UK manufacturing reaches three-year high, study reveals

British manufacturers are experiencing a surge in activity, with output balances reaching their highest level for three years, a major new survey released today by EEF, the manufacturers organisation, and accountancy and business advisory firm BDO LLP, has revealed.

The rebound is driven mostly by a very significant demand growth on the domestic market, but conditions in overseas markets have also significantly improved, with the balance of companies seeing growth in export sales rising to a two-year high in the past quarter.

The survey has also revealed that a balance of 32% of companies reported increased output, up from 12% in the last quarter and the highest since the beginning of 2010. Orders balances also increased significantly, up to 27% from 7% in the last quarter.

Around 24% of respondents answered that they are planning to increase their capital investment in the year ahead, up from a balance of 7% last quarter.

Additionally, recruitment balances held steady with a balance of 12% of companies reporting that they had increased employment in the last three months, up from 11% last quarter. Smaller companies were responsible for all of the growth in employment this quarter with a balance of 3% of larger companies reporting employment had decreased in the last three months.

Companies participating in this survey also revealed a superior level of confidence in terms of future prospects, since they expect orders from both domestic and export markets to increase by 24% and 19% respectively, with UK demand expected to continue to outweigh demand overseas.

Additionally, recruitment is also expected to moderately increase with a balance of 16% of companies expecting to increase employment in the coming three months.

Improved activity and a penchant for investment and hiring of additional staff should also translate into the implementation of a very solid and reliable workforce management solution, and this is exactly where Tensor could put its extensive experience to very good use.

If you’d like to find out more about the reliable, yet quite affordable and user friendly workforce management solutions developed by Tensor, just contact us or Book a Demo with one of our representatives, and you’ll get an answer to all of your questions and queries.