Manufacturing output rose by 17.1 per cent in November versus the previous month as business geared up for Christmas, new figures show.
New data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show production on an annual basis rose 14.8 per cent.
The seasonally adjusted volume of industrial production for manufacturing industries for the three months to November was 3.9 per cent higher than the preceding period.
The “modern” sector, comprising high-tech and pharma companies, showed a monthly increase in production of 16.3 per cent. On an annual basis production in the modern sector rose 16 per cent.
There was a monthly increase of 2.2 per cent in the “traditional” sector for November and an annual decrease of 0.8 per cent.
Turnover increased by 9.3 per cent for companies in the manufacturing sector from October to November. On an annual basis, turnover jumped by 10 per cent.
“Manufacturing output has been very strong in the past couple of years, increasing by 24.2 per cent on average in 2014 and 38.5 per cent on average in 2015. However, all the signs are that any rise in 2016 will be significantly lower, in low single digits,” said Merrion chief economist Alan McQuaid.
“As regards 2017, output could again post a small single-digit rise, but the risk is that production will actually be lower than last year,” he added.
