2011 in numbers

Posted on 19 Dec 2011

Some headline manufacturing facts and figures for 2011 (year to end-October).    Source: EEF

 

1. Manufacturing accounts for 10% of the economy, has been about 25% of growth since recession

2. Eight consecutive quarters of growth

3. There are approximately 124,000 manufacturing companies in the UK

Mechanical equipment was a high growth sector (+8.4%) in 2011

4. Manufacturing accounts for about 10% of employment in the UK

5. EEF’s Businesss Trends survey shows that a balance of 12% of companies saw output expand in the last three months

6. In the last year productivity in manufacturing rose 4.9% compared with 1.4% in the economy as a whole

7. Mechanical equipment (8.4%) and motor vehicles (10.6%) were the best performing sectors in the year to Oct 2011

8. In the last decade productivity in manufacturing rose 45% compared with 14% in the economy as a whole

9. UK goods exports hit a record £26.5bn in October

10. Ratio of R&D to income in is around 4%, rising to 15% for pharma (1.6% for the whole economy)

11. EEF surveys show that the majority of manufacturers are adopting low-carbon initiatives

12. Manufacturing accounts for around 3/4 of business investment

13. Since 1990 manufacturing emissions have been reduced by 39%

14. There are currently around 2.5 million people employed in manufacturing

15. Manufacturing recycles nearly half its waste

16. Average weekly earnings are 15% higher in manufacturing than for the economy as a whole

17. Investment by manufacturers rose by nearly 16% in the last year

18. Manufacturers are bringing production back to the UK: 1 in 7 manufacturers that had shipped production offshore are bringing activity back

19. Over 90% of UK manufacturers are exporters

(keep checking this page this week for further ‘advent’ manufacturing facts)