Support and clear guidance needed for Black Country business

Commenting on the latest quarterly economic survey for the region taking in the coronavirus lockdown, Corin Crane, chief executive of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, said the findings made worrying reading and were “unlike any we’ve seen before in the lifetime of running the QES”.

Manufacturing businesses in the Black Country have reported to working at just 22 per cent of their full capacity with 50 per cent expecting an increase or constant level of export orders and sales for the business over the coming months.

Just 28 per cent of them reported forecasting an increase in capital expenditure, 45 per cent an increase or constant cash flow and 33 per cent an increase in domestic orders.

Also 61 per cent attempted to recruit staff during this time with 33 per cent reporting difficulties with the process and a massive 83 per cent of respondents to the survey expected to see prices to increase over the coming three months.

Meanwhile nine per cent of service sector companies have reported working at full capacity in the last three months with 88 per cent of those questioned saying they expected to see price increases in the months ahead.

“Nobody could have predicted the economic shock that the pandemic would have on the local economy.

"These results present an economy which has been paused, at a time of high levels of employment and companies ready to invest their reserves. The true impact of the coronavirus is yet to be seen and businesses need to brace themselves for another period of uncertainty.

“These figures show that the road to recovery is a long one, there is no denying that the arrival of Covid-19 has led to a dramatic fall in domestic and international demand for local businesses, along with a drop in recruitment and levels of investment.

“This report has revealed that firms are facing greater cost pressures and this burden is likely to intensify as businesses attempt to become ‘Covid-19 secure’ in the coming weeks and months.

“What is clear is that businesses here in our region need support and clear guidance from the Government to get the economy back on its feet and to avoid a prolonged recession," said Mr Crane.

Meanwhile the British Chambers of Commerce has called for “swift, substantial and immediate action” to bolster the economy, as its National Quarterly Economic Survey – the UK’s largest independent survey of business sentiment and a leading indicator of UK GDP growth – found that UK economic conditions deteriorated at an unprecedented rate in the second quarter of 2020.