Irish manufacturing just about grows in October, as new orders fall again

Output and employment in Irish factories, including the foreign-owned multinationals, expanded last month

AIB chief economist Oliver Mangan said that surveys showed factory output elsewhere was weaker than in Ireland. File picture

Irish factories just about kept their heads above water in October, but there are signs that underlying orders will continue to slow in the coming months, the latest survey of purchasing managers in the industry has revealed. 

The findings from the AIB Purchasing Managers Index, or PMI, show that manufacturing output expanded in October, but by a small amount, while the indicators of future health, new orders, contracted for the fifth month in a row.