West Midlands exports continue to grow faster than rest of UK – now worth £28.3bn
THE latest HMRC export figures show that West Midlands exports continue to grow.
Export of goods for the second quarter,(April – June 2014) were £7.112bn, which is up by £468m for the same period in 2013.
This is a 7% increase compared to the same quarter in 2013 and represents a 10% share of the UK’s total exports.
From year ending June 2013, to year ending June 2014, exports increased by 16.1 % to £28,279bn – the largest increase in the UK.
Machinery and transport sectors dominate both the total numbers and the growth. This sector’s exports are up £541m on the equivalent quarter in 2013. This is the 19th quarter in succession that West Midlands companies have grown their exports compared to the same quarter the previous year.
The main growth has come from Asia and Oceania (up £433m), Middle East and North Africa (up £55m) and North America (up £144m).
Markets outside Europe account for 60.5% of the region’s exports during April – June 2014, while 39.5 % of the region’s exports go to the EU.
UKTI regional director Paul Noon said: “Another outstanding set of export figures for companies in the West Midlands, strong and sustained growth since the end of 2009 demonstrates that companies in this region are manufacturing more and exporting more.
“This is a great boost for jobs, the amount of research and development spend in the region and the wider UK economy.”
Martin Hanson, HSBC’s Midlands deputy regional commercial director, said: “These are a strong set of figures, which demonstrate the strides West Midlands’ companies have made in establishing their export proposition and taking their goods and services around the globe.
“The West Midlands has now overtaken London for the second successive quarter, propelled by a 55% jump in trade to China, and is now only behind the South East for exports.
“China is now the region’s largest export partner and it demonstrates how forging links with this expanding economy is driving growth.
“Although there are obviously some larger businesses in the West Midlands which account for a high proportion of the total export value, we see numerous examples of smaller companies that we work with that have looked beyond the domestic market, particularly to emerging economies.”
