Manufacturing activity increases further in July

Manufacturing activity in Ireland improved in July, despite a fall in the headline Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) figure, indicating that the rate of expansion has moderated.

According to the latest Investec Manufacturing PMI Ireland report, the improvement was mainly due to new order growth, although the headline PMI reduced to 54.6 from a 23-month high of 56.0 in June.

PMI is an economic indicator that surveys purchasing mangers at businesses that make up a given sector and, according to Investec, anything over 50 shows expansion in the sector.

New orders rose sharply in July, with panellists reporting new work from both new and existing clients, although the rate of growth eased slightly. New export orders increased for the eleventh consecutive month, but at the slowest rate since November last year, and some panellists mentioned having expanded into new markets.

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Employment

On the margin side, input prices continued to rise sharply, although, input cost inflation eased in July and the latest increase was the weakest in the year-to-date. Employment in July increased at its slowest pace since October last year.

Looking forward, Investec said that manufacturers remained positive on the outlook with this optimism linked to expectations of further growth in both domestic and international orders.

“Following a strong performance by the manufacturing sector in H1 this year, and the generally improving global backdrop, we also remain upbeat about prospects for the sector over the remainder of the year,” the broker said.