Manufacturing to fall by 2%-3%

MANUFACTURING output is expected to fall by between 2% and 3% this year, as a whole, after latest figures detailed a 4.3% year-on-year drop in May.

The latest data – published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), yesterday – also showed that the seasonally adjusted volume of industrial production in manufacturing industries – for the three months of March, April and May – was 2.3% higher than in the preceding three-month period.

The “modern” sector, comprising of the high-tech and chemical sectors, showed an annual increase in production in May, of 1.3%; while the “traditional” sector showed a decline of 12.1%.