1. UN List of Industrial Products
United Nations Statistics Division
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2. History
UN list of industrial products was developed in the framework of 1973 world programme on Industrial Statistics
Scope of world programme
organization and conduct of industrial inquiries
indicators to be compiled
1. The UN List of Industrial Products was developed in the framework of the 1973 world programme on Industrial statistics. The world programme itself had a wide scope; it dealt with the organization and conduct of industrial inquiries and indicators that were going to be compiled in the framework of this programme.
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3. History World programme made provisions on:
collection of information according to uniform procedures
compilation of this information in a uniform manner
The aim of the world programme was:
to guide and coordinate national activity in industrial census-taking
broaden the scope and improve the comparability on industrial statistics
Provision was made in the programme not only for the collection of information according to uniform procedures but also for the compilation of this information in a uniform manner and for its subsequent publication in a standard form.
The aim of the programme was to guide and coordinate national activity in industrial census-taking with a view to broadening the scope and improving the comparability of the statistical information on industry available on an international basis.
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4. Purpose The UN List of industrial products served as:
A guide in reporting and collecting data on major industrial products for all countries and areas
A tool to observe and compare industrial production on a worldwide basis
The list represents
a pure form of product statistics
physical quantity production data
2. This list was just a part of this programme. This list was prepared to be used as a guide in reporting and collecting data on major industrial products for all countries and areas of the world. The list was a tool among others, to observe and compare industrial production on a worldwide basis. The data collection process based on it, consists of the purest form of product statistics; the data collected have been and are physical quantity production data within the national boundaries of each country and area; therefore the data collected are to a great extent a very reliable source for evaluating industrial production within a country and for comparing industrial production among countries and areas.
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5. Criteria Only a selective list, not comprehensive
Main criteria for inclusion were:
current or prospective importance of the commodity in the international economy
balance within the industrial sector
importance of the commodity within the group to which it belongs
655 items (ST/STAT/Ser.M/54/II)
4. The products selected at the time it was developed, represent well an overall, worldwide balance of the existing economic structures of different countries and of their major outputs. Since the major purpose of the list was to be used as a comparability tool, it was thought that a well selected list could better serve that purpose, rather than a comprehensive one.
The current or prospective importance of the commodity in the international economy has been the main criterion for inclusion in the list, while at the same time giving proper consideration to the balance within the industrial sector and the importance of the commodity within the group it belongs.
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6. Definition and coding Products were defined based on:
explanatory notes of BTN (CCC, 1955)
early version of SITC
national practices and comments received
Products were grouped and coded according to industries (ISIC Rev digits), with a running numbering for individual products (2 additional digits), e.g “Copper ore”
5. At that time the only product classifications existing were the trade classifications, therefore the definitions of the products of the list were largely based on the Explanatory Notes of the Brussels Tariff Nomenclature (Customs Cooperation Council, Explanatory Notes to the Brussels Nomenclature, Brussels 1955) and adapted and modified on the basis of national practices and comments received. (SITC has existed since 1951,SITC rev1 came out in 1961; why the list was not based on SITC but on BTN? UNSD is the custodian of SITC whereas CCC of BTN.)
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7. Definition and coding
Data collection and measurement issues embedded in:
coding system
definitions of products
measurement units
Example:
– “Iron ores and concentrates, gross weight”
M – “Iron ores and concentrates, metal content”
This list of products had to address primarily data collection issues, therefore it was thought that the codes given to the products should also reflect the way the data was going to be measured. According to the specifics of the products, there could be different ways that the data could be measured. So the data measurement issues were embedded to a great extent in the definitions of the products. For example for minerals, if the production was measured in metal content an M was added to the code, and if it was measured in gross weight it was just the plain code.
An other example of collection and measurement issues embedded in the coding system:
“Passenger cars, assembled from imported parts”
“Passenger cars, produced”.
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8. Data collection
UNSD collects physical data on the annual production of commodities
Data is collected through UN questionnaire on commodity production statistics sent yearly to NSO-s
Major publication: Industrial Commodity Statistics Yearbook
annual publication, contains data for the latest 10 years
Other publications:
United Nations Statistics Yearbook
Monthly Bulletin of Statistics
10. Since that time, the Statistical Office of the United Nations and than the United Nations Statistics Division, has been collecting yearly physical data on the production of the commodities of this list. These data are collected through the UN Questionnaire on Commodity Production Statistics sent yearly to National Statistical Offices worldwide. The industry section of UNSD maintains the Commodity Statistics Database, which is of course updated and amended yearly and which during the last few years has also been available for sale.
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9. Need for revision Changes in the economic structure, new products
The content of 1973 list has become out of date
has to be complemented with new products
not necessarily completely altered
Changes in underlying classifications
12. Since that time many changes have happened in the economic structure of many countries. New products have emerged, which the existing list does not cover.
So the 1973 list has become out of date in respect of its contents, in the sense that its contents has to be complemented but not necessarily completely altered. We will elaborate more on this a little latter.
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10. Revision goals Reflect products representative of today’s industries
Based on current classifications (CPC, HS)
Consider national product lists (!)
Update of supporting methodology
Applicable for calculation of price indices
No “clean slate” approach
13. Changes have happened also on the theoretical side, new tools have been developed. CPC, the central product classification was developed by the Statistical Office of the United Nations; CPC provisional in 1990, CPC Ver.1.0 in 1997 and CPC Ver. 1.1 in All the three versions have almost the same content on the goods (products or commodities ) part. CPC was meant to be used for all statistics requiring product detail and to bring together all the product classifications, i.e. to be used as a means for harmonizing them.
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11. Considerations
Original purposes for developing a list of industrial products still relevant today
Ensure a smooth transition from the “old” to the “new” list
preserve as many time series as possible
but
the work may entail redefinition of some products
removal of irrelevant products
17. The purposes for which the list was originally developed in 1971, are still relevant nowadays, therefore they will be used as a guidance, while aiming at the two main goals mentioned in paragraph 16.
18. While pointing out those two main goals, we are aware that the past is important also, therefore we would like to ensure a smooth transition from the “old” list to the “new” one in many respects.
As mentioned above, the UNSD has historical data on the production of industrial commodities dating back from We want to make sure that wherever possible, we can ensure the continuity of these series, not only for the sake of a historical treasure but also because certain products, like for example minerals, have been and are important. But, this work may as well entail the redefinition of many products and also the removal of some which might not be relevant any more on a well-balanced worldwide basis. These two issues will be elaborated further latter.
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12. Work criteria Work will be performed by evaluating:
the link to CPC/HS for each product of the existing list
the “history” of the existing list
a rank from 0 to 10 (0-best, 10-worst) is attached to each product
present industry coverage
trade data and national production data to be used as a source
new products to be added (high-tech, pharmaceuticals)
19. How is this work going to be performed in practical terms?
Broadly, these three directions will be followed but connected to each other:
a.       the link to CPC/HS for each product of the current list
b.      the “history” of the current list;
( For this a rank from 0 to 10 ( 0-worst and 10-best) was attached to each product. This ranking was developed based on criteria which reflect the response on the individual products, the purposes for which the list was originally developed and its structure.)
c.       industry coverage
( The representative products for each industry will be determined using HS trade data as source.)
o       add new products which the existing list does not cover
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13. Consultation
The draft of the new list to be circulated for input among
NSO-s
International organizations interested in product related data
21. When a draft for the new list will be available, it will be circulated among the national statistical offices and international organizations which are interested in product related data, in order to receive their input.
And finally, any comments or suggestions from the participants of this workshop will be very much appreciated.
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