The lastest Index of Production figures show fashion and texiles manufacturing enjoyed a stellar April with production improving 4.7% over the month. This is in line with wider UK manufacturing that saw an increase of 2.4%.
Despite this rise, productivity still remains down on the start of the year and currently stands at 89.2 in comparison against the 100 average in 2012. Wider manufacturing has remained above the 2012 level at a stable rate.
However, with employment, export and turnover levels both in very positive territory for the fashion and textiles sector in the past year, it could be that a lot of these changes are yet to filter into these figures so could mean an optimistic production outlook going forward.
Figure 1: Index of Production (Chained volume measure seasonally adjusted. 2012 = 100)
Source: Office for National Statistics
