UK commercial vehicle manufacturing output fell once more in November, leaving CV output down by 5.9% for the year to date.
The latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that UK commercial vehicle manufacturing output continued to fall in November, while car output continued to grow. Luckily for the economy, our car manufacturing output is more than ten times our CV output, but it’s a sad tale nonetheless:
- UK car manufacturing rose 4.9% in November and 9.2% over the year-to-date.
- CV output fell by 3.6% in the month and 5.9% over the first 11 months of 2012.
- UK engine production remained stable in November, down just 1.4% and 0.3% for the year-to-date
| SMMT | Cars | Commercial Vehicles | Total Vehicles | Total Engines | ||||
| Data. | Nov-12 | YTD-12 | Nov-12 | YTD-12 | Nov-12 | YTD-12 | Nov-12 | YTD-12 |
| Total | 142,825 | 1,363,129 | 10,974 | 105,188 | 153,799 | 1,468,317 | 223,853 | 2,345,167 |
| % change | 4.9% | 9.2% | -3.6% | -5.9% | 4.3% | 8.0% | -1.4% | -0.3% |
| Export | 121,303 | 1,127,045 | 5,631 | 60,183 | 126,934 | 1,187,228 | 132,473 | 1,457,275 |
| % change | 1.2% | 8.0% | -8.8% | -6.7% | 0.7% | 7.2% | -8.8% | -12.2% |
| % of total | 84.9% | 82.7% | 51.3% | 57.2% | 82.5% | 80.9% | 59.2% | 62.1% |
| Home | 21,522 | 236,084 | 5,343 | 45,005 | 26,865 | 281,089 | 91,380 | 887,892 |
| % change | 32.3% | 15.2% | 2.6% | -4.7% | 25.1% | 11.5% | 11.7% | 28.1% |
| % of total | 15.1% | 17.3% | 48.7% | 42.8% | 17.5% | 19.1% | 40.8% | 37.9% |
If the table above looks too complicated, these graphs are painfully simple — CV manufacturing has not recovered since the recession and continues to fall, while car manufacturing output continues to grow. These graphs highlight the problem for the UK’s CV manufacturing workforce:
SMMT graph showing UK Car and CV manufacturing for the six years to Nov 2012
With Ford’s Southampton factory set to close next year, there doesn’t seem to be much hope for a big increase in the UK’s CV output — but at least we should be thankful that our much larger car manufacturing industry seems to be holding its own against global competition.
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