Manufacturers more optimistic

The mood among Dutch manufacturers has improved in August. The producer confidence index was 4.9, as against 2.4 in July. The producer confidence index has shown an erratic pattern in the past few months. This is chiefly caused by manufacturers’ expectations about their future output.

Producer confidence consists of three component indicators: expected output in the next three months, producers’ opinions about their stocks of finished products and their opinions on their order books.

Manufacturers were optimistic in August with respect to their future output, whereas in July they were still pessimistic. Producer confidence improved as a result of this mood swing. Both opinions on order positions and opinions on the stocks of finished products deteriorated marginally in August relative to July, but the two indicators remained positive.

In August, the number of manufacturers reporting an increase in orders received virtually equalled those reporting a decline. The order position index (orders received expressed in months of work) diminished somewhat. With a score of 115.3, the index maintains a high level.

Producer confidence in manufacturing industry