Business indicators
FACTORY OUTPUT
UK factory output in the second quarter of 2003 was O.I per cent higher than in the previous quarter. Between the two latest quarters, output of machinery and equipment rose by 3.6 per cent, and transport
National Statistics: 0845 6013034; www.statistics.gov.uk
EU FACTORY PRICES
European Union factory gate prices in May 2003 were an estimated 0.6 per cent higher than a year earlier. In the 12 months to April they rose 1 per cent. Euro-zone prices rose 0.5 per cent in the year to May, down from an annual increase of 1 per cent the previous month. In the seven major industrialised countries, prices rose 0.9 per cent in the year to May, compared with 1.2 per cent in the year to April. UK manufacturers' prices rose 1.3 per cent annually in May.
OECD: *331 45 24 82 00; www.oecd.org
IMAGE ILLUSTRATION 1PURCHASING MANAGERS' INDICES
MANUFACTURING
July saw the first growth in the UK manufacturing sector since last November. The purchasing managers' index (PMI), a composite indicator of business conditions compiled by CIPS and NTC Research, stood at 50.9, driven by expanding output.
Companies sounded a note of caution over a sharp rise in production, saying this was due to rebuilding stocks of finished goods as well as increasing new orders. Sterling's strength against the dollar caused a fall in exports.
The sharpest fall in input prices for more than a year was attributed to the weak dollar and the feeding through of lower oil prices into plastics and polymers.
IMAGE GRAPH 2UK/US MANUFACTURING
In the euro-zone, activity continued to fall but the PMI climbed for the first time in five months. NTC Research's index put it at 48, helped by rising input in Austria, Greece, the Netherlands and Spain, but depressed by continuing falls in new orders.
Meanwhile, in the US, the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) manufacturing report on business put the PMI at 51.8. Healthy order books were supported by growing demand at home and abroad.
SERVICES
New orders and optimism pushed growth in the UK services sector to the highest since last May. The business activity index in July was 56.6, as all six broad areas of the services economy said order books had grown.
But just over 10 per cent of companies were able to raise prices, mainly thanks to rising input prices, owing to strong competition.
In the euro-zone, services activity picked up for the first time in seven months, but in the US, growth in non-manufacturing activity was sharp, as the ISM's headline PMI hit 65.1.
IMAGE GRAPH 3UK: NEW ORDERS ON THE RISE
CONSTRUCTION
Two in five UK building firms said new orders had risen in July, as the construction PMI rose to 55.9.
The housing sector enjoyed the strongest growth again, at 56.8, followed by civil engineering (53.5) and commercial (52.2). Employment rose too, but less slowly than activity, pointing to gains in productivity. Input prices rose, along with die usage and rates charged by subcontractors.
NTC Research: 01491 418700; www.ntc-rcsearch.com
Institute for Supply Management: www.ism.ws
SIDEBARREDUCING COSTS * EMPOWERING EMPLOYEES * INCREASING CONTROL * REPORTING
Head of New Business, Jonathan Holden. Call 01604 254661 or visit www.companybarclaycard.co.uk
IMAGE TABLE 4EXCHANGE RATES
SIDEBARLABOUR MARKET
Demand for staff through recruitment consultants picked up sharply in July, with the first increase in the number of permanent staff vacancies for six months. Demand for temporary staff was at its highest since January. Placements of permanent and temporary staff rose during the month.
Recruitment & Employment Confederation: 020 7462 3260; www.rec.uk.com
IMAGE TABLE 5EU FACTORY PRICES
In addition, make sure to read these articles:
- Insight: Business indicators
- Rapid construction growth sets tone for UK in March
- Jubilee holidays and World Cup dent UK growth in June
- Rising material costs impact growth.
- A letter from the CEO.
- ISM Discontinues A.P.P. Accreditation
- Report: manufacturing on the rise.
- MARKET TRACKING
- New Hope for recovery as manufacturing grows
- Slowdown puts building into 'near stagnation'
- Running Under The Yellow?
- Insight: Business indicators
- Manufacturing outlook improving
- Manufacturing activity slows in New York in December
- Positive Predictions
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