State of the Trade Survey

Each quarter, we survey our members to gauge the State of the Trade, using several measures including general perceptions, confirmed workloads, employment levels, and manufacturing capacity.

You can submit your survey responses now and review the previous quarter below.

Q1 2023 Results

The first survey found a general mood of optimism about the future – with workloads above capacity, and order books providing a reasonable level of work for 4-6 months for the majority, and in many cases for 6+ months. The general trend has been an increase in numbers employed, the total value of orders, and the level of activity for businesses.

However, most businesses said, despite rising costs, the average value of contracts remained the same, leading to some caution and an overall market confidence rating of 6.9 of out 10.

What has been the trend over the past three months?

What do you anticipate over the next three months?

About employees and contributors

Survey schedule

State of Trade is an ongoing survey, with the responses collected and analysed every quarter.