Merry Christmas to you all and a toast to the nativity donkey. That's right, the unassuming mule at the heart of the Christmas story. It's usually played by the class clowns who stagger blindly around the stage in a two-man donkey costume, looking like Frankel auditioning for Dancing on Ice. But between the sniggers at this year's school play, please spare a second thought for the humble creature who, at heart, is a kindred spirit. Our long-eared friend is the unsung hero of the Christmas tale. He advances relentlessly along the long road from Nazareth, bearing a heavy load and braving hostile terrain.
You, too, have overcome tough conditions to push forward this year. A bitter recession and soaring energy prices have been par for the course. You've also carried some more celebrated corners of the economy along the way. No grumbling, no quitting, not a lot of adulation – just like the donkey, we dig deep and move on.
WM's Outlook report (p15) shows a sector upbeat about the road ahead in 2013. Management teams have been galvanised by the recession. A dogged commitment to improvement programmes means sites are smarter, leaner, meaner and better equipped to weather the storm. Manufacturers have also found a great lucidity in crisis. Organisations know where they want to go and have the confidence they're good enough to get there.
Most are following a great star that has risen in the East. The boom economies of Asia promise an export sales surge that could see goods-in disappear beneath a mountain of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Yet few seem to be in a rush. Most manufacturers appear content to grow revenue by a couple of percentage points next year. Almost all will fund their expansion internally.
Some analysts will point to a sector lacking ambition, destined to plod along because of its refusal to take a risk. Oh ye of little faith. Triple dips or debt crises – whatever 2013 brings, you can depend on UK manufacturing to deliver. The real asses will be those who ever doubted it.
