Survey shows healthy trends for manufacturing

The MTA Trends Survey for Q1 2006 shows order intake accelerated in the early part of the of the year and that respondents predict further growth for Q2.

The results of the Manufacturing Technologies Association Trends Survey for Q1 2006 showed that order intake accelerated in the early part of the of the year and that respondents predict further growth, albeit at a more modest pace, for Q2.

The key points of the survey, to which there were 91 respondents from across the MTA, were as follows.

The percentage balance for business confidence in Q1 2006 was +24%, led by a very positive outlook among the respondents from the equipment suppliers section; this compares with +17% in the 4th quarter of 2005.

Order intake was +7.3% higher than in the final period of last year, with all three sections of the Association seeing significant growth.

All three sections expect a further quarter-on-quarter increase in orders in Q2 2006, although only in the machinery importers' section does this represent a faster pace of growth than at the start of the year; overall, the respondents predict that orders will be +3.4% up on Q1 2006.

Andrew Manly, MTA Director General commented: "It is encouraging to see that the demand for manufacturing technology in the UK is growing; this is a trend confirmed by recent data on investment by the engineering sector which also showed strong growth and the short-term outlook for the sector is positive".

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