, but have seen an increase in risk elements. This is particularly due to their exposure to natural disaster risk, but also results from a drop in the unemployment rate, and therefore access to available labour. At the same time, the United States is also making a major “reshoring” push, bringing jobs back home to reduce risk and diversify supply chains.

In terms of costs, the Czech Republic dropped from 15th to 21st place, mainly due to the increase in energy prices. In Asia, however, these still remain low, along with labour costs, and APAC countries thus account for two thirds of the best 12 rankings. Turkey and Poland also made the top 12, together with Colombia and Peru.

About the survey

Cushman & Wakefield’s Manufacturing Risk Index assesses the most suitable locations for global manufacturing among countries in EMEA, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region. Each country is scored against 20 variables, resulting in three weighted rankings, rating the conditions, costs and risks for manufacturing. The data underpinning the rating comes from a variety of reliable sources, including the World Economic Forum, Moody’s Analytics and the World Bank.