In the three months to January 2018, the Index of Production increased by 0.2% compared with the three months to October 2017, due to a rise of 0.9% in manufacturing; this was partially offset by a decrease of 6.4% in mining and quarrying, caused mainly by the shut-down of the Forties oil pipeline within December 2017. Total production output increased by 1.4% for the three months to January 2018 compared with the same three months to January 2017; manufacturing provided the largest upward contribution with an increase of 2.6%.
In January 2018, total production was estimated to have increased by 1.3% compared with December 2017; mining and quarrying provided the largest upward contribution, increasing by 23.5% due mainly to the re-opening of the Forties oil pipeline. Compared with December 2017, manufacturing output in January 2018 was estimated to have increased by 0.1%; this was the ninth consecutive period of growth and is the first time this has occurred since records began in February 1968.
Last modified on Sunday, 11 March 2018
