Product of success

It never ceases to amaze me that instead of recognising manufacturing as one of the most successful business sectors in the UK, it is seen by many as in decline. Manufacturing is indeed the unsung triumph of the British economy, including as it does some leading global companies.

The facts speak for themselves — we are the world's sixth largest manufacturer and exports account for half of our manufacturing output.

Productivity in the manufacturing sector has grown by 50 per cent since 1997, more than twice as fast as the rest of the economy. This is a vital contribution to making our productivity growth the fastest in the G7 group of leading industrial nations.

My explanation for the lack of popular recognition of the success of manufacturing is first, that the sector has undergone a difficult period of restructuring in the face of intense global competition and this has stuck in the popular imagination.