Factory output slows at beginning of 2015

Manufacturing output appears to be faltering in the early months of 2015, official figures suggest.

In the first quarter of 2015, factory output was up by just 0.1% compared with the previous three-month period. That is unchanged on the rise in the three-month period ending February 2015, and down from 0.3% rise in the period ending January.

There was a 6.0% increase in output in chemicals and a 4.6% increase in textiles and clothing. However, there was a contraction in output of 6.6% in machinery and equipment not classified elsewhere and 5.5% in computers and electronic products.

In March, manufacturing output was up by 1.3% on the same three-month period a year ago — down from the 1.8% growth in February on a year earlier.

The more volatile monthly figures showed growth of 0.4% in March on the previous month.

The wider measure of industrial output (manufacturing, mining and utilities) saw a growth of just 0.1% in the first quarter of the year, but 0.6% growth on the same period a year earlier.

In the three months to March, production and manufacturing were 10.2% and 4.8% respectively below their figures reached in the pre-downturn GDP peak of the first quarter of 2008.

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_403298.pdf