British industrial output recorded its biggest quarterly fall on record during the three months to June as coronavirus heavily disrupted operations, and a further decline is likely in the months to come, a survey showed on Monday.
“CRISIS HAS BEEN CHALLENGING FOR MANUFACTURING SECTOR”
The Confederation of British Industry’s headline industrial orders measure inched up to -58 in June from May’s 38-year low of -62, but remained far below its pre-coronavirus level, while export orders fell by the most since records began in 1977 at -79.
The CBI’s measure of industrial output over the past three months fell to its lowest since that measure started in July 1975, sinking to -57 from -54.
“The coronavirus crisis has been hugely challenging for the manufacturing sector, and these figures reflect the tough circumstances faced by firms across the country,” said Tom Crotty, group director of chemicals producer INEOS and chair of the CBI’s manufacturing council.
The CBI said the steepest falls in production came in the automotive, mechanical engineering and metals sectors.