In its latest SME Trends Survey, the CBI (which represents British industry) reports that during the past three months, domestic orders for smaller UK manufacturers have been static. It says that the prospects for the next quarter ahead are slightly better, with output expected to stabilise and new orders likely to contract at a slower pace. Nevertheless, manufacturers have tempered their expectations for output growth for the coming quarter to the lowest in a year, and expect headcounts to fall slightly, following a year when they were almost static.

“Despite another disappointing quarter for small and medium-sized manufacturers, with output continuing to fall, optimism about the general business situation has risen for the first time since spring last year,” reports Anna Leach, the CBI’s head of economic analysis. “Firms expect demand to improve both at home and abroad and production to stabilise over the next three months. But manufacturers remain concerned about the impact of political and economic conditions overseas on external demand, reflecting on-going uncertainty about the global economic outlook.”