Purpose and brief description

The industrial production index makes it possible to monitor the evolution in volume of the value added at factor cost over a given reference period. Value added at basic prices can be calculated as follows: turnover (excluding VAT and other similar deductible taxes directly linked to turnover) plus capitalised production, plus other operating income, plus or minus the changes in stocks, minus the purchases of goods and services, minus other taxes on products which are linked to turnover but not deductible, and the subsidies received on the products. However, the data to produce this index are not available on a monthly basis. In practice, the adequate representative values to produce the indices are: gross production values (deflated); volumes; turnover (deflated); working hours; raw materials; energy...

Reference year

From January 2024, the indices are expressed with reference year 2021=100.

Therefore, we have created a new downloadable file, expressing the full series with reference year 2021=100.

The downloadable files with reference year 2015=100 remain available but will no longer be updated. These files end consequently in December 2023.

Data collection method and sample size

Prodcom is the monthly survey on industrial production. Cooperation among the EU countries seeks to improve the comparability of statistical data. The Statistical Office of the European Union has therefore taken the initiative to collect data on industrial production in all member states with the same product list, in the same sectors, etc. This initiative was named “Prodcom”: “PRODucts of the European COMmunity”.

This survey is compulsory. The legal framework laid down in EC Regulation 3924/91, the Royal Decree of 28 January 1994, published in the Belgian Official Journal of 15 February 1994 and the Royal Decree of 20 February 2008, published in the Belgian Official Journal of 10 March 2008. The language of the form (part 1 and part 2) is determined by the place of business. The Royal Decree of 18 July 1966 applies here, published in the Belgian Official Journal on 2 August 1966, which coordinates the laws on the use of languages in administrative matters.

A form must be completed for each local unit. The local unit is an enterprise or part thereof (e.g. workplace, factory, shop, office, mine or warehouse) located in a geographically defined place. At or from that place, economic activities are carried out for which - barring exceptions - one or more persons work (possibly part-time) on behalf of the same enterprise.

Population

The survey covers the activities of sections B and C of the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community NACE Rev. 2 with the exception of sections 5, 6 and 19.

In summary, two groups are concerned:

• any industrial enterprise or establishment employing 20 persons or more according to one of its quarterly NSSO declarations of the previous year or whose annual turnover in the previous year was at least 4,200,000 euros;
• any new industrial enterprise or establishment employing 20 persons or more according to one of its quarterly NSSO declarations for the current year or whose cumulative turnover in the course of the year amounted to at least 4,200,000 euros.

This means that a declarant who has employed 20 persons at least once in a given year must answer in the following year (calendar year).

Periodicity

Monthly.

Release calendar

Results available 1 month + 10 days after the reference period.

Metadata

• Prodcom manual.pdf
• Prodcom conversion table 2022.xlsx
• Industrial production (Prodcom).pdf
• Prodcom survey.pdf
• Data collection in shops and in private or public organisations (PPP).pdf

Nomenclature

The Prodcom list.xls