Index of Production, UK: August 2022

• Monthly production output fell by 1.8% between July and August 2022 and is now 0.9% below February 2020, which was the last month of “normal” trading conditions prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

• The monthly fall in output resulted from a decline in three of the four production sectors, with mining and quarrying falling by 8.2%, manufacturing by 1.6% and electricity and gas by 0.6%; in contrast, water supply and sewerage remained flat at 0.0%.

• A fall of 10.6% in oil and gas extraction led the monthly decline in mining and quarrying output, which was due to maintenance of some of the larger terminals.

• Manufacturing saw 8 of its 13 sub-sectors negatively contributing to growth during August; most notably, manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products contributed negative 0.33 percentage points to the Index of Production (IoP) (with growth falling by 6.0%), manufacture of transport equipment contributed negative 0.26 percentage points (with growth falling by 3.0%), and manufacture of basic metals and metal products contributed negative 0.24 percentage points (with growth falling by 2.8%).

• Output remained below the February 2020 pre-coronavirus pandemic levels in two of the four production sectors, with monthly mining and quarrying output 16.6% below and manufacturing 2.0% below the February 2020 level; in contrast, water supply and sewerage was 12.3%, and electricity and gas 7.0% above the February 2020 level.

• Production output for the three months to August 2022 fell by 1.5%, compared with the three months to May 2022; there were falls in three of the four production sectors, 2.7% in mining and quarrying, 2.2% in manufacturing and 0.7% in water supply and sewerage; in contrast, electricity and gas rose by 3.5%.

• Further analysis of the effect on our monthly Index of Production estimate is available in our Gross domestic product (GDP) monthly estimate, UK: August 2022 bulletin, published 12 October 2022.

The Index of Production (IoP) uses data from a variety of sources. It is calculated by taking turnover and removing the impact of price changes, or by using direct volume estimates.

Most of these data are collected as "turnover values" through the Monthly Business Survey (MBS). In addition, direct volume series are collected by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and the International Steel Statistics Bureau (ISSB) for steel industries.

From January 2018, Value Added Tax (VAT) data have also been included across 64 production industries for small- and medium-sized businesses. For more information, see our VAT turnover data in National Accounts: background and methodology article.

A comprehensive list of the IoP source data can be found in our Gross domestic product (GDP) source catalogue.

More quality and methodology information on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in our UK Index of Production Quality and methodology information (QMI).

This release gives data for August 2022 for the first time. It also incorporates revisions to monthly data from January 1997 to June 2022, as published in our Quarterly national accounts bulletin on 30 September 2022. July 2022 is also open to revision, taking on updated survey data and seasonal adjustment reviews.

A wide range of improvements to sources and methods have been incorporated into the accounts of the monthly GDP estimate as part of Blue Book 2022, as detailed in our Impact of Blue Book 2022 changes on gross domestic product article. These include:

• measuring the insurance industry using Solvency II regulatory data for the first time
• completing the transition to the improved Financial Survey of Pension Schemes
• a package of better sources and methods that improve the international comparability of the UK gross domestic product (GDP) estimates
• estimating 2020 for the first time using the Supply and Use Tables (SUTs) framework, which looks at the supply of goods and services on a very detailed level, how they are used in the economy, and their associated prices

These improvements have previously been reflected in the September quarterly national accounts estimate whose data the monthly GDP estimate has now aligned with from January 1997 to June 2022.

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

The Office for National Statistics’ (ONS’) MBS is fully online. Business owners can log on from any location and submit their data at an appropriate time. Most other data in the IoP come from the BEIS, and therefore will be less affected than survey data.

Our latest data and analysis on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the UK economy and population are available on our Coronavirus (COVID-19) data and analysis web page. This is the hub for all special coronavirus-related publications, including the fortnightly Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS).

Economic statistics governance after EU exit

Following the UK's exit from the EU, new governance arrangements are being put in place. These will support the adoption and implementation of high-quality standards for UK economic statistics. These governance arrangements will promote international comparability and add to the credibility and independence of the UK's statistical system.

At the centre of this new governance framework, there will be the new National Statistician's Committee for Advice on Standards for Economic Statistics (NSCASE). NSCASE will support the UK by ensuring its processes for influencing and adopting international statistical standards are world leading. The advice that NSCASE provides to the National Statistician will span the full range of domains in economic statistics, including:

• the National Accounts
• fiscal statistics
• prices
• trade and the balance of payments
• labour market statistics

You can access further information on the NSCASE on the UK Statistics Authority’s website.