Multinational exports drove 7.8% November rise in industrial output

The 36.6% year-on-year output growth was boosted by a sharp rise in sectors such as pharma, electronics, and medical devices

An X-Press Feeders ship carrying containers between Cork and Bilbao and Gijon in Spain. 

Industrial production rose in November helped by exports of factories owned by multinationals, official figures show. The figures suggest that fears of recessions in key markets hadn’t hit demand for Irish manufacturers by late last year.

The Central Statistics Office said output rose by 7.8% in November from October, and increased sharply by 36.6% from November 2021.

Output from the start of September through the end of November was also up 14% from the previous month.

The CSO said that the figures also showed that output from the so-called modern sector — which includes companies in the pharma, computer, electronics, and medical devices sectors — rose sharply. The ‘traditional’ sector, which includes many Irish-owned factories, also grew, but at a slower rate.

“This increase in industrial output largely reflects increases in export manufacturing activity, as well as contract manufacturing in the multinational sectors,” the CSO said in its commentary, also citing trade figures for most of 2022.

Recent surveys of Irish manufacturing showed signs that output had fallen. The AIB Ireland Purchasing Managers’ Index survey published earlier this month showed new orders at Irish factories fell sharply in December, with overall activity contracting for the second successive month.