1. Contact | ||||||||||||||
1.1 Contact organisation | ||||||||||||||
National Institute for Statistics (Istat) | ||||||||||||||
1.2 Contact organisation unit | ||||||||||||||
Directorate for Business Statistics (DCSE) Division for short-term business statistics (SED) | ||||||||||||||
1.3 Contact name | ||||||||||||||
Angela Golino | ||||||||||||||
1.4 Contact person function | ||||||||||||||
Survey manager | ||||||||||||||
1.5 Contact mail address | ||||||||||||||
Via Tuscolana, 1788; 00173 Rome, Italy | ||||||||||||||
1.6 Contact email address | ||||||||||||||
golino@istat.it | ||||||||||||||
1.7 Contact phone number | ||||||||||||||
(+39) 06 4673.6577 | ||||||||||||||
1.8 Contact fax number | ||||||||||||||
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2. Metadata update | ||||||||||||||
2.1 Metadata last certified | ||||||||||||||
15/12/2016 | ||||||||||||||
2.2 Metadata last posted | ||||||||||||||
2.3 Metadata last update | ||||||||||||||
3. Statistical presentation | ||||||||||||||
3.1 Data description | ||||||||||||||
Indice della produzione industriale (Industrial production index) The survey describes the development of productive activity in Italy through the collection of production volumes | ||||||||||||||
3.2 Classification system | ||||||||||||||
NACE Rev. 2. | ||||||||||||||
3.3 Coverage - sector | ||||||||||||||
Activities covered: Sections B, C and D except for Divisions 05, 07 and 09 (346 series). The coverage for Section C is 100 percent at the two-digit, about 100 percent at three-digit level, and 98 percent at the four-digit level of industrial value added.
Product coverage: Industrial goods classified in Sections B, C and D. Almost the whole of 614 elementary macro-products for which index numbers are calculated have a coverage of about 65% in terms of value of production in each Class (4-digit level). Size classes covered: Units employing 20 employees or more. In some activities lower thresholds apply. | ||||||||||||||
3.4 Statistical concepts and definitions | ||||||||||||||
List and definition of variables: The index shows the evolution of gross production in volume terms in line with Commission Regulation 1503/2006. Information is collected on 10,000 basic observations for about 1,000 products. Some 63.1% of the basic series measure output in physical quantities, 10.5% are based on value data deflated by output prices, 13.1% are measured by hours worked, and the remaining 13.3% measured by other methods.
Planned changes in information collected: None
Accounting conventions: The target variable is measured as a flow during the calendar month. Products which need more than a month for the production are recorded in value or in worked hours only for the part accrued to the reference period. Production in value is deflated by domestic output prices. Hours worked are adjusted with productivity coefficients based on short term data. | ||||||||||||||
3.5 Statistical unit | ||||||||||||||
Reporting unit: KAU or local unit KAU Observation unit(s): Unit of homogeneous production (UHP) or Local unit of homogeneous production (LUHP) | ||||||||||||||
3.6 Statistical population | ||||||||||||||
Target population corresponds to enterprises with 20 or more employees in 2015 for sections covered by this survey. Total number is about 30,000 enterprises.
