LEAN engineering practice is seeing Scottish manufacturing companies through tough times, according to industry support group Scottish Engineering.
In its quarterly review, orders are up marginally and outputs have recovered in the three months to June, although the good news does not apply equally to all sectors.
Order intake was up 4 per cent, compared to 8 per cent in the previous quart
er and 30 in the same quarter last year. Outputs were up 13 per cent, recovering from zero growth in the first quarter of 2008. Exports however, were down 3 per cent, likely reflecting the chill in US demand for imports.
Staffing was up 3 per cent compared to 38 per cent in the same quarter last year.
The positive growth is being driven mainly by the electronics sector, while fabricators, mechanical equipment and metal manufacturers report dropping order levels.
Dr Peter Hughes, chief executive of Scottish Engineering, said: "One area which is concerning our industry, as well as most other businesses, is the cost of energy and fuel. While we have seen factory gate prices increase in the last quarter, this has not led to an increase in profit margins.
"As in the past, the Scottish electronics sector continues to provide much-needed work throughout the engineering manufacturing industry."
Dr Hughes claimed that, despite the difficulties being predicted by commentators for the next 12 months, the engineering manufacturing sector in Scotland will be sustained by the improvements achieved through increased efficiency.
The full article contains 248 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
