The latest figures on Scottish clothing, textiles and leather production paint a picture of production rebounding during 2015 following difficult 2012 and 2014. Whilst the final quarter of 2015 saw production fall 1.2% on the previous quarter, this is a traditional pattern and far less severe than the falls recorded in 2012 and 2014.
Indeed, the index is 4% higher than at the same point in 2014.and production output growing by 9% in the final three quarters of 2015.
Figure 1: Scotland Index of Production (Chained Volume Measure 2012=100)
Source: Scottish Government
On the export front, manufacturers saw a good q4 in a period that had seen declines in the corresponding quarters in 2012 and 2013 and 2% higher than a year ago and 3% higher than in 2012.
Figure 2: Scottish textiles, clothing and leather exports (Chained Volume Measure in constant prices. 2012 = 100) Source: Scottish Government