Britain’s manufacturing industry suffered a blow today after figures revealed a sharp decline in output over the past year.
From November 2008 to the same month in 2009 UK production fell by six per cent and manufacturing by 5.4 per, according to figures released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Commenting on the figures, Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, told the Times Online the manufacturing sector is "struggling" to develop a decent recovery following the recession.
"Serious doubts remain about the strength of demand for manufactured goods over the medium term, particularly once stimulative measures start being withdrawn," he told the news site.
Towards the end of the year there was a slight upturn in the market however.
In the month from October to November overall industrial production, including the extraction of oil and minerals was up 0.4 per cent, with oil and gas extraction alone rising by a sharp 7.2 per cent.
Despite the gloomy figures for heavy industry, some sectors remain hopeful.
Fenner Plc, the world’s largest conveyor-belt maker, told Bloomberg News trading remained "encouraging" and the company predicted "attractive" growth in earnings as industries recover.
Conveyors – screw conveyors – chain conveyors – belt conveyors