The Real Cost of Downtime in Manufacturing: Sector-by-Sector Breakdown and 2025 Forecasting

Understanding the Downtime Challenge

Unplanned downtime – when manufacturing operations are unexpectedly halted due to equipment failure, cyber incidents, supply chain delays, or other disruptions – continues to be one of the most costly and disruptive challenges in the sector. Its full financial impact is often underestimated.

In 2025, UK and European manufacturers are projected to lose more than £80 billion due to downtime, according to research from IDS-INDATA. In some sectors, just one hour of inactivity can equate to millions in lost output, supply chain bottlenecks, or compliance risks.

Connecting Insights to Action

As part of IDS-INDATA’s ongoing work in operational resilience, OT visibility, and industrial cybersecurity, this blog draws on sector-specific data to explore where downtime is happening – and how manufacturers can realistically mitigate it. Each industry presents distinct challenges, but many share common vulnerabilities that can be addressed through targeted strategies.

These strategies – including predictive maintenance, secure network architecture, and intelligent monitoring – are central to IDS-INDATA’s services and proven methodologies.

Downtime in Manufacturing: What We’ve Seen (2020–2024)

Between 2020 and 2024, unplanned downtime became more frequent, interconnected, and expensive.

Key patterns from this period include:

1. High Incidence Across the Board

Surveys found that over 80% of industrial businesses experienced unplanned downtime in the last three years. Each incident lasted an average of four hours. In the UK alone, machine failures are estimated to account for 3% of working days lost annually in manufacturing – around 49 hours per company per year.

2. Multiple Causes, One Outcome

While traditional causes like equipment wear-and-tear remained common, downtime during this period was increasingly tied to:

• Supply chain instability (e.g. chip shortages, CO₂ disruptions)
• Cybersecurity incidents, including ransomware
• Energy volatility, especially during the 2022 crisis
• Software and systems failures in interconnected OT environments

3. COVID-19 as a Downtime Accelerator

Spring 2020 marked an unprecedented spike in downtime as lockdowns, workforce shortages, and logistics bottlenecks shut down plants across Europe. UK industrial output dropped over 25% in April 2020 alone.

4. Shift Toward Resilience

By 2023, more manufacturers had begun adopting predictive maintenance, AI-driven monitoring, and OT segmentation as downtime mitigation strategies. However, vulnerabilities in legacy OT systems and rising cyber threats remained unresolved for many – highlighting the continued importance of IDS-INDATA’s services.

Downtime by Sector: 2025 Projections

Different industries experience downtime differently, from short, frequent disruptions to rare but highly costly outages. The table below summarises projected downtime characteristics and associated financial impact across nine manufacturing sectors in the UK and Europe.

IDS-INDATA works across these industries to reduce risk, protect productivity, and modernise OT environments.

Sector	Typical Downtime Frequency	Average Duration	Estimated Cost per Hour	2025 Projected Financial Impact	Main Vulnerability	Why It Happens	Mitigation Strategy
Automotive	20–25 incidents/month	3–4 hours	£1.6M–£2M	£10–12 billion (UK/EU)	High disruption cost per hour	JIT models, integrated supply chains, vendor dependency	Predictive maintenance, network segmentation, supplier monitoring
Food Processing	Weekly minor stoppages (≈442 hrs/year)	1–3 hours	£18k–£25k	£4–5 billion (UK)	Frequent minor stoppages	Hygiene protocols, equipment age	Condition monitoring, digital twin simulations
Heavy Equipment	~23 hrs/month (2–3 major events/year)	5+ hours	£150k–£300k	£50–60 billion (EU)	Long recovery time from faults	Energy-intensive processes, legacy systems	SCADA visibility, AI-based maintenance, secure remote access
Pharmaceutical	225–400 hrs/year	8+ hours	£1M–£5M	£500M–£1B (UK)	High-cost incidents	Compliance bottlenecks, batch loss risk	Secure data handling, anomaly detection, response playbooks
Chemicals	400–600 hrs/year	4–8 hours	£250k–£1M	£8–10 billion (EU)	Risk of prolonged, hazardous downtime	Continuous processes, strict control environments	OT resilience planning, predictive asset health
Electronics	Frequent short stops	1–4 hours	£100k–£500k	£6–8 billion (EU)	Sensitive systems & cleanroom resets	Precision equipment, error sensitivity	Environmental monitoring, OT/IT convergence strategy
Textiles	180–300 hrs/year	1–2 hours	£10k–£50k	£2–3 billion (UK/EU)	Cost-driven maintenance & system age	Lower automation, older infrastructure	Infrastructure modernisation, real-time alerting
Aerospace	Few major events/year	4–6 hours	£250k–£1M	£2–4 billion (UK)	QA-driven stoppages	Long inspection cycles, complex testing	Data traceability systems, validation-aware scheduling
Packaging	Weekly short disruptions	30 mins – 2 hours	£10k–£30k	£3–5 billion (UK)	Frequent disruptions, margin pressure	High throughput, quick-fail equipment	Lightweight predictive analytics, proactive support plans

 

2025 Industry Downtime Forecast Highlights

• Heavy Equipment and Industrial Manufacturing: Projected to absorb the largest share of downtime losses in Europe, with up to £60 billion in projected costs. This is due to high-value processes, energy-intensive systems, and extended recovery times from faults or shutdowns.

IDS recommends SCADA visibility tools, secure remote access, and AI-driven maintenance scheduling to reduce recovery time and improve system uptime.

