Factories are ramping up production to meet the demand for British products as manufacturing order books see a 30-year high – while on the continent, German business confidence is falling.
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) survey of 371 British manufacturers found “strong overall order books” driven by Motor Vehicles and Transport Equipment and Mechanical Engineering sectors, with 14 out of 17 sub-sectors noting orders were above normal.
The survey revealed that output growth was steady in the three months to December at a rate far above the long-run average with the competitive pound and global economic recovery driving the surge in new orders.
The CBI, which represents 190,000 UK businesses, noted that 28 per cent of manufacturers reported total order books to be above normal, with the same percentage of firms finding export order books above normal. Nearly half, 42 per cent, of businesses said the volume of output over the past three months was up.
Economists called manufacturing the “brightest sector” of the UK economy, with Andrew Wishart from Capital Economics telling The Times: “With export order books strong, we expect manufacturing to provide valuable support to economic growth in the final three months of the year and next year.”
The findings echoes figures released from HM Revenue & Customs earlier this month showing that exports of goods have risen in every area across the country, and Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures revealing that British factory order books grew for the sixth consecutive month during October – again, boosted by car manufacturing.
Figures released by the IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply found factories are taking on employees at the most rapid pace since June 2014 to keep up with demand.
The consistently positive results come in defiance of ‘Project Fear’ predictions, foreshadowed by former Chancellor of the Exchequer and Remain campaigner George Osborne, that a vote to leave the European Union (EU) would result in a recession, job losses, and a loss of foreign investors.
Since the Brexit vote, the UK was ranked the seventh-best country in the world to do business, held her ranking as the third most favourable destination for companies to invest, and was predicted to outperform France, Germany, and the entire eurozone in the coming years.
The UK’s strong position has prompted Leave campaigners to condemn Prime Minister Theresa May for her capitulation on EU demands in Brexit negotiations. In December, UKIP’s International Trade spokesman William Dartmouth told Breitbart London that May’s surrender was a “national humiliation” adding that a trade agreement matters “a lot more to [the bloc] than it does to us”.
Meanwhile, Munich-based Ifo Institute said Tuesday that the business confidence in Germany fell with forecasts dampened in part by political uncertainty as Chancellor Angela Merkel struggles to form a government three months after the federal election.