by G.A.Ponsonby 
Scotland’s Finance Minister John Swinney has welcomed CBI Scotland’s latest Scottish Industrial Trends Survey, which provides further evidence that the revival in the fortunes of the manufacturing sector is becoming more entrenched.
The SNP candidate for Perthshire North was commenting on a newly published report that revealed domestic orders outpaced exports for the first time in 12 months, and recorded their strongest performance for five years since April 2006.
Mr Swinney insisted a re-elected SNP Government would continue with policies to strengthen the economy and support manufacturing.
He said: “For the past nine months, employment has increased in Scotland month-on-month – the only nation in the UK where this has happened, and our employment rate is higher than the UK’s as a whole.
“The plans announced by the First Minister, and backed by energy industry leaders, to re-industrialise Scotland through the renewables revolution will provide enormous opportunities for Scottish manufacturing under a re-elected SNP Government.”
CBI Scotland said that whilst confidence over the general business situation remained “broadly flat” optimism over exports for the year ahead had improved.
There was also an increase in the number of firms expecting to authorise greater levels of investment in research and training over the next twelve months.
Iain McMillan, director of CBI Scotland, said: “This solid set of results suggests that the revival in Scottish manufacturing witnessed of late is becoming more entrenched, despite the recent spike in input costs.”
