UK commercial vehicle manufacturing declines by a third in November

UK commercial vehicle (CV) manufacturing fell -34.6 per cent in November, according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). A total of 6,312 vans, trucks, buses and coaches left production lines last month; the SMMT comments that declining business confidence and fluctuating buying cycles continued to affect production volumes.

Domestic demand fell -16.8 per cent in November, echoing recent declines in UK commercial vehicle registrations. Meanwhile, demand from overseas markets declined -40.7 per cent, however, the proportion of CVs built for export remains high at 67.5 per cent. Year-to-date production has also fallen, with output for UK and overseas markets down -24.4 per cent and -9.2 per cent respectively.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “November marks the ninth month of negative growth for UK CV production in 2017. Whilst fleet purchasing cycles have fluctuated, declining confidence among operators in the CV market is no doubt affecting production. To stimulate demand and safeguard the competitiveness of our industry, we need urgent clarity on transition arrangements and the nature of our long-term future relationship with Europe.”