Manufacturing order books are bulging and growth in the sector continues unabated, according to the latest figures from the CBI.

A survey of 380 manufacturers by the organisation found that new orders improved compared with January, although they were below record levels posted in November and December last year.

The motor industry was a big contributor, recording its strongest performance since October 2011.

Meanwhile, across the board output surged ahead at among the fastest rates since the CBI started collecting data in 1975.

And 16 of the 17 sub-sectors analysed expected growth to speed up in the next three months.

Anna Leach, CBI head of economic analysis, said: “The manufacturing sector shows continued signs of improvement with demand high and steady and output growing strongly.

“Growth is increasingly broad-based and firms’ growth expectations are the highest for several months.”