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3.7 Reference area | ||||||||||||||
Whole national territory. | ||||||||||||||
3.8 Coverage - Time | ||||||||||||||
The Industrial production survey was established in 1928. Series of indices with base 2015=100 start from January 1990. | ||||||||||||||
3.9 Base period | ||||||||||||||
The base year is 2015 starting from January 2018. | ||||||||||||||
4. Unit of measure | ||||||||||||||
Index | ||||||||||||||
5. Reference Period | ||||||||||||||
Month | ||||||||||||||
6. Institutional Mandate | ||||||||||||||
6.1 Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements | ||||||||||||||
Legal basis: National level: This is one of the compulsory surveys fixed every year by a Decree of the President of the Republic (D.P.R.). European level: Council Regulation No 1165/1998 (Council Regulation No 1165/1998 of 19 May 1998) Introducing short-term statistics at European level; Regulation (EC) of the European Parliament and of the Council 1158/2005 (Council Regulation No1158/2005) amending Regulation 1165/98 introducing the European sample schemes, industrial import prices, output prices for services and other changes. Commission Regulation 1503/2006 (Commission Regulation 1503/2006) defining variables and frequency of data compilation, repealing new orders received for building construction and new orders received for civil engineering Commission Regulation 656/2007 (Commission Regulation 656/2007 ) on the definition of main industrial groupings (MIGS) in NACE Rev. 2. Commission Regulation 472/2008 (Commision Regulation 472/2008 ) introducing the new base year 2005 and the statistical classification of economic activities, NACE Rev. 2, into short-term statistics. Obligation on units to provide data: Surveys are mandatory. Penalties are foreseen for non-response. Planned changes in legal basis, obligation to respond and frame used: None | ||||||||||||||
6.2 Institutional Mandate - data sharing | ||||||||||||||
Not available | ||||||||||||||
7. Confidentiality | ||||||||||||||
7.1 Confidentiality - policy | ||||||||||||||
Several national legal acts guarantee the confidentiality of data requested for statistical purposes. According to art. 9, paragraph 1 of the Legislative Decree n. 322 of 1989, personal data can only be disseminated in aggregate form, in order to make it impossible to identify individuals. The Personal Data Protection Code – introduced by the Legislative Decree no. 196 of 30 June 2003 – provides special rules concerning the processing of personal data for statistical purposes within the National Statistical System (Sistan). Further, in order to make statistical secrecy and protection of personal data effective, Istat is currently taking appropriate organisational, logistical, methodological and statistical measures in accordance with internationally established standards. Links to relevant legal acts on statistics are also listed on the website of Sistan (http://www.sistan.it ). | ||||||||||||||
7.2 Confidentiality - data treatment | ||||||||||||||
Survey elementary data are treated as confidential. Aggregated data are disseminated in https://www.istat.it Some variables can be transmitted to Eurostat as confidential when they are not disseminated in Italy (10 of 346 series are confidential as well as the 614 elementary macro-product index). All non confidential data, from Nace Rev.2 four digit up to General Index, are available at http://dati.istat.it/?lang=en | ||||||||||||||
8. Release policy | ||||||||||||||
8.1 Release calendar | ||||||||||||||
Every year, in December Istat publishes a release calendar providing the precise release dates for the coming year. During the first part of the year the required one-quarter-ahead approximate release dates are disseminated on the Internet on the IMF's Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board.sh" | ||||||||||||||
8.2 Release calendar access | ||||||||||||||
The release calendar is disseminated on ISTAT website: https://www.istat.it/en/information-and-services/journalists/release-calendar | ||||||||||||||
8.3 Release policy - user access | ||||||||||||||
Data are released simultaneously to all interested parties by issuing the press release "Produzione industriale" which is provided, on an embargo basis, to the media at a press conference 30 minutes prior to general release. The press release (Italian version and English version) is subsequently posted on the Istat’s website. Data are transmitted to Eurostat by teletransmission no later than 40 days from the end of the reference month according to the European Council Regulation 1158/2005. If the National release is not scheduled at the same time data are sent to Eurostat as confidential. Data are sent in xml file according SDMX standard and disseminated as national data in the Eurostat's database (Eurobase, theme Industry, trade and services, sub-theme Short-term business statistics). | ||||||||||||||
9. Frequency of dissemination | ||||||||||||||
Monthly | ||||||||||||||
10. Accessibility and clarity | ||||||||||||||
10.1 Dissemination format - News release | ||||||||||||||
A monthly press release “Produzione industriale” where figures and tables are disseminated with the data to facilitate the analysis. Analysis of current-period developments is included with dissemination. The Italian version of the Industrial production press release includes also a data file, the weighting structure, a methodological note.
