| Actual | Previous | |
|---|---|---|
| Orders Balance | -33.0% | -30.0% |
Highlights
UK manufacturing is facing a challenging moment, with the industrial trends survey showing a sharp decline in output volumes for the quarter to August. Fourteen of the seventeen sub-sectors, led by chemicals, printing, and metals, reported contraction. The outlook is no brighter, with firms expecting further decline through November.
Order books remain worryingly thin. Both domestic and export demand sit well below their long-run averages, indicating a fragile global trading environment. Finished goods stocks are judged to be more than adequate, yet this reflects sluggish sales rather than a healthy supply chain. Price expectations, while easing to their weakest level since October 2024, suggest softer inflationary pressures but also reflect subdued demand.
The findings underline the pressures squeezing UK manufacturers. High energy costs, policy uncertainty, and cautious customers are eroding margins and dampening investment appetite. Business leaders are clear that the upcoming Autumn Budget will be a decisive moment. They are calling for tax certainty, skills investment, competitive energy pricing, and a credible industrial strategy to restore confidence.
In short, UK manufacturing is caught between weak demand and unrelenting cost pressures, requiring bold policy action to prevent stagnation from becoming structural.
Order books remain worryingly thin. Both domestic and export demand sit well below their long-run averages, indicating a fragile global trading environment. Finished goods stocks are judged to be more than adequate, yet this reflects sluggish sales rather than a healthy supply chain. Price expectations, while easing to their weakest level since October 2024, suggest softer inflationary pressures but also reflect subdued demand.
The findings underline the pressures squeezing UK manufacturers. High energy costs, policy uncertainty, and cautious customers are eroding margins and dampening investment appetite. Business leaders are clear that the upcoming Autumn Budget will be a decisive moment. They are calling for tax certainty, skills investment, competitive energy pricing, and a credible industrial strategy to restore confidence.
In short, UK manufacturing is caught between weak demand and unrelenting cost pressures, requiring bold policy action to prevent stagnation from becoming structural.
Definition
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) produces a monthly survey (and a more detailed quarterly report) analysing the performance of UK manufacturing industry. This is the UK's longest running qualitative business tendency survey. Questions relate to domestic and export orders, stocks, price and output expectations with the main market focus being the domestic orders balance. The survey is seen as a loose leading indicator of the official industrial production data.
Description
Started in 1958, this is the UK's longest-running private sector qualitative business tendency survey. The survey is used by policy makers along with those in the business community, academics and top analysts in financial markets. One of its key strengths is that it is released within ten days and prior to official statistics and includes data not covered by official sources. It is never revised. The data are also used by the European Commission's harmonized business survey of EU countries.
Frequency
Monthly and quarterly
Frequency
Monthly and quarterly
