The economy on the up?

[richandgem]

I'm a toolmaker by trade (mould tools not spanners etc) and over the last 2 weeks things have gone mental. We went from having enough work to keep us ticking over and on a normal wage to having so much we are sending work out. I'm currently working around 50-60 hours a week, we just cant get the stuff done fast enough.

Is this a sign that things are back on the up or just a blip I wonder? Any other members in manufacturing? If so has there been any change for you recently?

 

[Adrian]

Its same for us Rich. A few weeks ago week had to have unpaid time off as we had so little work (aerospace machining). After laying off nearly 100 people over the past 18 months, this month has gone mad. Loads of work to do, unlimited overtime and talk of looking to recruit more people again. From no work to loads of work in around 3 weeks is crazy. I expect demand to drop a little over xmas though.

 

[Adrian]

Oh, and we get a 2.5% pay rise on Oct 1st, not had one for over 2 years

 

[stevoclio]

We do manufacturing of control panels for the Heating, Vent & A/C industry and we are ticking over nicely at the moment.

Plenty of work to tender, but turning that into an order in the book is another story.

Here's hoping things are on the up...

 

[Roy]

think its a little early to say yet
but hopefully we have turned the corner

 

[Graeme GTR]

werent they expecting it to take 3 years to get out of this hole were in.

 

[Ed...]

i dont know. contractors i work for are really struggeling atm (building trade sucks)

 

[Arran]

Our company has just toupee (i think that is how it's spelt) quite a few people who I used to work with over to N-Power because we didn't retender for the contract. The company has been getting less and less work and it doesn't seem to be changing much. I know someone who is also a tool maker and he recently said that it had really picked up.

I should be alright because I work over the service and maintenance side of the company, servicing gas appliances for a housing association, so there should always be work for me.

 

[Roy]

i dont know. contractors i work for are really struggeling atm (building trade sucks)

i think it will get worse in the building trade b4 it gets better
woody.glad i got out the trade years ago

 

[jaxx]

Never really bothered me as it is as ive had a steady contract for the last 2 years that has kept me out the way, but recently ive had calls from all over the country 2/3 a week somedays

So things are on the up, which means i can start charging more

 

[Graeme GTR]

just been offered a job with Connaught, think might be looking up.

 

[Mike]

I work for UPS, and we have never experienced a recession as such - I still have plenty on my route to do, sometimes too much.

But your industry is a good indicator of the economy i suppose, so maybe things are looking good.

Hope it's not a double dip recession though

 

[Ed...]

they said it could be a double dip when house prices fell again last month.

 

[Arran]

just been offered a job with Connaught, think might be looking up.

You are joking I guess? They've gone bust right?

 

[Matt197]

Economy might be picking up but jobs certainty are not.

I know we are always slower to recover than the rest of the UK but I have been to 6 job interviews in the last 2 years, that's how little jobs are down here.

 

[StevoR27]

This is my opinion and I never read newspapers except the Economist and This Is Money.

The real depression hasn't even started yet. The banking collapse and economic downturn was propped up by £200 billon worth of cash injection/asset sales from the treasury under Alistair Darling.

Now this is all being dialled back under George Osbourne. The public sector is gonna be slashed so civil servants and any government building, IT and infrastructure projects will be killed off and subsequently affect growth and employment in the wider economy. The real economic squeeze is gonna happen over the next 5-10 years.

Britain, France and Germany will survive with low growth but some EU members are gonna fall into real depression at the mercy of emerging economies.

In the UK people working in sectors of growth such as banking, technology, services and some manufacturing will be ok, in fact some will be even better off. Other sectors in manufacturing are going to fall into a long line of depression and unemployment.

Government statistics for unemployement in the UK are lies. IMO we are on the verge of MASS unemployment, especially in the younger, inexperienced generation. Graduates have never had it so bad, I feel sorry for many people.

The world is changing, our call centres have disappeared to India and our manufacturing has disappeared to China.

British people will survive because we are clever, hard working and innovative BUT in the UK the devide between wealthy and poor is going to grow and David Cameron will not help people who have not helped themselves professionally and finacially.

I work as an Internet Design Consultant and luckily this industry is huge and lacking experience. I really feel for people who are struggling

Thanks for reading

 

[richandgem]

The one thing we have noticed recently is the price of stuff in china. We have quoted cheaper prices than china on a couple of occasions now and we have just secured an order because it was cheaper. Like all booming economies china will get more and more expensive. As labour becomes more skilled they demand more money.

The one thing that has really affected china is the increase in metal prices. On a percentage basis the doubling of steel prices hit us but no way near as hard as them. I am very confident that manufacturing will return to the UK, but we will have no one kept to do it. which is why I've stopped in the trade.

Countries like Germany have just out engineered the chines making them competitive, we (the British) just rolled over and set all our manufacturing over there which is sad really. In my previous job we were successful in getting work from the chinese by manufacturing products better than them.

Hopefully it's not a double dip though, I've just done a 61 hour week and much prefer this to doin a short, 30 hour one

 

[StevoR27]

Some good points there Rich

 

[jaxx]

Ive got agree with manufacturing increasing. Where i work its been steady for the last 18 months, even to the point where people are hanging around staring into space with nothing to do!

However its recently been announced that the workload has increased 300% for the next 6 months! To which most people laughed at a proclaimed we dont have the man power (which we dont) and its set to increase dramatically into next year... and when the new Boeing airliner gets into full swing of which there are well over 800 orders for(!)... it will increase even more....

I dont see that as bad for UK Manf. to be honest

 

[Ed...]

manufaturing boom because of week pound i heard. cheaper to build in britain now.