Key Statistics: 28 January 2014

Construction

• Begbies Traynor’s Q4 2013 Red Flag Alert, which monitors the financial health of UK businesses, presented a mixed picture for the construction industry. The number of construction firms facing ‘critical’ problems, the most serious category, fell by 5% compared to a year ago, while the number facing significant problems fell by 3%. However compared to the previous quarter critical distress levels were up by 10% and significant distress levels up by 3%. 
• Government figures show that 129,842 Green Deal Assessments were made during 2013, resulting in 1612 Green Deal Plans, equivalent to a conversion rate of just 1.2%. The impact of the ECO scheme has been more positive, with 394,370 individual households having measures installed through the scheme in the first 11 months of 2013.

Economy

• Manufacturing orders during the three months to January grew at the strongest rate since April 2011, according to the CBI Industrial Trends Survey. Manufacturers’ investment intentions for buildings rose to the highest level since January 2011. 
• UK car production reached its highest level since 2007 in 2013, with the 1.510 million cars produced 3.1% higher than the number produced in 2012. The annual figures also show a decreasing reliance on the Eurozone as an export market, with China, Russia and the USA each accounting for around 10% of exports.