Supply Chain Research

The latest CBI survey of British managers shows the proportion with order books above normal jumped to 10% from minus 10% just a month earlier. That was the best result since December 2013. Meanwhile export order expectations reached their highest since 1995. That comes just ahead of the Brexit process being started. French managers by contrast became a little more pessimistic, with a net 5% seeing orders below normal vs. 3% a month earlier. That may be a result of the risk of a populist election result suppressing export capabilities, as well as a decline in exports in January.