Ireland's manufacturing sector is still expanding in December this year, but the growth rate has slowed down. The manufacturing PMI fell from 52.8 in November to 52.2, still above the 50 expansion/contraction line, but the growth of new orders and export orders has started to weaken. In terms of output, it remains growing, and employment continues to improve, but there is a problem—raw material costs are rising, squeezing companies' profit margins tightly. In simple terms, manufacturing is still expanding, but the pace is not as strong, and cost pressures are a bit high.