Manufacturing output up

Manufacturing output in the

picked up in the last three months, ending 18 months of weakness. But the upturn is fragile and not uniform across the

, according to the latest

/

Regional Trends Survey published this week.

Most regions saw a rise in output over the past three months, signalling a tentative improvement after the downturn that has beset the sector for the past two years. In the North West and Scotland output growth was strong and several other regions saw moderate expansion. But Yorkshire & the Humber experienced stagnation and in two regions, the East Midlands and Northern Ireland, production continued to decline.

The improvement in output in the past three months followed a mild pick-up in new orders earlier in the year. This was boosted by growth in export orders in the past quarter. But new orders at the UK level were unchanged over the past three months, highlighting the fragility of the recent recovery in output, which was also less than had been expected. This was partly due to the sharp decline in new orders in the South West, which stands in contrast to the improvement seen in many regions, notably Wales, Scotland and the North West.