For August
Provided by: Confederation of British Industry
Official Release: News Release

The combination of needing to raise prices in an environment of shrinking demand causes major headaches to manufacturers, whose outlooks for the next three months are the lowest since December 2001. The sluggish Euro-zone economy also making it tough for UK exports, although the declining pound has helped make British goods more competitive.

From the Release: "Manufacturers' output expectations for the next three months are the weakest for seven years, the latest CBI Industrial Trends Survey reveals today (Wednesday). At the same time, the balance of firms expecting the price of manufactured goods to rise has barely changed since last month's 18-year high.

The outlook for manufacturing output has continued to deteriorate in August, following the first negative expectation since December 2005 in July. While 20% of firms in this month's survey expect their volume of output will increase in the coming quarter, 33% expect it will fall. The resulting balance of -13% is the weakest since December 2001 (-28%).

Demand for manufactured goods weakened for a second month after signs of improvement earlier in the summer. A net 13% of manufacturers judged total order book levels to be ‘below normal', matching April's 18-month low figure. Firms' perception of export orders was less negative, indicating that external demand is holding up somewhat better, though this month's balance of -9% is the lowest since May (-12%)."

For July
Provided by: Confederation of British Industry
Official Release: News Release

Orders placed with UK manufacturers fell -8, slipping back into negative territory after posting a positive reading in June. The figure was also lower than expectations of -5. Manufactureres are being forced to raise prices as their costs increase at a rapid pace, but this may be hurting new orders.

The Pound brushed off the news, as it did the weak BBA mortgage approvals number, and gained on the Dollar as a result of the UK meeting minutes.

From the Release: "Manufacturers have continued to raise the prices of their goods, in the face of the fiercest cost increases since 1980, a CBI survey shows today (Wednesday). The latest Industrial Trends survey, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this week*, reveals that persistently high costs coupled with firms' expectations of slowing demand have led to a widespread drop in business confidence.

In the last three months, average unit costs rose for 65% of manufacturers while they fell for just 7%. The resulting balance of +58, the highest since October 1980 (+58), comes on the back of soaring oil prices, up by over a third in the last quarter alone. Firms expect costs to increase at a similar rate in the next three months.

As a result, firms have attempted to offset some of the damage to their profit margins by raising prices. For two quarters in a row, domestic prices have risen markedly (a balance of +21 recorded in April and +27 this survey period) while export prices have also gone up at an accelerated rate (+12 and +19). This quarter's figures are the highest since April 1995, and firms expect prices to increase over the next three months at the highest rate since January 1990 for domestic prices, and January 1995 for export prices.

Firms' mood about the business situation darkened considerably for the fourth quarter in a row, but this time sentiment has taken an even greater dive - the balance of -40 is the weakest since October 2001 (-54)."

For June
Provided by: Confederation of British Industry
June's Release: News Release

Orders edged up, with a balance of 1% of surveyed manufactuerers reporting improvements. From the release:

While manufacturers saw a modest improvement in their order books in June, the rise in prices of manufactured goods will continue almost unabated over the next three months, the CBI warned today (Wednesday).
...
Thirty-one per cent of firms in the CBI’s June Industrial Trends Survey reported order books as ‘above normal’ and 30% said they were ‘below normal’, giving a balance of +1%. Exporters’ order book levels have also improved since May (a balance of -5% compared with -12% in the previous two months).

For May
Provided by: Confederation of British Industry
Official Release: News Release

From the Release: "The CBI warned today (Tuesday) that the price of manufactured goods would rise steeply over the coming months, even as activity in the sector slows. The highest balance of manufacturing firms since 1995 have told the CBI their products will get more expensive over the coming three months, as rising oil prices drive up costs.

At the same time though, manufacturers said their order books are 'below normal' and that they don't expect output to grow in the next quarter. In the CBI's May Industrial Trends Survey, 21% of firms rated their total order book as above normal and 31% said it was below, giving a balance of -10 (-12 for export orders).

Firms also do not expect their volume of output to grow over the next three months but believe it will flatten out (a zero balance, the same as in April's survey). Despite shrinking demand, 36% of manufacturers expect they will put their prices up over the next quarter, compared to just 6% who say they will fall."

For April
Provided by: Confederation of British Industry
Official Release: News Release

From the Release: "Manufacturers are raising the prices of their goods to try to counter the fiercest increases since 1990 in unit costs, driven by more expensive energy and raw materials, the CBI said today (Thursday).

These cost pressures are intensifying even as orders and output are showing signs of easing in a sector that has so far proven resilient to recent economic shocks.

Manufacturing output failed to grow in line with firms' expectations - instead firms reported little change (a balance of -3%), and a similarly flat quarter is expected ahead. Domestic orders fell back noticeably (-13%) and are expected to fall again. Export order growth declined more moderately (-5%) and, more positively, a balance of 5% expects growth next quarter."

For March
Provided by: Confederation of British Industry

"Healthy overseas demand helped manufacturers fill their order books last month and kept the sector growing despite the wider economic slowdown, the CBI said today.

However its March Industrial Trends Survey also showed that an increasing proportion of firms expect to put up prices soon, which will add to inflationary pressure in the economy.

Commenting, Ian McCafferty, the CBI's chief economic adviser, said: "Manufacturing is not only holding up as the wider economy slows but growing on the back of strong exports.

With the prospects for the domestic market uncertain, it is important that firms can continue to attract overseas business which a competitive pound will help enormously."

For February
Provided by: Confederation of British Industry
Official Release: News Release

"Manufacturers are enjoying the longest run of sustained demand for 12 years, bucking the slowdown in other parts of the economy, according to a CBI survey of the sector. However firms expect to continue the recent trend of marked price rises over the coming months. In the monthly Industrial Trends Survey, published today (Wednesday) a balance of 3% of firms said their total orders books were 'above normal'.

This was the tenth time in 12 months that firms said order books were so healthy, the strongest showing since 1995. This has largely been driven by demand for capital goods, with orders books in this sector at levels seen only once before (August 2007) in the 20 years the data has been available.

However export demand eased this month with a balance of 8% of firms saying orders were 'below normal'. As a result of this, firms expect their output to grow over the coming three months (a balance of 11%) although at rates slightly lower than seen in the first half of 2007.

A balance of 22% of firms told the CBI that they expect their domestic prices to go up over the next three months, particularly among food and metal products manufacturers.

Ian McCafferty, CBI chief economic adviser, said: "It is encouraging to see that the slowdown already in train in some sectors of the economy has not yet hit manufacturers. While manufacturing is not going to be immune to weaker demand at home and abroad, the recent depreciation in sterling will be a helpful boost for exporters over coming months. A resilient, export-orientated manufacturing sector is exactly what we need as we enter a tricky period of rebalancing the economy away from its dependence on domestic demand."