The steam could be running out of the recovery in the manufacturing industry.
According to the latest survey, orders weakened this month, after being "normal" in May but the long-term future for manufacturing is widely seen as bleak.
John Clayton, chief executive of the Essex Chambers of Commerce, said: "We need figures for a longer period of time to make an accurate judgment on any recovery.
"The outlook is that more and more manufacturing will go to Eastern Europe and the Far East and the Made in Britain label will become rarer and rarer."
The Monthly Industrial Trends survey acknowledged that the June figures were not sufficiently weak to indicate a marked change in the improving trend reported over the previous eight months.
Published Friday July 2, 2004
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