January production falls drastically

JANUARY saw the sharpest fall in production levels among manufacturing firms for five months, as the bad weather hit production and new business orders deteriorated.

The monthly Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector, published by NCB Stockbrokers, fell from 48.8 points in December to 48.1 as of the end of last month. Any measure below 50 points marks an industry in decline.

Production output has now been down in every month since March of last year – a marginal increase last November proving to be a once-off bounce.