ONS data shows manufacturing output on the up
1 min read
UK manufacturing continued to "punch above its weight" as new official figures showed total manufacturing output had increased by a small but positive 0.2% in March compared with the previous month and by 2.7% compared to the same month a year ago.
Between February and March, output increased in seven of the industry's 13 sub-sectors and fell in six. The largest contributions to the increase were the so-called 'other' manufacturing industries which increased by 4.4%, the paper, printing and publishing industries which increased by 1.4% and the food, drink and tobacco industries which increased by 1%. The largest negative contribution to overall output was a decrease of 1.4% in the electrical and optical equipment industries.
Year-on-year, the transport equipment industries (up by 9.6%), the food, drink and tobacco industries (up 5.3%) and the machinery and equipment industries (up 7.7%) have been the best performers.
Commenting on the fresh data, EEF chief economist Lee Hopley, said manufacturing continued to enjoy solid growth with the recovery showing no signs of running out of steam.
She went on: "The sector continues to punch above its weight in driving economic growth across the economy with prospects looking reasonably firm in the short-term. However, companies still face significant challenges with high, volatile input prices and on-going turbulence in European markets unlikely to subside in the short term."
According to EEF analysis of official data, manufacturing contributed 30% of the UK's overall economic growth in 2010 and 20% of overall economic growth in the first quarter of 2011.
Mark Lee, head of manufacturing, Barclays Corporate gave a cautious verdict on the data.
Lee said: "With UK exports to non-EU countries languishing, British manufacturing is now at risk of backsliding on the real gains the industry has made over the last 18 months. It has never been more important for trade bodies, banks, businesses and Government to push for far more UK products to be sold in the developing world. This has to be an absolute priority for the recovery to remain on track."
He added: "Investment levels in the sector remain below where we would expect them to be at this stage in the recovery and manufacturers remain cautious in the face of, in some cases, crippling input prices. However, we are seeing many good news stories emerging in the areas we do well as a nation, such as food and drink production and defence."
