It draws together data on UK production to 2005, exports and imports for these products and also has details of UK foreign trade by product type and the leading trading partners. For machine tools, there is also a summary of the UK’s position in the world market and, more generally a chart which summarises the trends for investment by manufacturing industry in the UK.

The trends in the machine tool business are reported in our regular series of press releases, but it is worth noting that whilst exports of machine tools increased for the 4th consecutive year and the share of world exports was broadly unchanged, there was a return to a trade deficit during 2006 owing to an increase in imports as a result of the improved UK market.

For the other aspects of manufacturing technology covered in Basic Facts 2007, cutting tools, like the machines they are used on, have a small trade deficit, while the tool/work-holding sector has a trade surplus.

Copies of Basic Facts are available on request, free of charge, from the MTA (phone 020 7298 6400; fax 020 7298 6430 or email info@mta.org.uk). A pdf version of Basic Facts can be downloaded from the MTA website at http://www.mta.org.uk/02_01_facts.php.