UK Outlook for Laboratory Purchasing Improves

GAMBICA, the UK trade association for companies in Instrumentation, Control, Automation and Laboratory Technology, launched a purchasing trend survey for the UK laboratory supply industry in 2009. The Laboratory Purchasing Managers Index (LMPI) aims to plot the trends in laboratory purchasing across the industry and takes place on a quarterly basis. The LMPI survey is completed, on-line, by a targeted audience of laboratory purchasing managers and professionals. The results, on data collected over a 2 week period at the end of January/beginning of February 2010, showed the sectors purchasing intensions for Analytical and life science equipment, general laboratory equipment, chemicals consumables and servicing, over the next three months, covering 16 industry areas including education, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, contract laboratories, food and beverages, chemicals and coatings. The latest survey results (see table 1) showed that overall purchasing intensions had improved from the previous quarter for chemicals, consumables and equipment. Servicing and repairs was forecast to be fall slightly. Tim Collins the Director of the Laboratory Sector at GAMBICA commented “Although the sentiment in laboratory buyers showed an improvement across almost all sectors, some areas are still below the 50 mark, this indicates that buyers in these areas are still not that optimistic about future purchases.” He added “We would like to thank all those who took part and hope that we can continue to increase this number as time goes on as the survey is quick and easy to do, with those taking part getting the full results back. It can be completed completely anonymously but this time a bigger percentage of people taking part asked for the full results back”.

The full results are available to GAMBICA members and those who submit data and request the results. More information about GAMBICA is available at www.gambica.org.uk