Business conditions in the West Midlands worsened further in September with companies trimming output due to reduced new order intakes, weak underlying demand and acute price pressures, according to new research.
The latest NatWest PMI Business Activity Index, a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of the region's manufacturing and service sectors, fell from 49.3 in August to 47.8 in September.
This signalled a second successive drop in output and one that was the fastest since January 2021. Moreover, the rate of contraction was sharper than the UK average.
