It is incredible that 19 months into such a nasty recession plenty of economic indicators are still getting genuinely worse. Take Wednesday’s survey of US manufacturing conditions from the Institute of Supply Management. Most will rejoice that the factory index rose slightly to 45 per cent in June, in spite of such levels remaining consistent with a shrinking economy. But a peek beneath the headlines reveals that manufacturers are far from cosy.

Three numbers stand out. First, inventories fell yet again, this time by 2 percentage points to 31 per cent – a 27-year low. For months optimists have promised a recovery kicked off by a rebuilding of inventories. Clearly, however, a near-term pick-up in customer appetites is yet to be tapped into manufacturers’ spreadsheets. Those at the sharp end, in other words, are still cutting back.