UK commercial vehicle production rose by 32.8% to 6,808 units in May, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The figures represent a big step up from last May’s production of 5,127 units vehicles, but the overall rate of growth was lower in May than in April, when UK CV production rose by 36.8%. There was no mistaking the cause of this reduction, either — the rate of demand growth from domestic buyers fell from 21.5% in April to just 5% in May.

It’s worth keeping this in perspective, though. So far this year, UK CV production is almost 25% higher than it was during the first five months of last year. That’s not bad news, especially as export demand is surging higher and rose by a whopping 69.4% last month, which is good news for the UK economy:

Data courtesy of SMMT (www.smmt.co.uk)

Commenting on the figures, Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said:

“May’s strong figures consolidate the UK commercial vehicle manufacturing sector’s return to form, following a more subdued period over the past couple of years when changes to type approval legislation disrupted fleet renewal patterns. Continued demand for high quality British engineering, growing business confidence and regulatory stability have helped to fuel steady growth for both the domestic and export markets.”

We’ll have to wait a few more months to see whether this months slowdown in growth is simply a glitch or the start of a new trend. Logically, the rate of growth might well be slowing down — trees don’t grow to the sky, after all.