Jason Ford

Barometer indicates fair weather for manufacturers

News

Over two thirds of England’s small and medium manufacturers expect to increase investment in new technology, machinery or premises in a bid to improve their productivity.

This is the outlook from the latest Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) Barometer, which today revealed 57 per cent of companies reporting an increase in productivity within the last six months. A further 80 per cent identified the need for further efficiency gains in order to remain competitive.

According to MAS, cautious optimism remains the other overarching sentiment among its 859 respondents.

For the sixth successive quarterly report, more than half of manufacturers recorded an increase in sales, with 67 per cent expecting to grow between now and the end of March 2015.

Furthermore, 95 per cent of firms are planning to either maintain or increase their workforce, highlighting the determination to retain skills and build capacity across the supply chain.

In a statement, Steven Barr, head of the Manufacturing Advisory Service, commented: ‘Our Barometer shows that manufacturers are already responding to recent observations by the Bank of England (BoE) that productivity needs to be raised.

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