Industrial production for January was almost 2% lower than in December, according to figures from the CSO.
When compared to January of last year, industrial production was down just over 3%.
The so-called 'modern sector', comprising the high-technology and chemical sectors, showed a monthly decrease in production for January of 0.5%.
There was a decrease of 2.5% in the 'traditional sector'.
The seasonally adjusted volume of industrial production for manufacturing industries for the three month period November 2012 to January 2013 was 0.4% higher than in the preceding quarter.
"The general weakness in the UK economy as well as the recent sharp depreciation of sterling have impacted negatively on the 'traditional' sector in recent months," according to Alan McQuaid, chief economist with Merrion.
"Manufacturing growth in the short-term is expected to be primarily driven by industries under the 'modern' umbrella," he added.
"Given the still uncertain global economic backdrop, especially in the Eurozone and UK, the worry is that overall production will remain subdued in the immediate future, which doesn't augur well for the prospects of Irish exports, an integral part of the country's economic recovery hopes," he said.
Alan McQuaid pointed out that when the world economy regains momentum, Ireland is better placed than most to take advantage of that.
