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Value of manufacturers' orders-on-hand in November 1994
The value of manufacturers' orders-on-hand for local production in November 1994 increased by 13% over a year earlier, according to the provisional results of a monthly survey released today (Friday) by the Census and Statistics Department.
Comparing November 1994 with November 1993, significant increases in the value of outstanding orders were recorded in the textiles industry (+43%), plastic products industry (+26%), electronic products Industry (+25%) and fabricated metal products industry (+17%).
On the other hand, decreases in orders were registered in the printing and publishing industry (-21%), wearing apparel industry (-9%) and electrical products industry (-3%).
Compared with October 1994, and bearing in mind that this comparison may be affected by seasonal factors, the value of manufacturers' orders-on-hand in November 1994 increased by 3%. The monthly Survey of Orders-on-hand covers a sample of some 300 manufacturing firms engaging 50 or more workers.
Manufacturers' orders-on-hand refer to orders and parts of orders received earlier by manufacturers for local production which remain unfilled as at the end of the reference month. Orders received by traders not engaged in production are included if such orders are further placed to manufacturers for production locally.
However, orders placed to manufacturing firms for production in China and other places outside Hong Kong are not included in this series of orders-on-hand statistics.
Beginning from January last year, a new scries of statistics on manufacturers' orders-on-hand in value terms compiled in the form of an index is produced, to replace the old series which was expressed in terms of number of months to complete the outstanding orders.
The new statistical series provides a more direct measure of the overall value of orders in the local manufacturing sector that lead to the generation of local manufacturing output.
A spokesman for the department pointed out that caution should be exercised in interpreting the manufacturers' orders-on-hand figures in a single month.
Instead, the trend movement of the series as displayed over a wider span of time points should be looked at.