Irish manufacturing production grew for the fifth consecutive month in January, according to the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) published this morning.
Growth of output remained significant - albeit slightly less marked than December - with. Irish manufacturing firms reporting fuller new order books for January, reflecting robust growth of new business from both domestic and foreign clients.
The volume of incoming new export orders rose for the third month in a row. Firms indicated that growth of new work from the United States and Asia had been especially positive, indicating the current strength of the euro relative to other major world currencies had yet to have any significant impact on the competitiveness of Irish-manufactured goods in these export markets.
January data suggested existing capacity had been sufficient to meet the current requirements of work on new and existing contracts.
However, after edging lower for the second month in a row, the PMI shows that the rate of expansion had eased further from November's near one-and-a-half year peak.