Manufacturing and production increase
Manufacturing output increased by 0.8% in the three-month period ending February 2014 compared with the previous three-month period.
The main contributions to the increase came from rubber and plastic products (+6.2%) and chemicals (+3.9%) and “machinery and equipment not elsewhere classified” (+3.8%).
On the downside, output was down in pharmaceuticals (-4.4%), the car industry (-2.7%) and electrical equipment (-2.1%).
Factory output increased by 2.8% on the same three-month period a year ago, the Office for National Statistics figures showed.
The more volatile monthly figures showed a 1.0% increase in February on January and a 3.8% increase on February 2013.
Output of the production industries (manufacturing, mining and energy supply) increased by 0.8% in the three-month period ending February on the previous three-month period and was 2.5% higher than the same period a year ago.
On a monthly basis, the increases were 0.9% on the January 2014 and 2.7% on February 2013.