Manufacturing output in July was 5.7 per cent higher than 12 months previous, according to the latest Central Statistics Office figures.
On an annual basis, production for manufacturing industries for July 2007 was 14.4 per cent higher than in July 2006, the CSO said.
But it said the seasonally adjusted volume of industrial production for manufacturing industries for the period May to July 2007 was 0.5 per cent lower than the preceding three-month period.
The "modern sector", which includes the high technology and chemical sectors, showed an annual increase in production for July of 20.5 per cent, while an increase of 1.5 per cent was recorded in the "traditional" sector.
Ibec's chief economist David Croughan said: "This turnaround was almost entirely due to a positive swing in the output of the chemicals sector, which recorded an annual increase of 34.4 per cent in July."
He warned, however, that the output of office machinery and computers recorded virtually no growth in July, following strong growth in the second quarter.