Small manufacturing businesses predict upturn on rising demand

Small manufacturers expect to ramp up production during the closing months of the year on the back of rising demand, a new survey today suggests.

Nearly a third of small and medium-sized (SME) firms said they expected output to rise during the three months to the end of December, with only 12 per cent expecting a fall, the CBI's SME Trends Survey said.

The rise in production is expected to be driven by improving domestic and overseas demand, with a positive balance of 14 per cent of firms expecting total new orders to rise.