Manufacturers more confident

Producer confidence in manufacturing industry improved further and was at 4.3 in October. This is 3.0 points higher than in September. October is the third month in a row that confidence has shown a considerable improvement. Producer confidence has not been this high since January 2001.

Producer confidence is the mood indicator for the Dutch manufacturing industry. The figure consists of three component indicators: expected production over the next three months, manufacturers’ opinions on the stock of finished products and the order position.

Dutch manufacturing companies are particularly positive about production in the last quarter of this year in October. This is especially the case for manufacturers of consumer goods. Dutch manufacturers are slightly more positive in October about their order position. Manufacturers’ opinions on stocks of finished product slightly improved.

The increase in producer confidence has not led to plans to increase the workforce.  On the contrary, 15 percent of manufacturing companies expect to have to cut back staff in the coming months, while only 7 percent expect to increase employment. These percentages have been fairly steady for the last one and a half years.

Producer confidence in manufacturing industry