Over 9,000 manufacturing and construction insolvencies since 2011

Together, there have been 9,153 insolvencies in the two industries since the first quarter of 2011, the PwC figures reveal. In that fourth quarter of 2012 (October to December) the figure for manufacturing was 425, better than the previous three quarters of 2012 but 5.7% up on the same quarter last year. The regions most affected in those last three months of 2012 include the North East & Cumbria which suffered 23 in Q4 2012 compared to 11 the previous quarter. Of the 3,573 manufacturing sector insolvencies since January 2011, 983 were industrial manufacturing firms with the rest including automotive, aerospace & defence, chemicals, metals, transport and logistics and consumer goods manufacturers. Philip Hines, PwC Deals & Industrial Products partner, said the reduction in manufacturing insolvencies in the last quarter was encouraging "but with rising raw material costs and no imminent signs of a material economic recovery, the outlook remains tough for those companies already experiencing financial stress." Overall the total number of insolvencies in Q4 2012, across all sectors, fell 9% compared with the previous quarter, with agriculture up 28.6%, education up 13.5% and health up 25.9%. There was also an 11.5% decrease in the number of total insolvencies in Q4 2012 compared to the same period in 2011.