• Automotive: This sector remains highly vulnerable, particularly as production ramps back to pre-pandemic levels. Potential downtime losses reach £12 billion across the UK and EU, combining high incident frequency with very high per-hour disruption costs.

IDS recommends predictive maintenance and network segmentation to reduce line disruption risk and enhance supply chain resilience.

• Pharmaceuticals: Though downtime is less frequent, the consequences are steep. A single major incident can cost £5–10 million. Conservative estimates suggest up to £1 billion in UK-wide downtime losses for the sector in 2025, particularly if a large-scale batch loss, contamination, or cyber incident occurs.

IDS recommends secure data environments, anomaly detection, and validation-aware monitoring to protect compliance-critical operations.

• Chemicals and Electronics: Operating in continuous or high-precision environments, both sectors are exposed to prolonged shutdowns and complex recovery processes. Their combined 2025 losses could top £16 billion across Europe.

IDS recommends resilience planning and asset health tracking; environmental monitoring and tighter OT/IT integration are key for electronics.

• Food Processing and Packaging: These sectors experience frequent, shorter disruptions. While the cost per event is lower, these industries’ high throughput and low-margin nature means that cumulative losses still reach billions, particularly during peak production windows. UK losses are projected at £4–5 billion for food and £3–5 billion for packaging.

IDS recommends lightweight predictive analytics, proactive support windows, and digital twin simulations to keep lines running during peak seasons.

• Aerospace and Textiles: These sectors are less exposed but face material losses. Delays in aerospace production, for example, can result in substantial compliance and QA bottlenecks, contributing to projected UK losses of £2–4 billion.

IDS recommends traceability tools, QA-integrated aerospace monitoring, and real-time alerting and infrastructure upgrades for textiles.

While 2025 may bring modest improvements in maintenance practices and predictive capabilities, the financial impact of unplanned downtime is expected to remain highly concentrated. Industries with tight margins, complex compliance requirements, or legacy infrastructure face the steepest challenges.

 

Peak Downtime Periods and Seasonality

Downtime is not evenly distributed throughout the year. Several well-established patterns have emerged over the past five years:

• Summer Shutdowns
  August is a peak period for planned maintenance in sectors like automotive and heavy manufacturing. This often coincides with retooling and workforce holidays.
• Year-End Closure
  December sees widespread slowdowns, often used for quality assurance work, system updates, and compliance testing.
• Pre-Holiday Demand Surges
  In sectors like food and packaging, increased pressure in Q4 can lead to equipment stress and a higher chance of breakdowns.
• External Event Cycles
  Energy crises (late 2022), pandemics (2020), and material shortages (2021–2022) have caused significant spikes in downtime outside typical planning cycles – often with little warning.

To support planning around these seasonal cycles, IDS-INDATA offers proactive service scheduling and flexible support plans tailored to sector-specific risk periods.

 

The Role of Industrial Connectivity and OT Security in Downtime

A recurring theme from 2020 to 2024 is the dual role of industrial connectivity and OT security: they are both potential causes and solutions to downtime.

OT-Driven Downtime

More manufacturing downtime is now linked to issues in control systems, network configurations, or cyber events than in previous decades. Key vulnerabilities include:

• Unpatched PLCs or legacy HMIs
• Flat network architecture without segmentation
• Lack of real-time visibility into OT traffic or asset status

In 2024, 31% of manufacturers experienced a financial impact from cyberattacks affecting OT/IT systems, including direct production stoppages.

OT as a Tool for Prevention

Conversely, networked systems have enabled predictive maintenance, condition monitoring, and early-warning capabilities. In some cases:

• Predictive tools have reduced downtime by up to 50%
• Companies using digital twins can model and pre-empt system stress
• AI/ML algorithms have begun flagging anomalies before equipment failure occurs

The trade-off is clear: the more connected manufacturing becomes, the greater the need for secure, segmented, and visible OT environments. IDS-INDATA provides the tools to achieve this, including predictive tools, digital twins, and AI/ML-based anomaly detection.

Summary

Downtime remains a defining risk for manufacturers in 2025 – not just in terms of production losses but also in its cascading effects on compliance, fulfilment, and supply chain resilience. While the underlying causes vary by sector, the financial impact is consistently high across the board.

With the cost of inaction rising, many manufacturers are now turning to partners like IDS-INDATA to prioritise investments in predictive maintenance, OT visibility, and cyber-security. A data-driven understanding of downtime is a necessary first step toward sustainable industrial performance in a landscape defined by complexity, connectivity, and increasing risk exposure.

 

Sources: Government and industry reports, including a Oneserve UK manufacturing study and ONS data; industry surveys by Aberdeen Research, Vanson Bourne, and Senseye/Siemens on downtime costs (World’s Largest Manufacturers Lose $1 Trillion/Year to Machine Failure) (World’s Largest Manufacturers Lose $1 Trillion/Year to Machine Failure); sector-specific insights from SMMT (automotive) and pharmaceutical industry surveys (Survey Says: You’re Up on Downtime | Pharma Manufacturing); market research on predictive maintenance and OT security trends (Manufacturers warned on IT/OT risk as attacks mount) (Manufacturers warned on IT/OT risk as attacks mount); and analyses by IEA and others on external factors like energy and supply chain disruptions (Europe’s energy crisis: Understanding the drivers of the fall in electricity demand – Analysis – IEA). These provide the quantitative backbone for the above assessment and forecasts.