There was more good news for the economy this month as a new CBI survey revealed that optimism among small manufacturers is at an all-time high.
Optimism among smaller manufactures is soaring according to the new report; the new figures show that optimism among small manufactures is at record highs. The optimism also applies to small and medium sized manufacturers; they say orders and output have increased steadily in the last quarter.
The CBI interviewed 366 SME manufacturers and they say they have witnessed a growth in exports in recent months and domestic orders also continue to remain strong. It was also noted that output has continued to grow steadily for the third consecutive quarter and many businesses expert their output to reach 1995 levels during the next quarter.
Commenting in a press release, Katja Hall, CBI Chief Policy Director, said:
“It’s very encouraging to see record levels of optimism among smaller manufacturers, on the back of robust growth in domestic and export orders, and a leap in output levels.
“Hiring is also on the up, and is set to strengthen as we look ahead into 2014.
“As confidence beds in, we need to see more firms exporting their products to high-growth markets across the globe, giving a healthy and sustainable boost to the UK’s recovery.”
The CBI report found that nearly 40% of the companies surveyed had experienced an increase in orders in the last quarter and 36% said that domestic orders were on the increase.
25% of manufactures said that they had experienced a growth in export orders, while 15% said that their export orders had decreased. However, overall the total amount for export orders has seen a surge compared with the figures released for the previous quarter.
However, the news wasn’t all positive, with 10% of those surveyed stating that they were not optimistic about the future of their business, nevertheless, 46% of business owners stated that they were more optimistic for the future.
There was also good news for employment with figures rising by +16%; these figures look set to surge to +24% in the next quarter and while many manufacturers are not planning to invest in buildings in the coming year, many are expecting to make investments into machinery.
It is predicted that growth and optimism in the manufacturing industry will continue to grow in the next quarter.