Small-
and medium-sized manufacturing companies have seen orders and output fall at
the fastest rate for more than a year, according to the latest CBI figures.
The
survey, which covers the last four months, reveals smaller firms are struggling
to beat the manufacturing recession.
The
figures show that while 22 per cent of firms said new orders were increasing,
40 per cent said they had dropped.
This
balance of minus 18 per cent compares with minus 16 per cent in July and is
well short of the expected plus 1 per cent.
For
output the balance was minus 15 per cent, compared to 11 per cent in July and
the predicted plus 3 per cent.
