Industrial production in the UK rose for the third consecutive month, boosted by the plastic and rubber industry, which hit a 40-year high in April 2014, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Output grew by 4.4% between April 2013 and April 2014 with the largest contribution (1%) from the manufacture of rubber, plastic products and other non-metallic mineral products. This subsector increased by 18%, the largest rise since March 1973.

According to the ONS, the majority of the contribution – and accounting for 0.5 percentage points – came from the rubber and plastic products industry which increased by 14.6% versus a year ago, the highest ever recorded growth since records began in January 1998.

Rob Dobson, senior economist at financial data provider Markit said that UK manufacturing production is currently expanding at a quarterly rate close to 1.5%, helping the sector take huge strides towards recouping the output lost during the recession. “A sharp re-acceleration in demand for goods such as plant and machinery also points to ongoing growth of business investment,” he said.