At a time of severe cost pressures and weaker demand for their goods at home and abroad, companies responding to the monthly survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said they expected no letup in the tough trading environment in early 2023.
The employers’ lobby group found production contracted more quickly in the three months to December than at any time since September 2020, when the economy was just emerging from the first Covid-19 lockdown.
The CBI’s monthly industrial trends survey found 33% of manufacturers had reduced output in the latest quarter, while only 23% had raised production. Weak order books mean a similar negative balance is expected in the coming quarter.
Output fell in 11 out of 17 sectors in the three months to December, with the most pronounced declines seen in food, drink and tobacco; paper, printing and media; and mechanical engineering.
Read more at The Guardian
