A report by the BBC indicates UK manufacturing continued to grow strongly in October, making a “solid start” to the final quarter of the year.
The latest Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the sector was 56.0 last month, down slightly from September’s revised figure of 56.3 but still indicating robust growth.
A figure above 50 indicates expansion.
The sector was helped by a rapid rise in export orders, which grew at the fastest pace since February 2011.
Markit said manufacturing production and new orders grew strongly last month, leading to “further job creation”.
“Despite only accounting for less than 11% of the economy, the current strength of growth seen in manufacturing means the sector will still provide a major boost to the economy in October,” said Rob Dobson, senior economist at Markit.
“The survey suggests manufacturing output is growing at a quarterly rate of around 1%-1.5%.”
Last week, official figures showed that the UK economy grew by 0.8% in the three months to September, with the manufacturing sector growing by 0.9%.
