British manufacturers’ order books expanded at the fastest rate in two decades in August according to the latest snapshot of the sector. The Markit/PMI survey of new orders jumped to 61.8 last month, up from 58.6 in July. Any reading above 50 signals growth.
“The UK’s factories are booming again,” said Rob Dobson of Markit. “Manufacturing is clearly making a strong positive contribution to the economy, providing welcome evidence that the long-awaited rebalancing of the economy towards manufacturing and exports is at last starting to take place.”
The manufacturing output index also hit its highest level since 1994. However, the survey also pointed to slower employment growth and there were signs of increasing costs pressures as these rose at their fastest rate in two years. The headline Markit/PMI manufacturing index came in at 57.2, up from 54.8 in July and the highest since February 2011.
Manufacturing accounts for 10% of the UK economy and latest figures for the second quarter of 2013 showed 0.7% growth.
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