(Alliance News) - Ireland's factories had a weak end to 2022, survey results showed on Tuesday.
The AIB Ireland manufacturing purchasing managers' index remained steady at 48.7 points in December, still in contraction territory below 50 points for a second month.
"Orders have been in decline since June reflecting weakening demand," commented Oliver Mangan, AIB chief economist. "This has resulted in the downturn in manufacturing activity seen in the closing two months of the year."
Production declined for the sixth time in seven months.
More positively, the survey showed that pressure on supply chains eased further in December, resulting in the slowest increase in input prices since February of last year. Irish manufacturers also resumed hiring in December, having cut staff in November.
The PMI is compiled by S&P Global from the responses to a questionary sent to 250 Irish manufacturers, with data collected from December 6 to 16.
By Tom Waite, Alliance News editor
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