Economic Buzz: UK production output rises in three months to January 2026

The United Kingdom?s production output increased by 1.3% in the three months to January 2026 compared with the previous three-month period ending in October 2025, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The growth was mainly supported by the manufacturing and energy sectors. Manufacturing output rose by 1.5%, while electricity and gas production increased by 2.2%. However, these gains were partly offset by declines in water supply and sewerage, which fell by 0.5%, and mining and quarrying, which slipped by 0.1%.

Within manufacturing, 8 of the 13 subsectors recorded growth during the period. The strongest contribution came from transport equipment, which increased by 8.1% and accounted for about two-thirds of the overall rise in manufacturing. Motor vehicle production rose sharply by 17.5% as the industry recovered from a cyber incident that disrupted operations in September 2025.

On a monthly basis, production output fell slightly by 0.1% in January 2026. This followed a 0.9% decline in December 2025 and a 1.3% increase in November 2025.

The monthly decline was mainly due to a 3.2% drop in mining and quarrying and a 0.3% fall in electricity and gas output. These were partly offset by a 1.9% rise in water supply and sewerage and a 0.1% increase in manufacturing output.

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