How the UK Manufacturing is doing towards the end of 2023 – Latest Update ‘October 2023’
Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 12 October 2023 shows the movements in ‘UK production industries: manufacturing, mining and quarrying, energy supply, and water and waste management’.
Key takeaways:
Monthly production output
The estimated monthly production output for August 2023 is believed to have decreased by 0.7%, continuing a trend of decline that was previously revised from 1.1% to 0.7% in July 2023.
The output decrease in August 2023
The reduction in monthly output for August 2023 was predominantly due to declines in three out of the four production sectors. The primary factor behind this decrease was the “manufacturing” sector, which contributed to the 0.8% monthly fall. Additionally, there were smaller declines in “water supply and sewerage” (1.6%) and “electricity and gas” (1.8%). However, these declines were partially mitigated by an increase in the “mining and quarrying” sector, which saw a 2.9% rise.
In August 2023, the monthly output in the manufacturing sector experienced a decline of 0.8%, with decreases observed in 9 out of its 13 subsectors. Notably, the subsectors of “other manufacture and repair” and “manufacture of computer, electronic, and optical products” saw significant drops of 3.4% and 3.2%, respectively.
Slightly longer historical trend & causes behind the trend
When examining the extended performance trend, production output over the three months leading up to August 2023 increased by 1.2% in comparison to the three months leading up to May 2023. This growth can be attributed to a significant monthly expansion in June (2.5%), which followed a slight decline in May (0.5%). The decline in May was partly influenced by the reduction in working days due to the additional Bank Holiday for the Coronation of King Charles III.
More in-depth examination of how this impacts the monthly Index of Production estimate can be found in the ONS “Gross domestic product (GDP) monthly estimate, UK: August 2023 bulletin,” released on October 12, 2023.
Source:
Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 12 October 2023, ONS website, statistical bulletin, Index of Production, UK: August 2023