Good morning and welcome to this week’s Friday Brief.
Earlier this week the events industry, with the endorsement of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport issued new guidelines - the ‘All Secure Standard’ - to ensure that shows and exhibitions can go ahead in the coming months. UK manufactures will already have 25-28 January, the dates for MACH 2021, inked into their calendars – these guidelines will enable them to plan their attendance at the MACH in detail with certainty.
The updated version of the MTA BSI Standards booklet, which keeps you up to date with which relevant standards are under revision, is now available on our website, see the story below to find out more details.
Lloyds Bank invites you to join a live broadcast: Business as Unusual, taking place on Wednesday 29th July at 10:30am - 11:15am. The broadcast is designed to support the recovery phase of COVID-19. Throughout the live broadcast the panel will discuss the immediate and long term effects of the pandemic on the economy, as well as practical guidance for business on how to survive and thrive.
Over the last 3 years, members of the Surface Engineering Leadership Forum team have been involved in several trailblazer groups, to help put together apprenticeship standards for engineers employed within the surface coatings and surface engineering disciplines. More details within the Brief.
EURIS is issuing advice to members to allow for early planning for the undesired outcome of a no-deal Brexit. Much of the advice will still be useful, and some necessary, under most FTA scenarios too. We would advise all member companies to review our checklist and act on the recommendations set out below.
A variety of data published over the past few days point to the UK having passed the very worst of the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak with the low point in April but with only a marginal improvement in May. The monthly GDP data showed an improvement in May although the preferred measure of using rolling 3-month blocks was still worsening as February dropped out of the “current” period. This also showed that the manufacturing sector had a larger initial improvement than services although, in the case of the automotive industry, this was mainly because production of a few units was better than the “almost none” recorded in April. The CBI Industrial Trends Survey confirmed the general trends seen in the ONS data and also pointed to a less pessimistic outlook for investment over the coming 12 months, although the indicators remain very weak.
Outside the UK, the industrial production figures for Europe also point to the low-point having been in April but, despite a healthy growth rate being registered for May, the levels remain around 20% lower than a year earlier. Like the UK, the capital goods sector is the worst affected when looking back to a year earlier. The latest data from the USA also points to a falling market although by a little less than we are seeing in Europe; this may reflect the fact that there was less of a lockdown over the Atlantic, although as the number of cases is rising again, this may well lead to a longer downturn in the market.
That’s all for this week, we’ll be back next Friday with more industry news and views, until then have a great weekend from everyone at the MTA.
