Conditions in the Irish manufacturing sector improved in October following the sharpest rise in production for three months.
The seasonally adjusted NCB Purchasing Managers' Index moved back above the 50.0 no-change mark in October to 50.9 up from 48.4 a month earlier.
"Business conditions have now strengthened in seven of the past eight months," NCB said in a statement.
NCB said the level of new business increased in October, following a decline in September, largely because of higher levels of new orders from export markets.
These orders led to an eighth successive increase in Irish manufacturing production, albeit marginal, which was fastest in three months.
The survey said spare capacity remains in the sector as the amount of outstanding work fell again, as did employment but at a considerably slower pace.
Input costs surged in October to the strongest level for five months, with NCB saying that higher raw material costs were the key source of this inflation.
Despite the increase in input prices, output charges fell slightly, for the second month running, as intense competition largely prevented price rises in the sector.
