Ending the year on a positive note, Britain’s manufacturers enjoyed the best three months for growth since 2014, with Eurozone growth stimulating demand for goods.
According to industry statistics, expansion is now keenly anticipated and the most recent UK Marketing PMI figures reveal a developing trend for burgeoning activity and new orders in the UK, with companies reporting increased output, as well as the launch of new product ranges.
Coinciding with British factories benefiting from a rise in economic growth in the Eurozone and beyond, this welcome leap also comes as the single-currency bloc noted a record rate of growth in its manufacturing sector. Showing a PMI of 60.6, the highest level since such records began in 1997, British manufacturers are said to be benefitting especially from the production of only partially completed goods purchased by other companies to complete.
“We’ll have to see if this and B2B engagement, in terms of expanding demand for UK-made goods from European manufacturers, can be sustained as BREXIT negotiations progress,” said Brittain’s Managing Director Julia Haviland, who hopes that the ministers predicting expanded export partnerships with the wider world are accurate in their forecast.
Observing that Britain recorded an increase in exports to non-EU countries more swiftly than to EU markets between August and October of 2017, but that previous months signified a drop in sales to the rest of the world, against sturdy growth to the EU, Julia added:
“The spending of British households is limited by the pound’s weakness – as well as increased prices resulting from import costs and slow-paced wage growth – and manufacturers may feel the effects of these factors. We should remain both prudent and alert, but, overall I think the picture looks hopeful.”
