Dominoes continue to fall after Wedgwood tips over
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Another tough day in business for Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire.
Pottery raw materials supplier Jesse Shirley & Sons and pottery firm Hudson & Middleton have both gone into administration, pulled down by the pressures of what's happened at Wedgwood.
The article in The Sentinel explains how the collapse of Wedgwood cut top-line sales by 30 per cent, and now 55 jobs have had to go as administrator KPMG prepare to sell the businesses as a going concern.
That said, it's not so much of a surprise. Look at the Jesse Shirley website and its deal to be exclusive supplier of earthenware bodies to Wedgwood. It's clear what pressures might be brought to bear if the world-famous pottery maker hit the rocks as it has done.
There is almost a repeat of what has happened at other major manufacturers, such as MG Rover.
Research by Cardiff University found that for every job lost at the Birmingham car firm in 2000, seven other jobs were lost elsewhere in the supply chain.
There was a similar impact in Stoke-on-Trent after Michelin shed 975 jobs in 2000.
That's why many suppliers in the car industry diversified so that they did not rely on one single major customer.
Similarly, it's fairly likely that signs of the structural problems within Stoke-on-Trent's pottery industry have led many other firms to diversify.
I've reported on how dozens of suppliers of goods such as decals, colours and pottery shaping tools have made strenuous efforts to export their wares to markets such as China.
Given what's happened today, it will be interesting to see how many ceramic firms turn up to the Birmingham Spring Fair at the end of this month.
The Birmingham NEC was once a major showcase for pottery manufacturers of all sizes.
In 2002, there were 40 small firms that turned up to the NEC rather than the King's Hall in Stoke, with many recognising the benefits of coming under the same umbrella of makers of everything tabletop, ranging from cutlery and kitchen knives to pots and pans.
Each year since there have been fewer and fewer names coming back, either because of companies going under, or because the cost of showing has not yielded sufficient return on investment.
Of course, it is likely you'll see the latest wares from the likes of Churchill China, Portmeirion and Dudson, and then stalwarts like Moorcroft, but it will be interesting who else turns out.
At times like these, though, it is a difficult call. Do you splash out and market your goods, or batten down the hatches and wait for confidence to improve.
Time will tell.
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More detail on Waterford Wedgwood bidder