Italian manufacturers experienced another arduous month in October, with output and new orders declining at quicker rates than in September. Firms signalled excess capacity as employment fell and backlogs were reduced at the sharpest rate for three months. Demand weakness was also reflected in companies' purchasing activity as input buying fell significantly, while input prices and output charges continued to decrease. The HCOB Italy Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ IndexTM (PMI®), a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance derived from indicators for new orders, output, employment, suppliers’ ... (full story)