
On the back of improving demand and output, optimism among small and medium-sized manufacturers has risen at the fastest pace since the CBI started tracking business sentiment in 1988.
The latest SME Trends Survey shows that total new orders increased in the three months to October for the first time since July 2012, driven by domestic orders which rose at their fastest rate since January 1995.- 42 per cent of firms reported an increase in total new orders, while 25 per cent said they decreased, giving a balance of +17 per cent, ahead of expectations of modest growth in the previous survey (+9 per cent)
- Output has increased modestly (+8 per cent), beating predictions of staying unchanged in the previous survey (+1 per cent). This is the highest balance since July 2011 and output is predicted to increase further in the next three months (+15 per cent).
- Manufacturers expect demand to strengthen again in the next three months, with robust growth in total new orders (+26 per cent) and domestic orders (+23 per cent).
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