Output Increase Of 2.7%

There were increases in production output of 3.8% in manufacturing, 8.5% in water and waste management and 0.2% in mining and quarrying which contributed to the increase of 2.7% in total production output over the year between February 2013 and February 2014. Only electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning reported a decrease of 8.8% due it was thought to this year's warmer February.

The main manufacturing sectors that added to the increase over the year were rubber and plastic products, transport equipment and machinery.

Total production over the month between January and February 2014 increased by 0.9% mainly due to increases in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, transport equipment and food, drink and tobacco.

Manufacturing Leads Growth In Production

Manufacturing made by far the biggest contribution to the overall production output increase of 0.5% with growth of 0.7% between Q3 and Q4 2013 according to data from the ONS.

The annual comparison shows that production output was 1.8% higher in December 2013 than in December 2012. When this is broken down into industry sectors manufacturing rose by 1.5%, mining and quarrying by 2.6% and water services by 7.9%. These rises were offset by a fall of 3% in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning.

Between November 2013 and December 2013 production rose by 0.4% and manufacturing by 0.3%. The manufacture of basic pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical preparations, coke and refined petroleum products and the manufacture of food products, beverages and tobacco were mainly responsible for the rise.

The figures are seasonally adjusted.

UK Trade Deficit £3.6bn

The trade deficit in goods and services grew to £3.6bn in February from £2.5bn in January. There was a deficit of £9.4bn on goods and a surplus of £5.8bn on services.

The value of exports fell by 1.1% over the month between January and February 2013 and the value of imports increased by 1.7% over the same period. Exports to non-EU countries fell by 4.7%. Exports to the US which makes up part of that decrease fell by £329m.

The figures reflect a fall in non-ferrous metals exports and a fall in the export of pharmaceuticals and a rise in the import of pharmaceuticals and an increase in the import of motor vehicles. Export prices rose by 1.8% and import prices rose by 1.6%.

Fall In UK Production In November

The annual index of production published by the ONS fell by 3.1% in November 2011. Manufacturing fell by 0.6%. The monthly index of production fell 0.6% between October and November, manufacturing falling by 0.2%.

The fall in the index was also mainly due to falls in mining and quarrying (14.2%) and energy (8.6%) as well as the fall in manufacturing. Oil and gas was the main contributor in the big decrease within mining and quarrying with a 16.7% decrease which contributed 14% of the 14.2% fall. The biggest contributor to the fall within manufacturing was in the basic pharmaceuticals and preparations industries with a 12.7% fall.

Business Research And Development

Total research and development expenditure in cash terms in business in 2009 totalled £15.6bn, that is a fall of 2.5% on 2008. The ONS sub-divides business R & D into civil and defence spending. Civil R & D expenditure decreased by 1.4% to £13.7bn and defence expenditure decreased by 10.2% to £1.9bn. In real terms total expenditure decreased by 4.1% to £15.6bn within which civil expenditure decreased by 3% to £13.7bn.

The product group with the highest R & D performance was pharmaceuticals at £4.4bn or 28.4% of all spending. Other significant product groups included aerospace (£1.5bn), computers (£1.5bn), motor vehicles and parts (£1.1bn) and telecommunications (£1.1bn). The region with the highest performance in terms of expenditure was the East of England (24.9%), the South East (23%) and the North West (13.1%) and the lowest in England was the North East (2%) and in the UK N. Ireland (1.9%). In terms of employment, the South East was highest employing the most people in R & D with 35,000, the East of England employed 30,000. The North East, Wales and N. Ireland employed the least at 4,000 each.

Pricen Rises For Producers In October

Output prices for home sales of manufactured goods rose 4% in the year to October and 0.6% over the month. Input prices for materials and fuels for manufacturing rose by 8% in the year to October and 2.1% over the month.

On the output side, petroleum products increased by 10.6% and chemicals and pharmaceuticals by 6% over the year while clothing, textiles and leather increased by only 1.4%. Within the inputs imported metals increased by 20.5% and crude oil increased by 16.2%. Fuel fell by 4.8% over the year to October.