UK manufacturing output falling at fastest rate since 2009, says CBI

Fears over election and future EU trade put sector in a tailspin, with car industry hardest hit

Manufacturing output in the UK tumbled this month at the fastest rate since the 2008 financial crisis as uncertainty surrounding Britain's trading relationship with the EU and the outcome of the general election hit domestic and foreign orders.

According to the latest monthly CBI industrial trends survey, the volume of manufacturing production in December dropped at a rate not seen since September 2009, keeping the UK sector deep in recession.