Ireland’s industrial output fell in June compared to the previous month although it showed an 8.3 per cent increased on June 2017, driven by growth in production of food and textiles products.
The latest industrial production and turnover figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that both the "modern" and traditional sectors delivered annual production increases and monthly decreases.
The modern sector includes areas such as pharmaceuticals, electrical equipment and medical supplies, and has reported an almost 6 per cent uptick in production activity. Considering that the electrical equipment sector saw production fall 9.4 per cent in the year, it’s expected the majority of the growth came from the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors; however data from these sectors is “suppressed for confidentiality reasons”.
Traditional sectors
Of the traditional sectors, which is everything excluding the modern sectors, bakery improved 12.8 per cent year on year. Production of dairy products increased 10 per cent while the paper and paper products sector fell 7.6 per cent compared to last year.
The CSO’s survey monitors the volume of production and value of turnover of industrial units based in the Republic.
On the basis of Ireland’s GDP spike in 2015, driven by the relocations of entire balance sheets to Ireland, this survey excludes production that has been subcontracted to Irish companies for foreign companies and includes production Irish companies outsource.
Textiles
As with production volumes, turnover declined compared to May but increased 11 per cent in June compared to the same month last year. Textiles and paper products drove the increase in turnover, with textiles improving 26.6 per cent, while electrical equipment caused a drag on the figures, seeing turnover dip 7.7 per cent.
