The collapse of credit made matters worse; and firms, facing high borrowing costs and declining markets, responded quickly, cutting back inventories. Orders dropped abruptly – well out of proportion to the decline in GDP – and those countries that depended on investment goods and durables (expenditures that could be postponed) were particularly hard hit.
信用的崩溃使事情进一步恶化；而面对高昂的借贷成本和不断衰退的市场，商家迅速做出反应，削减了库存。订单数量急剧减少——比例远远高于GDP的下降幅度——那些依赖投资货物和耐用品（可以推迟的开支）的国家受到的打击尤其严重。