Behind the headline figure there were major movements in the make-up of the market. Fabrication, which had been in the ascendancy and represented 56% of the market in the previous quarter, had dropped by 27% and now represents 43% of the market. Machining on the other hand, which had dropped to 35% of the total, rose by 23.4% and currently represents 44% of the market. This appears to signal a reversal of the trend in the previous quarter of companies bringing more machining back in-house.
Other areas, including contract toolmaking, were up by 46% and now represent 13% of the total.
There was significant variation from month to month. July saw a high level of demand, which dropped off in August and started to recover in September.
Commenting on the figures, Qimtek owner Karl Wigart says: “These are interesting figures that show the overall market remaining healthy but vulnerable to shifts in demand and strategy. In general, the latest figures have followed a similar pattern to the CIPS Markit purchasing index.”
