Industrial production volume in the manufacturing sector dropped a seasonally adjusted 5.9 per cent in the first three months of the year compared with the previous quarter.
According to data released today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) high-tech and chemical manufacturers showed an annual increase in March 2004 of 8.1 per cent.
In the traditional manufacturing sector the volume decline was 1.2 per cent.
In the first quarter of 2004 industrial turnover for manufacturing industries was down 6.3 per cent compared to the final quarter of 2003.
