A very common question I am asked is 'Has it been a good year for bees?' to which I have a range of unhelpful answers including 'No idea. There's about 250 pollinators in the UK and honey bees are only one type. I've no idea about the others'
More accurate, but equally unhelpful, is 'I don't know yet'.

Each year the British Beekeepers Association carry out a survey of their members on honey 'yeilds' which I take to mean the honey they produce to sell/give away in excess of  the amounts in the brood box as stores for winter. This years results published here state that the average yield per colony is down from 32lbs to 21lbs, a drop of about a third and mainly caused by 'the wrong weather'.
It has been a pretty bad year for me too and I haven't bothered counting up what the girls produced. Other bee keepers I have spoken to have said its been very bad for them as well.

So far I haven't seen any national coverage of the survey in the media but an article in the Western Evening Press said:-

The poor year will have an impact on honey prices, with commercial beekeepers hit as hard as those who keep bees for a hobby. Market forces will mean that with availability down, prices may have to rise. But dedicated lovers of British honey will probably swallow a price hike and keep on buying.

As usual our interest is in consumption and our concern in honey bees is largely based on the fact they produce honey. Doubtless we will get the usual 'the bees are in trouble again' coverage but to a certain extent I don't care what the honey production over the year has been.
For me the bee keeping year starts in March and the measure of a 'good' or 'bad' year is dependant on how many colonies get through the winter to the spring, not how much honey they produce.
Obviously a bad honey yield has an effect on the bees' ability to survive winter but it seems possible to have a 'bad' years yield of honey and for a bee keeper recognising the problems of building up honey production, and not taking much from the hive, administering varroa treatment and feeding properly in Autumn allowing a strong colony to build up for the winter.
Equally a 'good' years yield could be followed by a very long wet and cold winter with an occasional mild spell to increase their activity meaning more honey consumption, and for their stores to run out before spring.

This year so far hasn't been great with two, and nearly three, colonies already lost to wasps.
the BBKA also publish figures on colonies lost during the winter and last year is was 14.5% - 1 in 7.

I'll let you know how we got on in March.