Exporting Confidence at record high but more support needed to reach £1tr target, says BCC/DHL report
14 February 2014
A record 72% of exporters expect their turnover to increase this quarter, according to new research issued by The British Chambers of Commerce and DHL Express.
The BCC/DHL Trade Confidence Index, which measures UK exporting activity and business confidence, shows that confidence is strongest among exporting manufacturers, with 69% believing that their turnover is likely to improve, compared with 66% last quarter.
However, the index says that the volume of exports for goods fell by 3.1% in 2013 Q4.
Director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), John Longworth, says: “Businesses are more confident, but if we are to reach the government’s target of increasing exports to £1tr by 2020, more must be done to help firms break into fast-growing markets abroad.”
The key findings from the report are:
- Confidence among exporters about future turnover is at its highest level since 2007 (72%), with 69% of manufacturers expecting turnover to increase.
- More than one third of exporting firms (34%) say that they expect to increase staff during the next quarter
- Although the volume of exports in goods fell overall compared with the previous quarter, they increased for nearly half of service sector firms (47%) and for 42% of manufacturing firms in Q4 2013
- Nearly half of exporters (46%) say their export sales increased in Q4 2013, compared to only 7% who say that they fell.
- More than half of exporters (62%) believe that their profitability will increase this year.
- The number of exporting businesses claiming that raw material costs were adding to price pressures rose from 34% to 38% in Q4 2013.
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