The CSO’s Supply and Use tables (SUTs) provide detailed insights into the production and consumption of goods and services within the economy, enabling comprehensive economic analysis. The tables are produced as part of the National Accounting framework and are the most detailed tables showing production of goods and services, consumption and trade. The SUTs are consistent with the main aggregates from the Annual National Accounts (ANA) but provide product level detail that cannot be found there. There are two main tables, one for supply and one for use. Along with the SUTs, the Input-Output framework of the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010) also consists of Symmetric Input-Output Tables (IOTs), used in multiplier type analyses.
The Supply Table shows the supply of good and services (products) by Output of enterprises and by Imports, grouped into around 60 product categories. The tables are constructed using 88 industries and 88 product groups and then condensed for confidentiality and quality purposes. As a result, the published number will vary slightly year to year.
The enterprises are divided into the same number of industry categories, in this way the Supply Table shows what industries are producing what products. The supply of products is shown on the rows and output from industries is shown on the columns. Enterprises are classified according to the product that accounts for the largest part of their output, principal production is therefore seen on the diagonal elements of the Supply Table. Many enterprises also produce secondary products. For example, the food industry mostly produces food products, but it also produces research and development services. At the same time, most food products are supplied by the food industry, but some are also produced by other sectors, such as agriculture. The secondary production is shown on the off-diagonal elements.
The values of domestic production are shown in Basic Prices. This is the amount retained by the producer for producing the good or service. It excludes product taxes such as VAT, excise and import duties, as well as trade margins. The trade margin is the amount earned by reselling the product after it has been manufactured or imported. The basic price is more relevant for the producer’s decision making. The Supply Table is transformed into Purchasers’ Prices with the addition of Taxes, Subsidies and Trade Margins, shown as separate columns within the Supply Table.
Imports in the Supply Table are shown by detailed product valued as c.i.f. (cost, insurance and freight inclusive). This is the same valuation as that published by CSO External Trade but is different to the valuation in the ANA, which is valued as f.o.b. (free on board, i.e. exclusive of insurance and freight costs). The Supply Table shows an adjustment term to move from this c.i.f. valuation to the f.o.b. valuation found in the ANA. Exports by product in the Use Table are valued as f.o.b. Similarly, this is consistent with CSO External Trade data but different to the ANA valuation. An adjustment term is also available on the Use Table.
The Use Table shows the use of products by domestic enterprises, as Intermediate Consumption, and by final demand. Final demand consists of Capital Formation, Exports, Changes in Inventories and consumption by Households, Government, and Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households (NPISH). The latter three components combined are known as Final Consumption. As in the Supply Table, products are grouped into around 60 categories and Intermediate Consumption is grouped into around 60 sectors.
The products used are presented in the rows going across while the columns going down show the industry groups that use these goods and services, as well as the Final Consumption, Capital Formation and Exports of each product.
Additional information for each industry is shown below the rows of products used in Intermediate Consumption. These rows give estimates of the components of the Gross Value Added (GVA) of each industry. These are in the form of Compensation of Employees (COE), non-product Taxes (for example, rates) and non-product Subsidies (for example, employment subsidies), Net Operating Surplus (or profits) and Consumption of Fixed Capital (depreciation). Net Operating Surplus and Consumption of Fixed Capital, when combined, are referred to as Gross Operating Surplus (GOS). The sum of these rows is the GVA of the industry and is equal to the Output of the industry minus its Intermediate Consumption costs.
The values in the Use Table are in Purchasers’ Prices. However, the GVA of the industries are in Basic Prices. GVA at Basic Prices is equal to the Output valued at Basic Prices less the Intermediate Consumption valued at Purchasers’ Prices.
The total supply of each product in the last column of the Supply Table is equal to the total use of the product in the last column of the Use Table. Similarly, the total Output of each industry in the last row of the Supply Table is equal to the sum of the Intermediate Consumption and Value Added of that industry, which is the last row of the Use Table.
While the SUTs are constructed directly from survey and other administrative data sources, the IOTs are modelled from the preceding SUTs. The IOTs present the Use Tables as product by product (as opposed to product by industry) and can be seen as a blending of the Supply Table and the Use Table into a single table. The tables allow for the examination of both inputs (columns) and outputs (rows) simultaneously, and its main value lies in being able to examine the use of products in the production of other products within the Irish economy. The IOTs are used for conducting economic analysis and to calculate various multipliers.
To produce the IOTs the Use Table is first calculated at basic prices. To do this transformation, the margins and taxes less subsidies are removed from the Use Table across industries and components. This is done by creating a Use Table based off the three columns (margins, taxes and subsidies) available in the Supply Table. These tables are subtracted from the Use Table at purchasers’ prices to create a Use Table at basic prices.
Once the Use Table at basic prices is calculated, we disaggregate it into domestic inputs (uses) and imported inputs. The Use Table for imports is created first, utilising the Imports column available in the Supply Table. The Use Table for imports explains how imports are being used throughout the economy. The Use Table for domestic inputs is then calculated from the residual of the Use Table at basic prices and the Use Table for imports, and it explains how domestic production is used throughout the economy.
Consistent analysis and adjustments are required throughout the process of calculating these intermediate tables. For example, domestic inputs are calculated as the residual of total use minus imported use which can result in negative cells, but use cannot be negative. These negative cells need to be examined and understood for adjustments to be made to ensure all cells are positive, while retaining column/row consistency throughout.
In total, there are three Use Tables at basic prices, one for total inputs, one for domestic inputs and one for imported inputs. These three tables, along with the Table of Trade Margins and the Table of Taxes less subsidies, form what are known as the Intermediate Tables for the IO Tables.
There are three IO Tables; one for each of the Use at basic prices tables, a Totals Table, a Domestic IO Table, which refers to the consumption of domestically produced products and an Imports IO Table, which refers to the consumption of imported products.
The structure of the IO tables is similar to the structure of the Use table but differ in the following ways:
The conversion of the asymmetric Use Table to the symmetric IO Table is underpinned by certain assumptions in regards to the production of secondary products; the off diagonal elements in the domestic Supply Table. IO Tables can be either industry by industry or product by product based, and the assumption differs slightly depending. In this instance the Product Technology Assumption is used in the conversion (the Industry Technology Assumption would be used in the industry by industry case); which assumes that a product will have the same input structure regardless of what industry produces it. It also assumes all industries will respond accordingly to meet the change in demand, and that there will be no price adjustments or supply constraints during the production.
The IO Tables are calculated as Xp = U⋅S-1⋅q where:
The SUTs and IOTs are produced in line with the methodology laid out in the Eurostat Manual of Supply, Use and Input-Output Tables.