UK manufacturing locked in pre-Brexit nosedive - UK trade body

A survey from trade body Make UK and accountants BDO showed on Thursday, the UK manufacturing sector is in a poor state, as orders and investment dry up due to the global slowdown and the Brexit crisis, per Reuters.

Make UK and BDO surveyed 292 companies between July 31 and Aug. 21.

Make UK chief economist Seamus Nevin and BDO head of manufacturing Tom Lawton said in a joint statement: “On current trends the economy, and the manufacturing sector in particular, looks headed toward a very challenging winter.” 

The Make UK/BDO report showed investment intentions turned negative for the first time in three years.   

It read: “Ominously, companies are cutting back on investment in transport equipment, factory machinery, and IT, just at the point in the economic cycle when spending would normally increase.”