Index of Production, UK: January 2022

• Monthly production output rose by 0.7% between December 2021 and January 2022, to reach a level that was 2.0% below February 2020 (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 0.8%, mining and quarrying by 2.0% and electricity and gas by 1.0%; in contrast, water supply and sewerage fell by 1.5%.

• Within manufacturing there was widespread growth during January, with the largest contributions coming from manufacturing of rubber and plastic products, which rose by 9.1%, and manufacturing of basic metals and metal products, which rose by 5.0%.

• Output remained below pre-coronavirus levels in three of the four production sectors; when compared with the February 2020 level, monthly manufacturing output remained 1.6% below, mining and quarrying 16.7% below and electricity and gas 2.4% below, in contrast, water supply and sewerage was 7.3% above.

• For the three months to January 2022, production output increased by 0.4% compared with the three months to October 2021; rises of 0.8% in manufacturing, 1.0% in electricity and gas and 2.6% in water supply and sewerage were partially offset by a fall of 8.3% in mining and quarrying.      

• Within manufacturing, the most notable increase for the three months to January 2022 compared with the three months to October 2021 was a rise of 4.6% in basic metals and metal products.

• For further and detailed analysis of the effect on our monthly Index of Production estimate, please see GDP monthly estimate, UK: January 2022, published today (11 March 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 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 impacted than survey data.

Our latest data and analysis on the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on the UK economy and population are available on their own 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 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). NSCASE will support the UK by ensuring its processes for influencing and adopting international statistical standards are world-leading. The advice 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 and labour market statistics.

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