For manufacturers and buyers tracking domestic production capacity, the July figures showed a monthly rebound in total production after falls in the previous two months. However, the broader three-month measure still turned negative, pointing to uneven momentum across industrial sectors.
UK production output fell 0.5 per cent in the three months to July 2026, the first rolling three-month decline since November 2025.
Manufacturing rose 0.5 per cent over the period and 0.9 per cent in July, offering a mixed signal for factory supply chains.
On a monthly basis, production rebounded 0.2 per cent in July, led by a 0.9 per cent rise in manufacturing.
Production output was estimated to have decreased by 0.5 per cent in the three months to July 2026 compared with the three months to April 2026, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a release. This was the first fall in the three-month-on-three-month series since November 2025, when output was also down 0.5 per cent.
Among the four main sectors in the three months to July 2026, negative contributions came from water supply and sewerage, down 4.0 per cent; electricity and gas, down 1.5 per cent; and mining and quarrying, down 2.6 per cent. These were partly offset by manufacturing, which rose 0.5 per cent over the same period.
The 4.0 per cent decrease in water supply and sewerage in the three months to July 2026 was largely driven by sewerage, which fell 11.8 per cent. That was the largest three-monthly reduction since July 2017 and continued a period of decline, with five consecutive monthly falls between February and June 2026.
Within manufacturing, seven of the 13 subsectors increased in the three months to July 2026, according to the release.
On a monthly basis, UK production output was estimated to have increased by 0.2 per cent in July 2026. This followed decreases of 0.2 per cent in June 2026 and 0.7 per cent in May 2026.
The ONS said monthly production in July 2026 rose in manufacturing, up 0.9 per cent, and water supply and sewerage, up 2.0 per cent. These gains were partly offset by falls in mining and quarrying, down 4.4 per cent, and electricity and gas, down 1.5 per cent.
Eight of the 13 manufacturing subsectors recorded higher output in July 2026. The largest positive contributions came from computer, electronic and optical products, up 5.2 per cent; basic pharmaceutical products, up 3.4 per cent; and basic metals, up 2.8 per cent.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)
