Factories bearing the brunt of UK economic slowdown

Higher costs, weaker demand and bottlenecks sink manufacturing output to lowest level since start of pandemic

Britain's factories are bearing the brunt of the slowdown in the economy as higher costs, weaker demand and supply bottlenecks combine to send output plunging.

Two separate snapshots of industrial activity showed a decline in manufacturing activity - part of a Europe-wide trend exacerbated by the economic fallout from the war in Ukraine.