UK manufacturing on course for recovery as PMI data improves

UK manufacturing is on course for recovery, latest data has revealed.

Stats from research firm IHS show that industry performance rose to a 16 month high of 53.3 in July, up from 50.1 in June. Anything above 50 indicates growth.

It comes as lockdown restrictions in place due to coronavirus were loosened. That has allowed manufacturers to restart production.

However IHS says it will still take several months to fully recoup the output lost since the start of the pandemic.

Duncan Brock, director at the Chartered Institute of procurement and supply said: “The makers were on the march again in July as production started to flow more easily and businesses saw new orders rise at the fastest pace since the end of 2018.

“Driven largely by demand from the domestic market, clients looked towards building more localised supplier bases as opportunities for trade were unblocked with the end of the UK’s lockdown."

Rob Dobson, director at IHS Markit, added: "Despite the solid start to the recovery, the road left to ravel remains long and precarious. An extended period of growth is still needed to fully recoup the ground lost in recent months."