A set of revision measures can be found at http://www4.istat.it/en/economic-trends
Press releases: http://www.istat.it/en/archive/industrial+production | ||||||||||||||
10.2 Dissemination format - Publications | ||||||||||||||
Data are made available also through yearly publications: Annuario Statistico Italiano (Italian version) Annuario Statistico Italiano: https://www.istat.it/it/archivio/225274 | ||||||||||||||
10.3 Dissemination format - online database | ||||||||||||||
Data are disseminated in I.Stat database (I.Stat), theme “Industry and Construcion”, sub theme “Industrial- Industrial production index- Monthly data (base 2015). The on-line database I.Stat is open and free, statistics are organised by theme in a two-level hierarchical tree. Data are presented in aggregate form in multidimensional tables; acting on variables, reference periods and the arrangement of heads and sides users can create custom tables and graphs. The system can be searched by keyword, theme and region. A wide range of standard metadata facilitates the retrieval and understanding of statistics by users. More information available in the User Guide User Guide | ||||||||||||||
10.4 Dissemination format - microdata access | ||||||||||||||
Before data dissemination, validated microdata are stored in the repository of the Institute, ARMIDA. The repository ARMIDA (Archive of validated microdata) was established with the main objective of preserving and documenting the data produced by Istat surveys, and has subsequently supported the objective of disseminating data. The data archived in ARMIDA supplies, in fact, the different channels for the dissemination of microdata (for internal use at the Institute through the "Memorandum of access to microdata of ARMIDA" internal users ", for authorities in Sistan, for research files, for standard files, etc.). | ||||||||||||||
10.5 Dissemination format - other | ||||||||||||||
This index is also one of the 'Principal European Economic Indicators (PEEIs)' http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/euro-indicators/peeis A pdf copy of monthly bulletin is available for the period January 2007- March 2011 (data refer to October 2005-December 2010) at http://www.istat.it/it/archivio/18167. | ||||||||||||||
10.6 Documentation on methodology | ||||||||||||||
A short description of the methodology and characteristics of the survey is contained in the technical explanatory note attached to the press release updated regularly. | ||||||||||||||
10.7 Quality management - documentation | ||||||||||||||
fA description of methodology and sources used in preparing statistics is also contained in the Information System for Survey Documentation and Quality Control (Siqual); it is available on Istat's website. This system manages qualitative information related to each single phase of a survey's production process (http://siqual.istat.it/SIQual/visualizza.do?id=0026000). More information about procedures applied for quality management and quality assessment in the document "Quality Guidelines For Statistical Processes" - December 2012 | ||||||||||||||
11. Quality management | ||||||||||||||
11.1 Quality assurance | ||||||||||||||
Essential points of Istat quality policy are: process quality, product quality, documentation, respect for respondents, strengthening of statistical literacy, users' orientation. For more details: http://www.istat.it/en/about-istat/quality | ||||||||||||||
11.2 Quality management - assessment | ||||||||||||||
As regards main issues of quality, index is compliant with a good standard. Eurostat's requirements in terms of time series are fulfilled, timeliness is respected, cross-domain checks are used for monitoring a good level of coherence. Some information on data quality are available in Siqual http://siqual.istat.it/SIQual/lang.do?language=UK In 2014 this survey was submitted to an audit on quality in a testing phase http://www.istat.it/en/tools/data-quality/audit | ||||||||||||||
12. Relevance | ||||||||||||||
12.1 Relevance - User Needs | ||||||||||||||
Main users of industrial production index are: - Institutions: government departments, ECB, national central bank, international organisations, etc. | ||||||||||||||
12.2 Relevance - User Satisfaction | ||||||||||||||
Not available. | ||||||||||||||
12.3 Completeness | ||||||||||||||
Eurostat's requirements in terms of time series are fulfilled. | ||||||||||||||
13. Accuracy | ||||||||||||||
13.1 Accuracy - overall | ||||||||||||||
The samples are designed with the cut-off method and therefore sampling errors cannot be measured. Non-sampling errors are reduced or eliminated in the collection phase both using an electronic questionnaire that helps debugging and aiming at an increase of the response rate of enterprises. | ||||||||||||||
13.2 Sampling error | ||||||||||||||
It is not possible to compute sampling errors because a non-probability sampling method (cut-off) is used. | ||||||||||||||
13.3 Non-sampling error | ||||||||||||||
