Manufacturing output 'lowest since 1980'

Output levels over the next three months are expected to fall at the fastest rate in nearly three decades, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has found.

The business group's Monthly Industrial Trends survey revealed that 56 per cent of manufacturers predict that their output will fall in the coming quarter and only eight per cent expect it to rise - leading to a negative balance of 48 per cent.

This proportion is worse than February's balance of -44 per cent and is equal to the lowest-ever recorded balance of September 1980.

Ian McCafferty, chief economic adviser at the CBI, said: "The past six months have proved especially tough for many UK manufacturers, who have been hit by plunging domestic and global demand.

"Although firms have cut output aggressively in response to the recession, stock levels are still too high relative to expected demand. Manufacturers will take further action to reduce their stocks, leading to further sharp falls in output over the coming quarter."

The CBI represents almost a quarter of a million businesses in the UK which together employ one-third of people at different levels of career development in the private sector.