Falls in output and orders hit producers

manufacturers reported a drop in the volume of domestic orders in the three months to April. This was the steepest quarterly fall in orders from within the UK for Scottish manufacturers for two years.

However, a net 50 per cent of manufacturers north of the Border reported a rise in new export orders in the three months to April.

A balance of 20 per cent of Scottish manufacturers reported a fall in output volumes in the three months to April, signalling the sharpest quarterly drop in two years. On a brighter note, a net 10 per cent of respondents raised employment.

Hugh Aitken, director of CBI Scotland, said: “It’s encouraging that our manufacturers are seeing robust export growth, but domestic orders are weaker.”

SCOTTISH manufacturers have suffered their sharpest fall in output volumes for two years, a key survey has revealed.

They also experienced another drop in total new orders in the latest three months.

The survey, published yesterday by the Confederation of British Industry, shows that Scottish manufacturers experienced a sharp fall in the volume of new orders from within the UK in the three months to April. Although export orders jumped at the fastest pace in any quarterly survey since 1977, after a disappointing run, this was not enough to prevent a fall in the overall volume of new orders for Scottish manufacturers in the latest period.

And Scottish manufacturers, while upbeat about export prospects for the year ahead, were less optimistic than three months earlier about the business situation.

Meanwhile, Scottish manufacturers forecast a reduction in capital expenditure on buildings, and plant and machinery over the next 12 months.

UK business investment has proved disappointing in recent times, with the country’s belated economic recovery continuing to look unbalanced and in danger of losing momentum.

Subtracting the percentage reporting a rise from that experiencing a fall, a balance of seven per cent of Scottish manufacturers suffered a drop in total new orders in the three months to April.

This is the second consecutive threemonth period in which the CBI Scottish industrial trends survey has indicated a fall in overall new orders for manufacturers north of the Border.

A balance of 31 per cent of Scottish