Index of Production, UK: December 2021

• Monthly production rose by 0.3% between November and December 2021; this meant that output was 2.6% below its February 2020 level (the last month of “normal” trading conditions prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic).
• The monthly rise in output was the result of growth in three of the four production sectors, with manufacturing growing by 0.2%, water supply and sewerage by 1.7%, and electricity and gas by 1.6%; in contrast, mining and quarrying saw a fall of 3.1%, as extraction of crude oil and natural gas fell by 2.7% in December 2021.
• Within manufacturing, the largest contributions to monthly growth were from manufacturing of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations (with a month-on-month growth of 12.0%) and manufacturing of transport equipment (with a month-on-month growth of 3.1%).
• Output remained below pre-COVID-19 levels in three of the four production sectors; when compared with the February 2020 level, monthly manufacturing output remained 2.5% below, mining and quarrying 18.3% below, and electricity and gas 3.4% below, while in contrast, water supply and sewerage was 9.0% above.
• Production output for Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2021 decreased by 0.4%, compared with Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2021; falls of 3.2% in electricity and gas, and 4.5% in mining and quarrying, were partially offset by a rise of 1.8% in water supply and sewerage.
• Manufacturing output for Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2021 remained unchanged compared with Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2021; the most notable increase was a rise of 12.5% in manufacturing of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations, which was partially offset by a fall of 8.0% in manufacturing of machinery and equipment N.E.C.
• For further and detailed analysis of the effect on our monthly Index of Production estimate, please see GDP monthly estimate, UK: December 2021, published today (11 February 2022).

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

The majority 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 VAT turnover data in National Accounts: background and methodology.

A comprehensive list of the IoP source data can be found in the Gross domestic product (GDP(O)) source catalogue (XLS, 715KB).

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

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

The Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) Monthly Business Survey (MBS) is fully online, meaning that 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 coronavirus (COVID-19) on the UK economy and population are now available on a new webpage. This will be 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 that 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 will be the new National Statistician’s Committee for Advice on Standards for Economic Statistics (NSCASE). The NSCASE will support the UK by ensuring its processes for influencing and adopting international statistical standards are world leading. The advice that the NSCASE provides to the National Statistician will span the full range of domains in economic statistics. This includes the National Accounts, fiscal statistics, prices, trade, and the balance of payments and labour market statistics.

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