Manufacturing remaining flat

Manufacturers continued to record below-average order books in December, a survey showed yesterday, although the figures improved for the third month in a row.

In the CBI’s final industrial trends survey of the year, a balance of 12 per cent of manufacturers reported below-average levels of orders this month, compared to 21 per cent in November and 23 per cent in October.

Looking ahead, the majority of manufacturing companies expect output to be flat for the next three months, an improvement on last month, when most had expected a fall.

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said: “A significantly improved December survey offers some grounds for optimism for manufacturers going into 2013 after a pretty torrid end to a largely difficult 2012.”