Producer confidence unchanged high

Producer confidence in the manufacturing industry was 6.1 in April 2006. This means manufacturers are about just as optimistic as in March.

Producer confidence is the mood indicator for the 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.

Producers are more positive about their order books than in March, but slightly less satisfied about future production and stocks of finished product.

Furthermore the Business survey of April shows that manufacturers expect a stabilisation of employment in the second quarter of 2006. This means that in the opinion of manufacturers the decrease of employment in the manufacturing industry has come to a halt.

The utilisation of machines and installations in the Dutch manufacturing industry is 82.1 percent. This is about the same as the average percentage in 2005.

Nineteen percent of manufacturing companies are experiencing bottlenecks in the production process; just as in previous months these are mostly because of insufficient demand.

According to the manufacturers, their competitive position on the Dutch and European market has slightly improved. They expect more turnover from abroad.

The Business survey of April shows that the positive mood is broad-based among the manufacturers. All industries show a positive picture.

Producer confidence in manufacturing industry