Half of purchasing managers expect budgets to fall further
Friday July 03 2009
Over half of Ireland's purchasing managers expect their budget to fall further over the next six months, according to a study by the Irish Institute of Purchasing and Materials Managers (IIPMM).
A survey by the IIPMM found that 53pc of purchasing managers believe their purchasing budget is likely to decrease over the next six months. Just 13pc forecast an increase.
A similar proportion -- 53pc - reported a fall in orders in the first half of the year and 29pc expected a decline in purchasing to continue in the second half. Just 22pc expect the volume of purchasing to increase over the next six months.
Encouraging
"There are few indicators of an early recovery in these figures but the encouraging signs are that the rate of decline in purchasing seems to be slowing and Irish companies are becoming more competitive," IIPMM president Jane O'Keeffe said.
The IIPMM represents organisations with revenues of over €147bn.
For 2010, 34pc believe the level of purchasing will increase, although one in five forecast a continuing decline. Ms O'Keeffe said one of the few benefits of the downturn seems to be that Irish industry is becoming more competitive, and 78pc of respondents said Irish suppliers had become more competitive over the last 12 months.
However, 57pc had seen suppliers forced out of business.
Over half (50.4pc) do not anticipate a recovery here until 2011 at the earliest.
Some 63pc of respondents said they were less confident about business as a result of the supplementary budget. And 70pc said a second Lisbon Treaty defeat would lead to Irish job losses.
- Pat Boyle
