Producer confidence falls marginally

Producer confidence in manufacturing industry stood at 6.4 in January 2007, i.e. 1.4 point down on December 2006. It has risen sharply since the summer of 2005 and reached an all-time high in October 2006. Although confidence fell slightly after this record, manufacturers are still in a positive mood.

Producer confidence consists of three component indicators: expected production in the next three months, opinions about the stock of finished products, and opinions about the order position. In January, opinions on the stock of finished products remained unchanged. Manufacturers were slightly less positive about their future production than in December 2006. Their opinions about the order position were also slightly less positive.

Manufacturers claim that the number of orders received increased further in December 2006. The index showing order position (orders received expressed in months of work) rose further in January to 107.0 and has not been so high since the autumn of 1992. on the other hand, these improvements are not reflected in opinions about the order position.

A small majority of manufacturers expected to recruit staff. In recent months, they also expected employment to improve substantially. In the period 2001-2005, most entrepreneurs expected to have to reduce their staff.

Producer confidence in manufacturing industry