UK manufacturing contracts as exports slide

British manufacturing has gone into "reverse gear" as factory activity stalls around the world amid deepening economic gloom, a string of leading surveys confirmed.

the Telegraph, 

1 September 2011

August saw activity at UK factories slump for the second month in a row, according to the closely watched purchasing managers' index (PMI) from researchers Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply.

The decline was driven by falling new orders for exports, which saw their steepest slide in five years as overseas demand worsened amid intensifying fears for growth.

The index's headline reading dropped to a 26-month low of 49, where anything below 50 signals contraction. The latest figure, coming after July's 49.4 reading, reinforced concerns that manufacturing - recently the UK recovery's success story - will prove a drag on growth as a slowdown hits factories worldwide.

For article GO HERE