Manufacturing recovery must be strengthened says BCC by David Kern on 11-Feb-2011

T he ONS has just published the December manufacturing output figures. "These figures are slightly worse than expected," commented David Kern, Chief Economist at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). He continued, "However, it is likely they were impacted by the bad weather in December. Despite the slight output fall, evidence suggests that the manufacturing recovery continued and will have gathered momentum in January."

"While it would appear that the economy is starting to rebalance, the manufacturing recovery is not yet being reflected in an improvement in our international trading position. The sector faces many challenges in the months ahead, not least coping with the impact of the government’s deficit-cutting programme."

"Given the uncertain background facing the economy, it is important to strengthen and reinforce the manufacturing recovery. In particular, businesses must be able to retain valuable skills and UK exporters should not be at a disadvantage in key areas such as trade finance, export insurance and trade promotion."

David Kern can be contacted via:
w: www.britishchambers.org.uk

Total manufacturing output increased by 4.4 per cent in December 2010 compared to the same month a year ago.
Between November and December, manufacturing output decreased by 0.1 per cent.
ONS: www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=198

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