Factory output at a 10-year high
Manufacturing output continued its expansion in the second half of 2017 and was at its highest level for 10 years, official figures show.
In the three months to November, factory output increased by 1.4% on the previous three-month period ending August.
All but one out of the 13 subsectors posted increases including a 5.6% increase in other machinery and 2.1% in transport equipment. The subsector to show a decrease was textiles and clothing where output was down by 5.9%.
Factory output was up 3.9% on the same period a year ago.
The more volatile monthly figures show a 0.4% increase in manufacturing output in November compared with the previous month, while on the same month a year ago the increase was 3.5%.
The production industries (mining and utilities as well as manufacturing) saw output increase by 1.2% in the three-month period ending November compared with previous three-month period and by 3.3% on the same period a year ago.
In November, the monthly increases for production were 0.4% on previous month and 2.5% on the same month 2016.