Confidence soars among Britain’s manufacturers

Britain’s manufacturers haven’t been so confident about their prospects since David Cameron was prime minister, an industrial survey has found.
In the latest snapshot of members of Make UK, bosses are the most bullish about their prospects since the quarterly survey started measuring business confidence a decade ago.
The survey by the manufacturing bosses’ federation, which coincided with the weeks after the end of 14 years of Conservative government, found that 58 per cent believed their economic situation would improve through to the rest of the year.
However, such a high level of optimism is in stark contrast with the situation regarding what has actually been happening in their businesses. On factory output, the balance of positive responses declined from a positive balance of 9 per cent to -2 per cent, while the balance describing orders had fallen back from 14 per cent to 7 per cent.
Looking to the next quarter, a balance of 33 per cent of bosses believed that both output and orders would improve. Similarly, recruitment intentions have fallen from a positive 26 per cent to -1 per cent, but a balance of 22 per cent indicate that they will be hiring.
As a result of the findings, Make UK upgraded its forecasts for growth in the whole economy in 2025 from 0.8 per cent to 1.8 per cent.
“With an autumn budget and spending review fast approaching, now is the time for the government to pick up the pace and deliver on pre-election promises, most notably the publication of a long-term robust industrial strategy,” Fhaheen Khan, Make UK’s senior economist, said. “This must be combined with policy levers that help, not hinder growth and international competitiveness.”
Make UK wants the government to rapidly harmonise with the European Union’s carbon border adjustment mechanism, which taxes imports of carbon dioxide-intensive goods such as steel and cement from Asia and north Africa to prevent the dumping of cheap imported products to the detriment of domestic players.
It also wants ministers to sort out problems with the apprenticeships levy policy, brought in nearly a decade ago to boost training. According to Make UK, it has resulted in a “disastrous” 40 per cent drop in apprentice starts.
The Make UK survey of more than 300 of its member companies took place over four weeks to the end of August.