The UK's manufacturing sector generated sales of £390.1bn in 2018.
Provisional figures from the Office for National Statistics, shows the sector, from food to petroleum, saw a rise of 2.5% on the £380.7bn of sales, for both domestic and export markets, generated in 2017.
Manufacturers’ product sales have showed a year-on-year increase for the period of 2008 to 2018, with the exception of 2015 when there was a decline of £4.4bn.
The largest value increase in sales in 2018 was reported in the manufacture of food products, where sales reached a record high of £71.8bn (2.6%).
Growth was seen in the majority of industries within the division, in particular, the manufacture of prepared feeds for farm animals, which increased by £413m (9.7%) and the processing and preserving of poultry meat, which increased by £388m (8.8%).
While the majority of divisions saw growth in sales between 2017 and 2018, five showed declining sales.
Sub-sector breakdown of UK manufacturing sales in 2018
The large drop in sales within the manufacture of other transport equipment, a fall of £1.8bn (6.4%), was attributed to the ending of contracts by manufacturers of air and spacecraft as well as global company restructures within the industry.
Diesel vehicles
The figures also showed that sales of mid-range diesel cars declined sharply last year.
Sales of these cars, either for home use or export, were £6.4bn in 2018, down a third on 2017’s figure of £9.7bn. The number of cars sold also fell by over a third.
Commenting on the figures, ONS statistician Jon Gough said: “Vehicle production as a whole was slightly down.
"However, our new figures show the extent to which the car industry is moving away from diesel vehicles, and instead placing a much greater emphasis and increased resources on hybridisation and electrification.”
The manufacturing sector in the UK employs directly around 2.6 million people and makes up around 11% of total UK gross value added.
