Industrial production sees 22% drop in activity

The figures are highly volatile given the scale of contract manufacturing by multinationals in Ireland

Food production grew by 7.9% in the three months from July to September compared to 2022.

Production in manufacturing industries fell by almost 23% compared to the same period a year ago.

According to the Central Statistics Office, the highly globalised modern sector, which includes the chemical, pharmaceutical and computer and electronic sectors, experienced a 24.1% decrease in industrial production from July to September compared with the same period in 2022. This compares with a 6.2% drop in the traditional sector over the same period.

Production in manufacturing industries decreased by 22% when compared with the previous quarter of this year.

Eamonn Cleary, statistician in the Business Statistics Division, said production in manufacturing industries did increase in September by 1.3% when compared with August, and said food production grew by 7.9% in the three months compared to 2022.

The CSO has said the scale of contract manufacturing and outsourcing in the Irish industrial economy has increased since 2015, which means there are very high levels of short-term volatility in the data. 

The same data for the second quarter shows industrial output dropping by just 4% compared to the previous year.