The latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures reveal that the seasonally adjusted volume of industrial production for manufacturing industries for the first quarter of the year was down 0.7 per cent on the previous three months.
On an annual basis, production for all industries in March 2005 was 3.4 per cent lower than the same time last year.
The so-called "modern" sector, which comprises many of the tech and chemical companies, showed a 4 per cent fall in annual production. The traditional sector posted a 2 per cent decrease.
The CSO also said that the seasonally adjusted turnover for manufacturing industries was 0.1 per cent lower in the three months from January to March when compared with the previous quarter. On an annual basis, turnover in March of this year was 1.4 per cent lower than the same time last year.
Ibec chief economist David Croughan said that the modern sectors and the other sectors of manufacturing had failed to come out of the slump in 2004. The sectors made up of food and non-high technology are clearly feeling some of the impacts of lost competitiveness, he said.
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