Manufacturing will recover well from the recent slump as the UK financial situation improves this year, economists have predicted.
Commenting on the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, which showed that manufacturing output shrank by 0.9 per cent in January 2009 compared to the previous month, industry experts have compared it to a "temporary" glitch in the sector.
In an interview with the Guardian, Jonathan Loynes from Capital Economics said the manufacturing industry is "well positioned" to grow during 2010.
The supply of bulk material handling equipment, such as elevators, en-masse elevators and chain and flight conveyors, is also expected to increase.
Mr Loynes told the news provider that manufacturers were importing more products to cope with an increase in operations at their own production facilities.
"Firms are not importing these goods for the sake of it – the fact we are sucking these goods in shows that output is recovering," he commented.
Lee Hopley from EEF supported his opinion, adding: "Despite the blip at the beginning of the year the underlying trend is one of growth and the continued recovery in the world economy should underpin this in the months to come."