T he dealers' trade association LAPADA has just published the results of a survey carried out among its members, and – praise be – their mood seems generally positive and upbeat.

Almost a quarter of its members were asked to take part, and 29 per cent of those who responded expected their turnover to be higher this year.

You might not think this is wildly optimistic, but a survey of an almost identical cross-section last year showed only 15 per cent expecting trade to look up.

There's a similarly negative kind of positive to be taken from the number who predict their turnover to fall. It's 23 per cent, and the thought of one in four feeling gloomy about the year ahead hardly seems good news – until you consider that this time last year the figure was 57 per cent.

Looking back over 2009, almost half the members said business was worse than in 2008, though for 22 per cent it had taken a turn for the better.

And there's an intriguing mixed message emerging about LAPADA members' experience of fairs, which almost by definition, in their case, implies events towards the top end of the market.

Fewer of them are standing at fairs – 60 per cent, against 67 per cent in the previous survey – and only three per cent are trading through fairs alone, a substantial drop from eight per cent in the 2009 poll.

But set against this, 27.5 per cent of them reported that their takings from fairs had improved, against 18 per cent in the last survey.

The number operating from a shop or gallery remained static at around 60 per cent.

Internet sales have risen to 11.5 per cent from eight per cent last year, and a fact that has remained almost unchanged is that just under seven out of 10 dealers have used the internet as a selling tool.

Though dealers obviously look to auctions for stock, just three per cent offloaded goods through the salerooms last year, almost unchanged from 2008.

The United States remains the most important overseas market for 64 per cent of respondents.

That's down five per cent from last year, but it still seems an extraordinary statistic, given that most dealers we talk to can't remember when an American trade visitor last crossed their threshold.

More understandably, Europe has seen a rise in importance for 27 of those polled, a good deal better than last year's 18 per cent.

Readers taking an objective view, with no vested interest in the wellbeing of the antiques trade, might think the kind of statistics quoted above tell of a largely static market at best.

But you can't accuse LAPADA, other trade organisations and fair organisers of not trying, with a number of high-profile events lined up for this year, all set against the ongoing Antiques are Green initiative.

There are also apparently some fresh ideas floating around for this year's National Antiques Week in November – and in truth, there needs to be, as last year's week largely failed to capture the imagination of dealers in this part of the world, let alone the public.