Factory output falls


Manufacturing output went into reverse between the end of last year and the beginning of 2016, latest official figures show. 




Factory output decreased by 0.2% in the three months to January, according to the Office for National Statistics, against a 0.1% increase in the three months to December.


In the latest three-month period, output of basic pharmaceuticals was down by 4.1%. Output of electrical equipment was down by 1.8%, as was output of coke and refined petroleum products. 


On the plus side, output in other manufacturing and repair increased by 4.1% and of rubber and plastic products by 1.2%.


Manufacturing output was down by 1.0% on the same three-month period ending January 2015. 




The monthly output figure is more volatile and it showed a 0.7% increase in between December 2015 and January 2016.



Output of the production industries (manufacturing, mining and utilities) was down by 1.3% in the three-month period ending January on the previous on the previous three-month period, but up by 0.3% on the same period a year earlier.


In the three months to January 2016, production and manufacturing were 10.2% and 6.4% respectively below the levels achieved in the first quarter 2008, before the economic downturn.


Manufacturing output in the calendar year 2015 was down by 0.3% on 2014, against the previous estimate of a 0.7% decrease, while production posted a 1.0% increase. 


www.ons.gov.uk/economy/economicoutputandproductivity/output/bulletins/indexofproduction/january2016