INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION grew strongly in July, reaching a record for a single month. Output increased by 12.4 per cent compared to the same month in 2009 and by 3.5 per cent on a month earlier.
The seasonally adjusted figures, published by the Central Statistics Office yesterday, were driven by booming output in the foreign-owned sector. Since its low point in November 2009, output has jumped by 49 per cent.
The most significant changes were seen in the chemicals and pharmaceutical sector, which now accounts for more than half of total industrial output. A 38 per cent rise in just three months continues to drive growth in the overall index.
The computer, electronic and optical products sector saw production collapse after the onset of global recession in late 2008, with output halving. The decline was arrested in November of last year, but only a fraction of the lost ground has since been recovered.
The “traditional” sector, which is dominated by home-grown firms, continued to show weakness in July. Output registered a second consecutive month-on-month decline, although it remains 3.3 per cent above its recent nadir recorded exactly a year ago, in July 2009.
This sector is more labour intensive. Its weak recovery explains why there has been little employment gains in the sector despite the high headline rate of expansion.
Davy analyst Aidan Corcoran said the foreign-owned sector was “volatile” and said the “traditional” – mainly domestically owned – sector continued to struggle.
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