OUTPUT among small and medium sized manufacturers has fallen in the three months to October, according to data published today.
The CBI’s SME Trends Survey found domestic orders dipped for the first time in two years with a net balance, which takes those reporting growth compared to those seeing a decline, of -11 per cent.
On top of that the research, which gathered information from 434 companies across the UK, found export orders declined at the fastest pace seen since 2009.
Business optimism dipped for the first time since January 2013 with firms also no longer planning to increase spending on innovation in the year ahead.
Rain Newton-Smith, CBI director of economics, said: “As demand has fallen, especially in the face of a strengthening Pound, our smaller manufacturers have had a tough quarter, with orders and output volumes dropping.”
Conditions are expected to improve slightly over the coming quarter. A net balance of four per cent expect modest growth in total new orders.
Domestic orders are predicted to remain broadly flat with a balance of three per cent.
The balance for export orders in the three months to the end of October was -35 per cent.
That is expected to moderate to around minus eight per cent in the current quarter.
Employment is also forecast to be broadly flat through to January.
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