Ireland Factory Production Slumps by 10.1 Percent

Manufacturing fell by 10.1% between October and November 2017, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show. On an annual basis production for last November decreased by 11.1% when compared with November 2016.

The seasonally adjusted volume of industrial production for manufacturing industries for the three months to November was 8.2% higher than in the preceding three-month period, RTE reported.

During the month, the “modern” sector showed a fall in production of 11.3% and an annual decrease of 12.8% compared with November 2016. There was a monthly drop of 0.9% in the “Traditional” sector for November and an annual decrease of 1.5% compared with November 2016.

According to the CSO, turnover increased by 7.3% for manufacturing industries in November when compared with October. On an annual basis, turnover increased by 4.2% when compared with November 2016.

Commenting on the figures, Merrion Capital economist Alan McQuaid said: “The data in recent years underline how important the multinational sector is to the overall production figures, but also show how erratic and volatile the numbers can be on a monthly basis.

“Furthermore, the strong underlying output performance in the “modern” sector particularly in 2014 and 2015 can to some degree be explained by the production of goods abroad on behalf of Irish-domiciled multinationals, though this so-called “contracted production” has less impact on tax revenue and jobs in Ireland.

“Still, the overall contribution of the multi-national sector to the Irish economy remains very strong, as reflected by the robust level of corporation tax receipts in the past few years.”