Expansion in manufacturing sector moderates

The Irish manufacturing sector continued to expand and increase employment levels, although the pace of expansion moderated to its lowest level in five months.

The seasonally adjusted Investec Purchasing Managers’ Index — an indicator designed to provide a single-figure measure of the health of the manufacturing industry — showed a solid strengthening of operating conditions in January, Investec said. However, falling to 52.8 from 53.5 in December, the rate of improvement weakened slightly from the end of 2013.

“The latest Investec Manufacturing PMI report shows that activity in the Irish manufacturing sector continued to grow in January, albeit at a slightly slower rate (52.8) than in December (53.5). The marginal slowdown in growth is primarily attributable to a moderation in output growth, which expanded at the slowest rate since August,” said Investec chief economist, Philip O’Sullivan.