DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish factory activity posted its sharpest ever monthly drop in March as the coronavirus pandemic disrupted supply chains and caused a collapse in demand, a survey showed on Wednesday.
The AIB IHS Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 45.1 from February's 51.2, its worst reading since May 2009 and well below the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction.
The month-on-month drop, at 6.1 points, was the largest since the survey began in May 1998, surpassing the 5.7 point fall recorded in February 2009 as the global financial crisis raged, the survey's authors said.
The new orders sub-index plunged a record 14.1 points to 38.2 from 52.3 in February. The 12-month outlook for production was the worst on record.
"The PMI data confirm that there was an abrupt and steep fall in manufacturing in March," AIB Chief Economist Oliver Mangan said. "Worse is to come, but there is also scope for a sharp rebound in activity when the coronavirus pandemic abates."
A six-year expansion in Irish manufacturing came to an end in June as a slowdown in global trade and uncertainty over Britain's departure from the European Union finally caught up with manufacturers in the bloc's fastest-growing economy.
March's sharp fall in the index came after two months of expansion.