Any hopes that the UK manufacturing sector might begin to recover in 2002 were dashed by a report issued yesterday (January 2), which showed that the pace of decline is accelerating.

According to the closely-watched Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) monthly report, output fell for the 10^th consecutive month during December. This was reflected by the CIPS activity index, which fell from 45.6 in November to 45.2 in December, where an index above 50 represents an increase in manufacturing activity and an index of below a decrease. An even bleaker picture was painted by the CIPS employment index which fell to 42 – its weakest reading since the survey began in 1992.

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