When the first provisional data are released, the weighted overall response rate is about 94%. To speed up and increase the rate of response reminders and intensive follow ups by phone are addressed to the MIB (Main Industrial Business) units. These units are the most significant (in terms of production realised in the year before that of reference) for the specific products concerned. | ||||||||||||||
14. Timeliness and punctuality | ||||||||||||||
14.1 Timeliness | ||||||||||||||
The official release is published on average 40 days after the end of the reference period; data are transmitted to EUROSTAT within 40 days, using, when needed, an embargo clause; data are provisional at the time of the Press Release in which they are reported. They are then revised and become final after 3 years. | ||||||||||||||
14.2 Punctuality | ||||||||||||||
All releases delivered according to the timetable. | ||||||||||||||
15. Coherence and comparability | ||||||||||||||
15.1 Comparability - geographical | ||||||||||||||
European definitions are used and they apply in the whole national territory | ||||||||||||||
15.2 Comparability - over time | ||||||||||||||
Consistent time series data are available for a long period of time (since January 1990). When changes in source data, methodology and statistical techniques are introduced, historical series are reconstructed as far back as possible. | ||||||||||||||
15.3 Coherence - cross domain | ||||||||||||||
Comparisons are made with the evolution of turnover and new orders indices. Results for these comparisons show good level of coherence for main aggregates. | ||||||||||||||
15.4 Coherence - internal | ||||||||||||||
Aggregates are always consistent with their sub-aggregates but for seasonnally adjusted data internal coherence could not be always ensured as direct method is used. | ||||||||||||||
16. Cost and Burden | ||||||||||||||
The cost estimate is compiled in terms of total number of hours worked (THW). It is equal to the product of three terms: (total) Annual Working Days (AWD), (total) Hours Worked per Day (HWD), Number of Persons involved in the Survey (NPS).
The burden estimate is compiled in terms of total number of minutes (TNM) taken to fill in the (web) questionnaire. The burden is applied to respondent, i.e. the person who fills in the questionnaire on behalf of the enterprise. To estimate it, two elements have been taken into account. The former distinguishes between beginner and expert respondent, to point out respectively the person who fills in the web questionnaire for the first time and the one who is familiar with filling in the form. The latter, closely concerns the information that have to be monthly provided. On average, by combining these two elements, the time spent to fill in the questionnaire (just the burden) is estimated in terms of total number of minutes between a minimum and a maximum threshold.
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17. Data revision | ||||||||||||||
17.1 Data revision - policy | ||||||||||||||
The general revision policy is predetermined and reasonably stable from year to year and is adopted in order to incorporate updated information. It consists of: 1) Monthly revision: indices referred to month m are revised after one month when indices referred to month m+1 are released. They take into account late respondents (estimated values for missing responses are replaced by reported figures) and correction from respondents. 2) Once a year, in February, revisions of the last three years raw data is performed for improving indicators using information coming from enterprises and other source. In particurarly revision aims at incorporating three types of information into the indices available after the publication of the first revision. Specifically, the elements considered in the revision process are the following:
Major revisions Performed every five years, in correspondence of introduction of a new base year; they take into account new weighting systems, sample adjustments in enterprises and products lists. At the time of each dissemination, users are informed whether data are preliminary or revised and the reason why data are revised (e.g. availability of additional data, major revisions declared by enterprises or other sources). Vintage database is available at http://www4.istat.it/en/economic-trends Coherence of the revision policy is respected for data released nationally and transmitted to Eurostat. | ||||||||||||||
17.2 Data revision - practice | ||||||||||||||
