UK manufacturing slump is over? No-one told us!

UK's CBI said that the slump in manufacturing is now officially over, but nobody has told us at the front end of manufacturing, says Metalforming Machinery Makers' Association's chairman!

As Chairman of the Metalforming Machinery Makers' Association, Tim Albutt said that he wanted to issue the Association's assessment of the state of industry for the New Year, but he thought he would let everyone else have their say first, to see if there was any consistency and make his comments slightly later, based on the reports I have read.

"Well the reports I have read, seem to paint a rosier picture and I have recently read that the CBI has declared that the slump in manufacturing is now officially over.

So we can all assume that everything is all right because they have made this wondrous declaration.

Well I don't know about you but nobody has told us at the front end of manufacturing.

From a metal forming equipment suppliers' point of view, I can assure you that fabricators are still very cautious and comments like this are a little premature.

It does not appear that there is any great desire to invest in new manufacturing equipment, whether it is metal forming equipment or machining tools.

Metal forming is at the heart of engineering and one of the first stages in manufacturing components and until demand for formed components increases, whether new products or existing products, I cannot accept that the slump is officially over.

Yes, we have seen reports and figures based on the last quarter of 2003.

I personally would like to see the same figures covering three consecutive quarters, and then I will declare that we are no longer in a recessionary period I don't want to sound too pessimistic because I have said before; we sometimes talk ourselves into recession.

When manufacturers talk about 'downturns' 'lack of orders' 'cut- backs', it must affect the way the consumer thinks and we all know that in the end without consumers throughout the World driving demand, we have no industry at all.

From the MMMA's point of view, I sincerely hope that we are now entering a period where the performance of manufacturing as an industry improves.

We and the country need a prosperous, thriving manufacturing sector.

Like the majority of the UK's population, I and my colleagues like to have the 'feel good' factor.

We work better, we are more confident; we feel we are working for a purpose.

It is good to have that feeling, rather than the attitude of 'what's the point', when there is no action out there in the market.

Yes, I do believe we will have a much better year in 2004, but I am not prepared to say the slump is officially over, we were all buoyed up this time last year and it turned out to be a lame duck.

I will certainly let you know my verdict in my next report, if we continue as we did in the last quarter.".

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