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.

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_358941.pdf