Archived News Article
Strong pre-election performance by UK furniture manufacturers
Government’s latest manufacturing and export figures, summarised in its recently published ‘Turnover in UK production and Great Britain services industries (TOPSI) time series dataset’ show that first quarter furniture manufacturing output reached £2.86 billion.
This was despite a comparatively poor April, where turnover was £0.61 billion, about £45 million lower than the same month in 2016.
First quarter performance was the best for a number of years, exceeding the 2016 figure by £137 million and 2015 by £250 million. These figures confirm those published at the end of each year by the Furniture Industry Research Association in its comprehensive Annual Statistics Digest.
Export performance remained relatively static compared with the previous year, with the first quarter estimate being just under £200 million. Whilst this hints at an export performance lower than industry would like, the result should be taken in context as the figure is 16% higher than in 2015.
It is hoped that post-election performance will be equally strong, although some sectors are anticipating challenging times ahead.
Members of the Furniture Industry Research Association can view the most recent Statistics Digest here.
Non-members can purchase the digest at a cost of £1,000, or alternatively join the association to gain access to this and other resources.
