A health check for the manufacturing sector
If the factory is the beating heart of a manufacturing business, uptime is its oxygen. The Rubix Uptime Index is a health check for the European manufacturing sector.
Launched in June 2025, it is updated alongside a series of white papers exploring the key considerations when it comes to protecting and enhancing manufacturing uptime.
The Rubix Uptime Index: November 2025
High tariffs, trade difficulties, rising energy costs, skills shortages and competition from Asia are all piling pressure on the budgets of European manufacturers.
The Index now stands at 70 (out of 100), down four points since March 2025.
Confidence remains high in day-to-day operational control – understanding maintenance needs and sourcing spare parts – but weakens when it comes to broader issues such as leadership’s appetite for long-term investment and access to skilled staff.
These two areas are long-term systemic problems which, until they are addressed through investment in new skilled labour and technology, will continue to hamper the confidence of manufacturers to maintain uptime.
An introduction from our Group VP Key Accounts
Our Group VP of Key Accounts David Cullern, gives an overview of the Rubix Uptime Index and sets out the headlines from our latest research.
Businesses are adapting fast in the face of pressure from rising costs, softening demand and a shortage of skills.
With smarter approaches to maintaining uptime through sharper data, tighter processes and practical uses of AI they are successfully turning pressure into progress.
Watch the 90 second video to find out more.
Progress under pressure: AI and European manufacturing
Despite the strain felt by manufacturers across Europe, one thing remains constant – the determination to keep production moving.
That’s what the Rubix Uptime Index is all about – understanding what it takes to protect and enhance manufacturing uptime. It captures the reality on the factory floor: where confidence is strong, where it’s faltering, and where technology is starting to make a measurable difference.
We hope this report helps you spot the same opportunities.
Download the latest white paper
Previous whitepaper
Moving in sync: How seamless coordination drives uptime
Greater alignment of decisions taken by central teams and actions carried out at the site level can improve a business’s health. We offer a perspective on why this happens and what it takes to bring balance and consistency to operations.
The stakes are high. Finding the balance is tough, but getting it right is essential. The health of the sector depends on it.
More about the Rubix Uptime Index
The index score is designed to provide a clear, normalised indicator of confidence in the European Manufacturing Sector on a scale from 0 to 100.
The score provides a standardised way to interpret attitudes across various aspects of manufacturing strategy and readiness.
The index is derived from responses to statements that evaluate perceptions of thought leadership within European manufacturing, including:
- Understanding of maintenance needs
- Willingness to make long-term investments
- Access to spare parts
- Availability of skilled staff
Together, these dimensions form a holistic view of how prepared and forward-looking the sector is in both strategic and operational terms.