Manufacturers report product sales boost for fifth year

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UK manufacturers reported a fifth consecutive year of growth in the value of product sales in 2014, continuing the recovery seen since 2009.

In 2014 the value of UK manufacturers' product sales was £362.3 billion, a 2.2% increase on the 2013 estimate of £354.5bn, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

UK manufacturers' product sales were 20.8% higher in 2014 than in 2009. The manufacture of food products industry contributed most to UK manufacturers' product sales in 2014, at £66.8bn, said the ONS, while the manufacture of machinery and equipment not elsewhere classified contributed the most to growth since 2013, at 22.9%.

Motor vehicles with a medium or large petrol engine had the largest value of product sales in 2014, at £12.8bn.

In 2012, the most recent year with comparable European Union (EU) data, five EU countries, including the UK, accounted for 69.7% of the share of total value of EU manufacturers' product sales.

The top 10 products manufactured in the UK include petrol and diesel motor vehicles, parts for civil aircraft and the manufacture, installation and repair of military aircraft.