Industrial Production in Switzerland

The Industrial Production Index measures the volume of output of Swiss industry over a period, covering manufacturing, mining and energy supply. Compiled by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), it is a key cyclical gauge of the business cycle.

Expressed as an index against a base year (index 100), aggregating the sub-indices of the various industrial branches weighted by their share of value added. In Switzerland it is typically released quarterly and adjusted for calendar and seasonal effects.

It is closely tied to the business cycle and to Swiss GDP, with heavy weight from sectors such as chemicals-pharmaceuticals and precision machinery. A strong reading points to industrial expansion; sentiment gauges such as the PMI tend to lead it.

It is subject to revisions: releasing one period's figure often revises the previous one. It is volatile, sensitive to the number of working days and one-off factors, and in Switzerland the large weight of pharmaceuticals can distort the reading for industry as a whole.