Exports and manufacturing growth slow

John Longworth (pictured), director general of the BCC, warned the results could be the first alarm bell to warn of slower economic growth. The BCC has recommended that all political parties show support for the proposals within its Business Manifesto: 'A Business Plan for Britain' to create the best possible environment for growth and enterprise. Other key findings in the survey revealed that the balance of manufacturing firms operating at full capacity fell by 6 points to +40% in Q3 and manufacturing export sales fell from +30% in Q2 to +16% in Q3. However, it reported that business confidence remained higher than the 2007 pre-recession levels for profitability (+54%) and the employment balance rose from +30% in Q2 to +32% in Q3. The cashflow balance remained at +17%, five points below its last peak in Q3 2013 and the price balance (intentions to raise prices) increased by one point to +18%. Longworth said: "The British economy has strengthened significantly since the recession but to say that strong growth cannot be sustained indefinitely is simply not good enough. To avoid sinking back into mediocrity we must steer clear of measures that dampen business confidence and press ahead with reforms to the business environment. "As we predicted in our economic forecast, the strong upsurge in UK manufacturing at the start of the year appears to have run its course. We may be hearing the first alarm bell for the UK economy, but this need not be the case. The share of manufacturing firms operating at full capacity fell in Q3, signalling that there is more spare capacity in our production sector than previously thought. Concerns over the strength of the pound are also high and rising. Together with a worsening outlook for the eurozone, these factors reinforce the case against an early interest rate rise." The survey is made up of responses from more than 7,000 businesses across the UK.