Growth in new export orders rose to a three-year high at the beginning of 2014, with manufacturers citing improved demand from across the world.
UK manufacturers have been boosted by an increase in export orders, as demand from overseas rose at its fastest pace for three years. Economists said that the manufacturing sector, which accounts for around a tenth of the UK economy, was still showing solid growth, despite the Markit/CIPS UK manufacturing purchasing managers’ index easing to 56.7 from a predicted 57.2 in December.
Rob Dobson, Senior Economist at survey compilers, Markit, commented: “UK manufacturing made a strong start to the new year, continuing the robust upsurge in production seen at the tail end of 2013. Although the pace of output expansion has cooled slightly in recent months, growth is still tracking at one of the highest rates in the 22-year survey history.”
Manufacturers have seen improved demand from North America, mainland Europe, Asia, Brazil, Scandinavia and the Middle East, pointing to an overall increase in UK factory activity and a solid increase in average selling prices.
Lee Hopley, Chief Economist at EEF, commented: “With separate data showing a further improvement in manufacturing activity across the Eurozone, this supports our forecast for UK manufacturing output to grow by 2.7% this years, the fastest rate of expansion in four years.”
The increased interest in UK manufacturing overseas is reflected in Redhill Manufacturing’s export orders, which continue to rise significantly. Over recent years, the company has received orders from a rapidly increasing global export market, and today, Redhill Manufacturing is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of top quality handling, access and storage products. As well as a huge range of standard products in excess of 3,000 items, Redhill also bespoke products, made to customers’ specific requirements and it is this flexibility that has enabled them to enjoy such strong growth.
