Most of the positive trends strengthened as the year went on, leading Martin Walder, EAMA chairman to conclude that the outlook for the year ahead is probably better than at any time in the last five years or six years.

“The difficulties the pundits had predicting how the economy would perform last year make me cautious about forecasting sector business for the year as a whole.  However, I am bullish about the first quarter.  Enquiry levels held up well towards the end of the year with the November gainers’ returns accurately reflecting the monthly average for the year (38% for UK and 28% for export enquiries) and sector confidence levels are very positive.

“Of course a good set of figures for past performance is no guarantee of future output. While the enquiry and job numbers look good, the order and investment returns over the year may not be quite so impressive, but they are so much better than 2012’s.