Irish factory activity grows at fastest pace in over three years, survey shows

Reuters

Manufacturing activity in the Republic grew at the fastest pace in more than three years in June as the sector brushed off concerns about global trade, hired more staff and increased purchasing, a survey showed on Tuesday.

The AIB Ireland Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 53.7 from 52.6 in May, marking the highest reading since May 2022 and staying above the 50.0 threshold separating expansion from contraction for the sixth successive month.

The increase was driven by a sharp increase in employment, with the rate of job creation reaching its strongest level since June 2022. Respondents attributed the rise to greater workloads and long-term expansion plans.

Purchasing activity surged, with the rate of growth also hitting a more than three-year high, as firms aimed to rebuild inventories amid rising demand and longer supplier delivery times.

Despite this, backlogs of work fell for the fourth month in a row, suggesting a lack of pressure on business capacity and while new export orders continued to decline, they came close to returning to growth after a big dip in May.

Looking ahead, manufacturers expressed optimism about future growth prospects, with 44% of respondents predicting an increase in production volumes over the next year, despite concerns over US tariffs and global economic uncertainty.

The Department of Finance and the Central Bank recently cut their economic growth forecasts for the year on global trade concerns.

As a member of the EU, the State currently faces tariffs of 10 per cent on around a quarter of its goods exports to the US.