Manufacturing well placed to weather economic storms

This shows that manufacturing continues to enjoy a renaissance with a range of indicators showing that the sector enjoyed its best performance in a decade in 2007,and that companies have benefited from a range of measures that they have put in place to improve their competitiveness. The report illustrates the rapidly changing face of manufacturing as companies shift to higher value activities with their competitive advantage based on an increasing emphasis on areas such as design, development and service provision. Furthermore, the report also shows the number of highly skilled jobs expanding despite the loss of unskilled work. EEF chief economist, Steve Radley, said: “Manufacturers continued to record healthy growth last year despite a more challenging environment with oil prices rising and the dollar weakening. With fears of a recession in United States and turbulence in financial markets, the economic backdrop is likely to become less favourable and growth in manufacturing slower. However, manufacturing's new resilience will leave it much better placed to cope with whatever the economy throws at it this year.” And Bob Hale, head of manufacturing at Grant Thornton, added: “Against a backdrop of profit warnings, falling business confidence and credit market turmoil, the UK manufacturing sector is at present something of a beacon in the dark. The strategic focus on new market entry is particularly positive, as it signals that many businesses within the sector are harnessing the strong growth rates still apparent in many parts of the world to counter the effects of a slowing domestic economy.”