December 8, 2005 | posted by Michael Baxter in Uncategorized |

The latest round of reports on UK manufacturing is complete, and the conclusions; the sector appears to be going down hill again.

Just a few months ago, all the reports seemed to be suggesting that our beleaguered manufacturing sector was in recovery mode. But now, all has changed.

The CBI Industrial Trends Survey, released at the end of last month, recorded a score of minus 25, the same as the October reading, and indicative of a sector which is struggling to even make it to first gear.

Ian McCafferty, CBI Chief Economic Adviser, said, “Manufacturers have faced an extremely challenging year and the latest figures show no overall improvement over the last month. Robust demand internationally has lifted the export figures, but this has been offset by a deterioration in domestic orders which is of real concern.

“Over the past month, producers have benefited a little as the cost of oil has slipped back, but manufacturers’ profit margins remain under pressure, with more firms expecting to cut prices than raise them in the months ahead.”

Then yesterday, the ONS released the official statistics relating to manufacturing, and in the 3 months to October, recorded a contraction in the sector of -0.3%. It was the first negative reading since June.

Meanwhile, even CIPS, which has been consistently reporting more bullish findings than the rest, had bad news recently. Although at 51, the CIPS Purchasing Managers Index is still above the critical 50 no change mark, the month saw a fall on October.