I have some good news dear reader. Yes, that is right. It seems that despite all the hurdles our little island’s economy has had to jump through over the last few years from the Scottish independence vote through to Brexit and our biggest ally over the pond going almost completely potty, our manufacturing sector is experiencing a ‘once-in-a -generation’ surge.

That is the general consensus from everyone from major trade associations through to the pundits on Radio 4. We in the sign-making industry are of course a key manufacturing sector, all be it one hidden from the gaze—ironically enough—of the general UK public.

In the fourth quarter of 2017 manufacturing output rose by 1.3 percent, and if you exclude the data around the financial crisis, we are seeing the strongest growth since the late 1990s. Not only that, but this manufacturing-led push raised our fourth quarter GDP to 0.5 percent above estimates.

Now, this bump is actually being driven in one respect by Brexit, funnily enough. The drop in the Pound after the vote and its then gradual slide to its current level of stability has been good for export-led manufacturers.
Distinct from that though is that the world’s economy has finally found its groove again and there has been a concerted upswing for the first time since the aforementioned economic crisis.  This has also been led by a shift away from a mass pursuit of financial markets to drive growth and a turn back to investment in good old heavy industry.

The UK is a case in point, the bubble burst after 2008 and the belief that we could surf our way to perpetual success on the back of The City is now finally put to bed. It is of course very important, but the banks have had to separate their investment arms from their domestic operations, and that has somewhat soured the champagne party. Into the gap has finally been a realisation that strong economies cannot be built on confidence alone, they need to be built by men and women willing to get their hands dirty for a fair days wage.

ooo