Northern England leads the way

Northern England led a pick-up in new orders and output in UK manufacturing in the three months to January according to the latest Regional Trends Survey.

According to the survey, which was published today by CBI and Experian, the rise at a UK level in new manufacturing orders over the past three months was the strongest since the spring of 2004. Two regions, the North East and the North West, stand out as posting the sharpest gains among all regions, and in the case of the North West the upturn was the steepest since 1995. Expectations of new orders for the next three months are very positive in the North East, driven by an extremely buoyant export order outlook.

It was a similar pattern for factory output. The UK rise - the most marked since 1995 - was led by the North West, with the North East also faring well. Another northern region, Yorkshire & the Humber, also recorded a pick-up in output well above the national average.