Light At The End of The Tunnel For Manufacturing

Light At The End of The Tunnel For Manufacturing

According to the latest Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers Index – for October 2015 – the manufacturing sector grew faster than at any other period in the last 16 months. The Guardian described the findings as ‘light at the end of the tunnel for UK manufacturers’.

Other surveys and data also suggest this is case – with a Centre for Economics and Business Research poll suggesting that more than a quarter of UK SME manufacturers have overseas expansion as a target, compared to fewer than a fifth (17%) of smaller businesses in the UK generally.

However, there are also elements to consider – for instance, a strong pound is thought to be hindering UK exports, and the CBI’s Quarterly Industrial Trends Survey for October has the balance of manufacturers expecting the next quarter to bring a rise in total new orders (lowest since January 2012), those anticipating a rise in output volumes (lowest since October 2011) and those expecting employment to increase (lowest since July 2011) all falling. Additionally, in the here and now, firms with the present capacity to at least meet the expected demand rose to 92% from the long term average of 89% – the highest figure since July 2013, and a potential sign that firms are not expecting work.

The situation is not helped by the suffering of the UK steel market – with job losses announced at several plants across the country, which is of course bad news.

Whilst many of the above findings are negative, we are pleased to say however that JS Burgess Engineering Ltd continues to grow and develop, and we are thankful to our clients and suppliers – we are currently undergoing increased expansion and hope to release details of this in the coming weeks. We continue to work to produce the highest quality stillages and associated products, and look forward to doing so for many years to come.