Britain’s robust manufacturing sector received another small boost of confidence today.
The CBI monthly survey of the industry revealed that manufacturing order books are at their healthiest level in over a year.
Indeed, some 14 per cent of firms questioned said their order books had been higher than expected, despite the country only just emerging from the recession following a 0.1 per cent rise in inflation in the first month of the year.
The study also revealed that a quarter of all manufacturers expect their output to increase over the course of 2010.
Orders for parts and whole machinery in the bulk materials handling sector may have been boosted by a demand for waste processing and recycling facilities as the UK tries to limit the amount of waste sent to landfill.
The recycling sector requires several bulk handling facilities to operate efficiently such as big bag dischargers and mobile loading hoppers.
Bionenergy has also been a big growth sector, pushing the need for equipment such as sieves and vibratory separation equipment.