Pharma biggest faller as manufacturing output dips

According to new official data, the Office for National Statistics' index of manufacturing fell by 0.7% in April compared with March, the largest contribution to the month on month fall coming from the manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products & preparations, which fell by 6 %. In contrast, output from the computer, electronic & optical products industries rose by 8.1%. Year on year, output fell by 0.3 per cent in April 2012 compared with April 2011with the largest fall being in the manufacture of food and drink. Car manufacturing, a big contributor to the transport equipment industries sector, helped to redress the balance by rising 8.8%. Mark Lee, head of manufacturing, Barclays believed the underlying cause to be Europe's continuing economic difficulties. "The harsh realities are hitting home. UK manufacturers are focusing on achieving greater cost efficiencies as orders from our biggest trading partner, Europe, remain flat at best," he said. At the manufacturers' organisation EEF, chief economist Lee Hopley said that after a flat start to the year, April's drop in output was disappointing, adding, "despite the fall coming on the back of a large uptick in March this still leaves production hovering around levels seen at the end of 2010." Hopley added: "Monthly volatility in the data isn't surprising given the continuing uncertainty in world markets and is likely to be feeding into lumpy and less predictable order flows. But, at a sector level we continue to see both strengths and weaknesses. Aerospace, mechanical equipment and electronics all showed strong growth on the month, but not enough to offset particularly sharp falls in sectors such as pharmaceuticals and food."