Manufacturing output in the first half of 2007 grew by an annual 6.5%, making a strong contribution to growth in the first half of the year. Growth, however, in the second quarter slowed markedly.

Commenting on the figures, Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) Chief Economist David Croughan, said: “Strong first quarter annual growth of 15% reversed sharply to a decline of 1.6% in the second quarter. The slowdown was most apparent in the modern sectors, where annual output growth fell by 2.9% in the second quarter from a very rapid first quarter growth rate of 17%. This was due mainly to the chemicals sector, where output can be quite volatile. There was continued solid performance in computers and recorded media.

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"Output in the traditional sectors slowed from an annual growth of 6.2% in the first quarter to 2.3% in the second quarter. Much slower growth was recorded in wood products, reflecting lower building and construction activity, and beverage sales growth was weaker, in part because of the poor summer weather.

"This slowdown points to continuing difficult trading conditions for industry and the need to improve our competitive position by controlling costs. These are still rising sharply, while at the same time manufacturers are faced with stable or declining prices for their products.”

(LC/SP)