Irish industrial production declines 1% compared to 2023

Traditional production sector rose by close to 7% during the same period between June and August

There was a 2.4 per cent decline in modern sector production which includes the big pharma, chemical and computer and electronic sectors. Photograph: iStock

Ireland’s industrial production fell in the three-month period between June and August, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows, although there was a rise during August.

The latest figures show a decline of almost 1 per cent year-on-year when compared with the same period in 2023, and 2.6 per cent compared with the preceding three months.

There was a decline in the modern sector, which fell 2.4 per cent year-on-year. That sector includes the State’s big pharma, chemical, pharmaceutical, and computer and electronic sectors, all of which are highly globalised.

The sector previously recorded a 6 per cent rise in turnover.

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Meanwhile, the traditional sector saw production rise by close to 7 per cent during the same period.

On a monthly basis, production in manufacturing industries rose by 3.5 per cent in August 2024.

Between June and August, turnover in manufacturing industries fell 0.4 per cent compared to the preceding period.

“The CSO recommends that analysts take a longer-term view of the indices because of the variability that can occur within the given months of a quarter,” said Colin Cotter, statistician in the Enterprise Statistics Division.

Industrial production figures here are also more volatile due to a large level of contract manufacturing, where a company outsources production to a third party.

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Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien is an Irish Times business and technology journalist