UK industry is gloomy about its prospects in every region of the according to the latest survey from the Confederation of British Industry.
The Regional Trends Survey highlights what it called, "a crisis in confidence", across all eleven regions in the UK. Scotland and Ireland were hit hardest, it reported.
CBI head of economic analysis, Doug Godden, said: "With further job losses on the horizon, manufacturing confidence has deteriorated right across the UK. This had not happened for a year, despite the manufacturing recession.
"Weak international demand is pulling operating levels further away from full capacity. In this difficult climate, firms have no intention of increasing investment, but it is encouraging that many regions expect output to pick up."
