UK production output fell by 0.2% between February and March, driven by declines in two of the four production sectors, electricity and gas, and manufacturing; production output now 1.6% below pre-pandemic level: ONS

LONDON , May 12, 2022 (press release) –

Movements in the volume of production for the UK production industries: manufacturing, mining and quarrying, energy supply, and water and waste management. Figures are seasonally adjusted.

Main points

• Monthly production output fell by 0.2% between February and March 2022, reaching a level that was 1.6% below February 2020 - the last month of "normal" trading conditions prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
• The monthly fall in output resulted from weakness in two of the four production sectors, with electricity and gas falling by 2.0% and manufacturing falling by 0.2%; in contrast mining and quarrying rose by 2.8%, while water supply and sewerage remained flat at 0.0%.
• Manufacturing saw 6 of the 13 sub-sectors negatively contribute to growth during March; most notably, manufacturing of basic pharmaceutical products fell by 5.4% and manufacturing of chemicals and chemical products fell by 3.5%.
• Output remained below the February 2020 pre-coronavirus levels in three of the four production sectors; monthly manufacturing output remained 1.0% below, mining and quarrying was 13.7% below, and electricity and gas was 6.0% below, while water supply and sewerage was 8.2% above.
• For Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2022, production output increased by 1.2% compared with Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2021; rises of 1.3% in manufacturing, 1.9% in electricity and gas and 0.4% in water supply and sewerage were partially offset by a fall of 0.2% in mining and quarrying.
• Manufacture of basic metals and metal products rose by 8.4% in Quarter 1 2022 compared with Quarter 4 2021, mainly because of strength from the fabricated metal products excluding the weapons and ammunition industry.
• Further analysis of the effect on our monthly Index of Production estimate is available in our GDP monthly estimate, UK: March 2022 bulletin, published 12 May 2022.

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