THE value of orders-on-hand at Hong Kong's textile manufacturers fell 16 per cent in December compared with the previous year, according to the Census and Statistics Department.
Releasing its monthly survey, the department said manufacturers generally saw 4 per cent year-on-year growth in the value of orders-on-hand in the last month of 1995.
The December figures were little changed from November 1995, it said, adding they closely followed the department's business prospects survey announcement.
The survey said manufacturers in the industry expected to see a decrease in orders by volume for the first half of 1996 while overall they expected a slight increase in orders and a squeezing in margins.
The department's monthly survey of orders-on-hand covers a sample of 300 manufacturing firms engaging 50 or more workers.
A spokesman said caution should be exercised in interpreting the orders-on-hand figures in a single month. Instead, the trend as displayed over a wider span of time should be looked at.
Manufacturers' orders-on-hand refers to orders and parts of orders received earlier by them for domestic production which were undelivered by the end of the reference month.
