North West region leads UK manufacturing

Latest results from the UK Office of National Statistics show the North West region stands proud as the powerhouse of British manufacturing.

Latest results from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show the North West region stands proud as the powerhouse of British manufacturing.

Not only has it more manufacturing employees than any other region - 414,000 or almost 14% of the total across the country - but the North West has also been successfully flattening out the decline in manufacturing jobs over recent years.

The North West leads the rest of the country for manufacturing jobs by a sizeable margin, with the West Midlands in second place with 365,000 manufacturing employees and the South East coming third with 334,000.

The ONS figures reveal that in the year to September 2005 the North West lost 1.9% of its manufacturing jobs - around half the national average percentage decline - compared with 3.9% lost in the region during the previous 12 months.

Recent data from the ONS Annual Business Inquiry show that the North West manufacturing sector also leads the country in terms of both turnover (GBP 59 billion per year) and net capital expenditure and takes second place to the South East by a small margin for gross value added (GVA) at basic prices, which is a proxy for profitability.

The trend of declining manufacturing employment contrasts sharply with a rising productivity curve in the North West.

GVA per manufacturing workforce job (an important measure of productivity) rose by GBP 6400 or 18.7% between 1996 and 2002.

The same DTI/ONS data shows that the average manufacturing worker generates GBP 40,600 GVA - around 60% higher than the average service sector worker at GBP 25,800.

"This is encouraging news for the region", commented Julie Madigan, Chief Executive of The Manufacturing Institute, which delivers the DTI's Manufacturing Advisory Service in the North West (MAS NW).

"North West manufacturers are showing they can meet the challenges of low cost foreign competition head on by developing a skilled workforce, exploiting innovation and transforming their manufacturing processes".

"The figures reflect the tremendous work they have put in to improving their productivity and levels of customer service through lean manufacturing techniques".

Since 2002, MAS NW has helped North West manufacturers to make almost GBP 173 million worth of productivity and skills improvements through its advisory team of practitioners and partners.

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