smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Confidence among manufacturers has improved as demand for manufactured goods continues to rise, says industry body the Engineering Employers Federation (EDF).

Over the past quarter a balance of 9 per cent of companies have reported rising output, with a balance of 27 per cent expecting orders to be up in the next three months, the highest figure since the third quarter of 2007.

Lee Hopley, chief economist at the EEF, says: ‘Having emerged from the recession at the end of last year, the start to 2010 was better than expected. Clearly more companies are becoming confident about their prospects and we’re beginning to see the real benefits of an export-led recovery.

‘But we have to be cautious about predicting a strong rebound, as a number of factors could knock growth off track. The recovery depends on world markets continuing to grow, and the financial system’s ability to provide finance is yet to be fully tested. Investment plans are also likely to remain on hold until manufacturers get a better sense of how a new government plans to repair the public finances.’

Research from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) and Markit, indicates that output in February rose at its fastest pace since September 1996.

There are currently no comments on this article