GDP Monthly Estimate: April 2024

The industry which made the biggest contributions to overall GDP growth in April was Manufacturing, which contributed 0.3 percentage points to overall growth. This positive contribution was partly offset by falling output in Retail, Wholesale & Motor Trades, and in Electricity & Gas Supply.

In April, output in the services sector is estimated to have fallen by 0.1%, with contraction in six of the fourteen subsectors. Production sector output grew by 1.4% in April, with increases in two of the four subsectors. Construction sector output fell by 1.4% in April.

As reported by the Office for National Statistics, there were some common themes that were anecdotally reported (as part of the Monthly Business Survey (MBS) for production and services) to have played a part in performance across different industries. However, it is difficult to quantify the exact impact.

Comments provided to the MBS for April 2024 suggested some industries saw supply chains impacted by disruption in the Red Sea. These comments to the survey centred in the wholesale and warehousing industries.

Comments provided by businesses in the retail trade, except motor vehicles and motorcycles, construction, and food and beverage service activities industries for April 2024 stated their output reduced because of wetter weather. Scottish rainfall in April 2024 was 160% of the long-term average according to the Met Office's Monthly Climate Summary.

The recent decline in construction activity, with April 2024 seeing its third consecutive monthly decline, is also seen in the lack of demand for construction products in the production sector in April 2024. Monthly falls were seen in other mining and quarrying and the manufacture of "cement, lime, plaster and concrete", "glass", "paints and varnishes", "rubber and plastic", "wood" and "iron and steel".