From December 2022 to February 2023, industrial production in Manufacturing Industries decreased by 7.3% compared with the previous three-month period.
On an annual basis, production in Manufacturing Industries was 25.6% greater in February 2023 than in February 2022.
In February 2023, production in the Modern sector increased by 26.4% compared with February 2022. By contrast, production in the Traditional sector rose by 1.8% over the same period.
From December 2022 to February 2023, industrial turnover in Manufacturing Industries fell by 7.8% compared with the previous three-month period.
On an annual basis, turnover in Manufacturing Industries increased by 30% in February 2023 compared with February 2022.
The CSO had previously committed to review its approach to the seasonal adjustment methodology used in this monthly Industrial Production and Turnover series. This review is still ongoing, and, in the meantime, the CSO will continue to implement the direct method of seasonal adjustment.
| Manufacturing Industries - Seasonally Adjusted and Unadjusted1 | ||||
| (Base Year 2015 = 100) | ||||
| Seasonally Adjusted | Seasonally Unadjusted | |||
| Production Index | Turnover Index | Production Index | Turnover Index | |
| February 2022 | 157.0 | 131.3 | 135.7 | 121.3 |
| January 2023 | 195.5 | 164.4 | 243.0 | 189.3 |
| February 2023 | 197.3 | 170.6 | 171.2 | 157.8 |
| Monthly % change | 0.9 | 3.8 | -29.5 | -16.6 |
| Annual % change | 25.6 | 30.0 | 26.1 | 30.1 |
| Sep 2022 - Nov 2022 | 210.8 | 178.1 | 278.4 | 212.3 |
| Dec 2022 - Feb 2023 | 195.5 | 164.2 | 182.6 | 156.4 |
| % change | -7.3 | -7.8 | -34.4 | -26.3 |
| 1Figures may differ due to rounding. | ||||
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (06 April 2023) published the Industrial Production and Turnover release for February 2023. Commenting on the release, Eamonn Cleary, Statistician in the Business Statistics Division, said: "From December 2022 to February 2023, production in Manufacturing Industries decreased by 7.3% compared with the previous three-month period (See Headline Table and Table 3b).
On an annual basis, production in Manufacturing Industries was 25.6% greater in February 2023 than in February 2022 (See Headline Table, Table 1 and Table 3a).
However, this large annual increase in production was not uniform across all sectors. For instance, the Modern sector, which includes the Pharmaceutical, Computer, Electronic and Medical Instrumentation sectors, recorded a 26.4% increase in industrial production in February 2023 compared with February 2022. By comparison, the Traditional sector showed a rise of just 1.8% over the same period (See Table 2).
From December 2022 to February 2023, industrial turnover in Manufacturing Industries fell by 7.8% compared with the previous three-month period (See Headline Table and Table 5b).
On an annual basis, turnover in Manufacturing Industries increased by 30% in February 2023 compared with February 2022 (See Headline Table, Table 4 and Table 5a).
In general, the results presented in this release reflect contract manufacturing activity in the multinational sectors, as well as increases in export manufacturing activity. For instance, External Trade statistics throughout 2022 showed a similar general upward trend. Exports in 2022 were up by €42.5 billion (25.6%) compared with 2021, with Medical & Pharmaceutical Products up by €17.4 billion (27.8%), Organic Chemicals by €10.9 billion (42%), Machinery & Transport Equipment, which includes ICT, by €2.4 billion (9.5%), and Food Products by €2.7 billion (22%) (See Goods Exports and Imports December 2022, Table 3)."