The decline in global economic demand seems to be catching up to the UK economy. On 9 September the Office for National Statistics reported ‘total production output’ increased 0.8%; the best performance was from ‘mining and quarrying’ at 6.7% whereas manufacturing declined 0.8%; a 0.5% year over year; machinery and equipment declined 15.9% Overall, industrial output declined 0.4% in July. The report specified a decrease in basic metals, metal products and ‘transport equipment’. Q2 compared to Q1 numbers were surprising, with production and manufacturing declining 9.3% and 5.2% respectively.
ONS chief economist Joe Grice stated, “…The biggest single factor in the fall in manufacturing output was motor vehicle production, with the summer shutdowns appearing to start earlier than usual, along with anecdotal evidence showing a slowdown in exports. There has also been a fallback in the manufacture of weapons, following a big rise in June …” Mr. Grice was spot on as exports did indeed decline.
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