We recently held a webinar on Brexit’s impact on metal prices and the geopolitical risk posed to North American Manufacturing (sponsored by Avetta). The turnout was incredible with more than 100 registrants, half of which were from the manufacturing industry.

We posed several poll questions throughout the webinar and the responses paint a clear picture of what this industry thinks of Brexit and its impact on various companies’ industrial sourcing strategies. Here’s a recap:

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Question 1: “Do you consider the Brexit vote to be a ‘black swan’ event?”
21% Yes; 48% No; 30% Don’t Know

Question 2: “Why are you concerned about Brexit?”
31% have exposure to UK and/or EU suppliers; 61% don’t have said exposure but are concerned about commodity volatility; 56% concerned about currency volatility; 31% worried about other countries leaving the EU

Question 3: “How much of an impact will Brexit have on your industry?”
3% a large impact and we’re concerned; 50% some impact and we’re assessing how much; 16% I have no clue which is why I’m here; 0% no impact

Question 4: “As a result of Brexit, do you think non-ferrous metal (e.g. aluminum, copper, nickel, etc.) prices will:”
20% rise; 14% fall; 66% stay the same

Question 5: “As a result of Brexit, do you think ferrous metal (e.g. steel) prices will:
26% rise; 16% fall; 58% stay the same

Question 6: “As a result of Brexit, do you think precious metal (e.g. gold, silver, platinum, etc.) will:”
41% rise; 7% fall; 52% stay the same

Question 7: “Does your company have operations in Europe or the UK?”
40% yes; 60% no