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Manufacturing forecasts at their brightest for a year

Predictions from manufacturers shows their forecasts for the next three months are the most positive since June of last year, the CBI has revealed.

Answers for the latest Industrial Trends Survey show 32% of UK manufacturers said they expected the volume of output to fall over the next three months, while 27% said it should increase.

Although the resulting balance of -5% represents a slight fall in output, it is the least negative prediction since June 2008.

Liz Mayes, CBI Assistant Regional Director, said: “Times are still tough for manufacturers both in the region and around the UK but we are starting to see some optimism coming through our survey results, and this reflects the feedback we get as we visit our members around the region.

“There are a number of key areas emerging for which the region will be well placed to build the manufacturing industries of the future, particularly around low carbon vehicles and plastic electronics and recent government announcements have begun to put infrastructure in place to help support companies to make the most of these opportunities.”

Demand remains very weak, however, with a balance of 54% of manufacturers reporting that total order books are below normal.

This was a slight improvement on July’s 17-year low (-59%) but marked the seventh consecutive month that orders have remained significantly below par.

Trends are useful, but each problem is unique

The trends seem to be showing a positive future for the manufacturing sector, but there are still problems for manufacturers, according to the North East Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS)

Paul Dobson, programme manager at the North East MAS, said: “What we are finding in the companies that we engage with is that each company have their own issues, some are really struggling and have been working short hours for many months, yet others struggle to meet demand.”

He added: “Although confidence seems to be returning, it is a long and painful process back to recovery for many manufactures.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .