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The results presented in this release reflect contract manufacturing activity and outsourcing in the Irish industrial economy. This release is prepared in compliance with the requirement of EU Regulation 1165/98, as amended, and the standards set out in the UN 2010 International Recommendations for the Index of Industrial Production. These standards set out that outsourced production is included as part of an enterprise’s Irish production.
The scale of contract manufacturing and outsourcing in the Irish industrial economy has increased since 2015, meaning that very high levels of short-term, i.e. monthly, volatility may be present in the indices presented in this release.
With this in mind, the CSO recommends that analysts take a longer-term view of the indices. Accordingly, much of the commentary presented by the CSO in the release will refer to rolling quarterly time periods.
From November 2023 to January 2024, production in manufacturing industries increased by 29.0% when compared with the previous three-month period.
On a monthly basis, production in manufacturing industries decreased by 46.5% in January 2024. This decrease follows on from a large increase in the previous month. On an annual basis however, production in manufacturing industries was 7.8% lower in the three months from November 2023 to January 2024 when compared with the same period the previous year. (See Comment Below)
On an annual basis, the Modern sector experienced a decline of 14.4% in production in the three months from November 2023 to January 2024, compared with the same period one year ago. By contrast, annual production in the Traditional sector grew by 11.9% over the same three-month period.
From November 2023 to January 2024, turnover in manufacturing industries was up by 12.1% when compared with the previous three-month period.
In line with best practice, the CSO has been conducting a review of the seasonal adjustment methodology used in this monthly Industrial Production and Turnover series. This review is due to be finalized shortly and, in the meantime, the CSO will continue to implement the direct method of seasonal adjustment.
The headline table shows the seasonally adjusted and unadjusted Production and Turnover indices for Manufacturing industries. It also highlights the monthly and annual percentage changes for these indices, as well as percentage changes for the current compared to the previous quarter.
| Manufacturing Industries - Seasonally Adjusted and Unadjusted Indices | (Base Year 2015 = 100) | ||||
| Seasonally Adjusted | Unadjusted | ||||
| Production Index | Turnover Index | Production Index | Turnover Index | ||
| January 2023 | 211.4 | 162.5 | 243.0 | 189.3 | |
| December 2023 | 258.3 | 192.4 | 182.0 | 150.3 | |
| January 2024 | 138.2 | 122.9 | 158.1 | 142.7 | |
| Monthly % change | -46.5% | -36.1% | -13.1% | -5.1% | |
| Annual % change | -34.6% | -24.4% | -35.0% | -24.6% | |
| August 2023 - October 2023 | 142.2 | 131.7 | 169.2 | 145.1 | |
| November 2023 - January 2024 | 183.4 | 147.7 | 184.2 | 143.7 | |
| % change | 29.0% | 12.1% | 8.9% | -1.0% | |
Figure 1 and Table 2 show the seasonally adjusted indices for the Modern and Traditional sectors.
Tables 1 & 1a relate to the seasonally adjusted and unadjusted indices for Industrial sectors.
Figure 2 and Table 3b show the seasonally adjusted percentage changes in Manufacturing Industries for a rolling three-month provisional average.
Table 3a relates to provisional results for January and Table 3c relates to final results for December.
| Production | Turnover | |
| Manufacturing Industries (10-33) | 29 | 12.1 |
| Food Products (10) | 7.4 | 7.6 |
| Meat & Meat Products (101) | 0.5 | 1.5 |
| Dairy Products (105) | 8.1 | 8.8 |
| Bakery & Farinaceous Products (107) | 0.5 | 2.5 |
| Grain Mill & Starch Products; Prepared Animal Feeds (106,109) | -5.2 | -6.3 |
| Other Food Products (102-104,108) | 13.1 | 10.8 |
| Textiles, Wearing Apparel & Leather Related Products (13-15) | 10.7 | 6.6 |
| Wood & Wood Products, except Furniture (16) | 6.2 | -4.9 |
| Paper & Paper Products; Printing & Reproduction of Recorded Media (17-18) | -1 | 2.1 |
| Rubber & Plastic Products (22) | 17.5 | 10.3 |
| Other Non-Metallic Mineral Products (23) | 1.1 | -3.3 |
| Basic Metals & Fabricated Metal Products (24-25) | -1.4 | -3.1 |
| Electrical Equipment (27) | 3.8 | 6.5 |
| Transport Equipment (29-30) | -3 | 2.8 |
| Tobacco, Leather, Coke & Refined Petroleum Products, Transport Equipment, Furniture, Repair & Installation of Machinery & Equipment (12,15,19,29-31,33) | -2.3 | -3.8 |
Tables 4 & 4a show the seasonally adjusted and unadjusted Turnover indices for Industrial sectors.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (08 March 2024) published the Industrial Production and Turnover release for January 2024 (Provisional) and December 2023 (Final).
Commenting on the release, Colin Cotter, Statistician in the Business Statistics Division, said: "Production in manufacturing industries increased by 29.0% from November 2023 to January 2024 when compared with the previous three-month period, driven by differences in performance between the highly globalised Modern sector and the Traditional sector (See Headline Table, Table 1, and Table 3b).
Monthly production in manufacturing industries fell by 46.5% between December 2023 and January 2024. This decrease follows on from a large increase in the previous month. On an annual basis, production in this sector was 7.8% lower in the three months from November 2023 to January 2024 when compared with the same period in the previous year (See Table 1 and Table 3b). As per the advisory note above, the CSO recommends that analysts take a longer-term view of the indices because of the variability that can occur within the given months of a quarter. In particular, company results may be subject to year-end adjustments and data provided at year end may be subject to a higher degree of volatility than in other months.
The highly globalised Modern sector, which includes the Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Computer & Electronic sectors, experienced a decline of 14.4% in industrial production from November 2023 to January 2024, when compared with the same period in 2023. In contrast, the Traditional sector experienced an increase of 11.9% from November 2023 to January 2024, compared with the same period in the previous year (See Table 2 and Table 3b).
From November 2023 to January 2024, turnover in manufacturing industries was up by 12.1% when compared with the previous three-month period (See Headline Table, Table 4, and Table 3b).
In general, it should be noted that the results presented in this release reflect contract manufacturing activity in the multinational sectors."