South Korean small manufacturers' output dropped at the steepest pace in ten years in September. 

According to Statistics Korea on Monday, the production index for small manufacturers came to 97, plunging 13-point-nine percent from the same month a year earlier and slipping for the eighth consecutive month since February.

Small manufacturers' output shrank four-point-three percent on-year during the first nine months of 2018, marking the largest drop since 2009 when the nation was still reeling from the global financial crisis.  

In contrast, large manufacturers' output posted a slight on-year decrease of point-four percent during the January-September period. 

Statistics Korea said the slowdown in auto and shipbuilding industries appears to be spreading to their subcontractors, which are mostly small manufacturers.