A paragraph called “Revisioni” is attached to every press release in Italian. It contains a methodological note on revisions (revision policy, source, periodicity, etc.) and the results of the revision analysis for the current period presented. Major revision dues to mistakes are made known to the public after the event. For the year 2018, the monthly revisions of the raw general index varied from a minimum value of -0.3 points to a maximum of +0.3 points (Year-on-year change). After the revision of the last three years, for the years 2016 and 2017 the annual rate of change of the calendar adjusted total industrial production index was unchanged whereas for 2018 has been revised downward by 0.2 percentage points (from +0.8% to +0.6%). The Mean Absolute Revision (MAR), Mean Revision (MR) and RMAR (Relative Mean Absolute Revision) are compiled for totals.These indicators refer to 33 values (instead of 36) for monthly data. January 2016, January 2017, January 2018 are excluded because are incoherent with the other montly data due to effects of revisions of the last three years. Among these: 1) the first 24 values refer to years 2016 and 2017 and indices reference base 2010=100; 2) the last 12 values refer to the year 2018 and indices reference base 2015=100. MR = 0.033 MAR = 0.094 RMAR% = 2.7 MaxAR = 0.3 2) Calendar adjusted data MR = 0.027 MAR = 0.094 RMAR% = 3.7 MaxAR = 0.4 3) Seasonally adjusted data MR = 0.024 MAR = 0.079 RMAR% = 9.8 MaxAR = 0.3
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18. Statistical processing | ||||||||||||||
18.1 Source data | ||||||||||||||
Data are collected through a statistical survey. In addition data are obtained: The PRODCOM annual survey is used as frame. Sample or census: The industrial production is a cut-off survey, with a non-probabilistic sample. For each product, enterprises are ranked according to the percentage of the value of production they represent for this product. Then the highest ranked units are drawn until 70% of the value of production is reached. Criteria for stratification: not applicable Threshold values and percentages: In total around 4,600 KAU are surveyed each month. Frequency of updating the sample: A general revision is carried out every 5 years, also introducing new products, in correspondence with the change of the base year. A lighter updating of the sample is carried out each year as well, in order to take into account businesses' longitudinal changes (deaths, births, merges, etc.). New units (enterprises) are exclusively introduced to replace units whose production is discontinued (the new units must have the same size of the old ones). | ||||||||||||||
18.2 Frequency of data collection | ||||||||||||||
Monthly. | ||||||||||||||
18.3 Data collection | ||||||||||||||
Self-administered data collection via electronic transmission, data are collected through a web portal called Portale Imprese https://imprese.istat.it/Respondents need to login for insert data in the web questionnaire. | ||||||||||||||
18.4 Data validation | ||||||||||||||
Time series checks are used for plausibility of data validated. Integrity of files structure and used codes is ensured by extractions made from a database respecting integrity constraints. | ||||||||||||||
18.5 Data compilation | ||||||||||||||
Estimates for non-response: For estimating non responses concerning a given product, usually an automatic estimation criterion is applied on the basis of the average percentage variation m/(m-1) calculated on responses available for the same product. Estimates for grossing-up to population levels: None. Type of index: Fixed-base Laspeyres index Method of weighting and chaining: The elementary products are aggregated up to the Class level using as weights the output value (from PRODCOM survey); the aggregation from the Classes up to the total is based on value added at factor costs weights drawn from SBS data. | ||||||||||||||
18.6 Adjustment | ||||||||||||||
Data are disseminated in unadjusted form, adjusted for working days (total index, indices by MIGs, branches at 4-digit level of NACE Rev. 2 classification), and in a seasonally-adjusted form.
The raw indices are trading days adjusted and corrected for seasonal effects by TRAMO-SEATS procedure, version 942 for Linux. Working days adjustment series and seasonal adjustement series are estimated down to 4 digit level. Adjustment models are completely reviewed at the beginning of each year (with the release of February data) and parameters are re-estimated every month. Each month, seasonally adjusted series are revised from January 2001. A Reg-Arima approach is used for working days and seasonal adjustment. Calendar adjustment is performed by using our country specific calendar which also take into account national holidays. No calendar adjustment is performed where no significant effect is found. Leap year and moving holidays like Easter are adjusted. Outliers (additive outliers, temporary changes, level shift) are manually fixed at the beginning of the year when seasonal adjustment models are revised. The critical value for the outlier detection and the filter length are automatically chosen, whereas model/filter selection is manual. Both additive and multiplicative seasonal adjustment decomposition are used. Except for total consumption goods series, which is indirectly derived by weighted sum of non-durable and durable goods, all other series are directly adjusted. Whenever indirect adjustment is performed, a residual seasonality test is performed and checked. | ||||||||||||||
19. Comment | ||||||||||||||
None. |