Industrial output rises 12%

CSO FIGURES:INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION rose by 12.1 per cent in the year to September, according to new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The increase was driven primarily by a 14.7 per cent rise in the production of pharmaceutical products and preparations, and an 11.4 per cent increase in food products.

The modern sector, which includes a number of high-technology and chemical sectors, rose 13.5 per cent over the year, while the traditional sector showed a modest increase of 6.5 per cent. This was the fifth monthly rise.

“The annual rate of increase in September was the highest so far in the recovery period,” Bloxham chief economist Alan McQuaid said. However, he warned that recent exchange rate movements could hurt this growth.

External demand is considered crucial to Ireland’s economic recovery, as the domestic economy remains weak. Any economic slowdown in other economies could adversely impact output and exports.

The CSO said turnover was 8.1 per cent higher than the same month a year earlier.

Mr McQuaid said there was some suggestion of improvement, with manufacturing output in the first three quarters of 2010 an average of 6.4 per cent higher compared to the same period last year.

“Despite some signs in recent months from the manufacturing PMI surveys of a weakening of activity in the near-term, the third quarter was strong, and it does at this stage look like there will be a healthy average increase in output for 2010 as a whole of around 5 per cent,” he said.

Over the three-month period to the end of September, the volume of turnover was 2.3 per cent higher than the preceding quarter. The seasonally adjusted industrial turnover index for manufacturing industries grew 2.4 per cent over the quarter.