Manufacturing order books were close to a 30 year high in the three months to December, according to the latest monthly CBI Industrial Trends Survey.
In the survey of 371 manufacturers, strong overall order books were driven by Motor Vehicles and Transport Equipment, and Mechanical Engineering sectors, although the strength was broad-based with 14 out of 17 sub-sectors reporting that order books were above normal. Export order books weakened slightly compared with November's record levels, but remained strong.