Optimism rises among UK manufacturers

Business optimism among the UK’s small and medium-size manufacturers has risen for the first time since mid-2011, while orders and production are expected to grow solidly over the next three months. In the CBI’s latest quarterly SME Trends survey, which had 356 respondents, a balance of 22% said they were more optimistic regarding the business situation than they were three months ago. Over the past three months, the volume of total new orders rose modestly (8%), but it is expected to increase by 27% over the next three months, driven by upturns in both domestic and export order growth (22% and 23% respectively).

Lucy Armstrong, chairman of the CBI’s SME Council, said: “Small and medium-size manufacturers are feeling more optimistic for the first time in a year — an encouraging development, given the important role that they play in our economy. Indeed, firms expect orders and output to rise strongly in the coming months and plan to invest more in the year ahead, which points to growing momentum in manufacturing activity.”