Manufacturing sector leads the way

CHANCELLOR George Osborne will have been cheered by a survey which suggests that manufacturers are continuing to drive UK economic growth on the back of export-led demand.
By The Newsroom
Published 7th Jun 2011, 08:58 BST

The Manufacturing Outlook survey, which was published by EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation and professional services firm BDO, shows that manufacturing accounted for around one quarter of total economic growth in the first quarter of 2011.

Andy Tuscher, EEF’s region director, said: “Cutting through some of the noise from temporary factors over the past few months our survey continues to show underlying strength in output and orders.

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“Providing buoyant demand from overseas markets holds firm, we should see growth maintained through the rest of the year.

“However, the flipside of strong global demand has been upward pressure on a range of input and commodity prices, which has become tougher to manage.

“But manufacturers’ plans to invest for future growth suggest there is some confidence that they will be able to navigate this and other challenges in the months ahead.”

Last week, a PMI survey showed that activity in the manufacturing sector slumped to its lowest level in nearly two years, adding to fears over the strength of the recovery at a time of public spending cuts, high inflation and uncertain consumer demand.