Manufacturing insurance holders experienced an easing in contraction during recent months, it has been claimed.
According to the latest Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Industrial Trends Survey, 43 per cent of manufacturing insurance customers saw their output volumes decrease in the three months to July, while 12 per cent experienced an increase.
The balance of -31 per cent shows an improvement on the -53 per cent which was reported in the previous three months, the organisation pointed out.
However, the CBI claimed that manufacturing insurance holders could still face a long wait for growth to return to the sector.
The survey found that 38 per cent of firms reported a fall in export orders over the last three months, almost the same as the 39 per cent which experienced this in the previous survey.
Ian McCafferty, chief economic adviser at the CBI, commented: "These figures reinforce our view that the road out of recession will be long and slow.
"The further sharp decline in export orders is of particular concern as we are not seeing much of a boost from the relative weakness of sterling."
Last month, digital strategy consultancy Echo E-Business claimed that manufacturing insurance holders could attempt to sell their products directly, to combat retailers damaging their brand image by reducing prices.
