“British manufacturing is struggling to balance its global relationship. It’s hard to stay on an even keel with global finances fluctuating and instability in the steel and oil industries. There’s already some unrest within the industry – recent Bombardier closures alongside calls for more government support prove the sector faces an uncertain future. A potential Brexit brings the threat of yet more closures and job losses.
“However, manufacturing in Britain has always experienced highs and lows. It’s one of our most resilient industries. For northern strongholds like Burnley and Blackburn, manufacturing is at the core of the local jobs market – and this is unlikely to change anytime soon.
“December saw over 15,000 manufacturing vacancies in the sector, so for workers who have transferable skills there are opportunities out there. They may be lower paid positions – the average advertised manufacturing salary fell 1.4% annually to £30,339 in December – but there are vacancies available. Workers in Britain’s beleaguered manufacturing sector should be able to weather this storm.”
- Total order books remained steady after a fall in January
- Export orders saw a very slight improvement from the previous month
- Output volumes were flat over the past three months, a very marginal improvement on the previous quarter.
- 12% of firms reported total order books to be above normal, and 29% said they were below normal, giving a balance of -17%. This was around average (-15%), and similar to January (-15%)
- 10% of businesses said their export order books were above normal, and 28% said they were below normal, giving a rounded balance of -19%. February’s level was an improvement on the previous month (-22%), and around average (-20%)
- 27% of firms said the volume of output over the past three months was up and 27% said it was down, giving a flat balance of 0%.
- Businesses again expect output to grow in the coming quarter, with 30% predicting growth, and 19% a decline, giving a balance of +11%
- Average selling prices are expected to fall marginally over the next three months (-3%)
