Manufacturing Leaders Optimistic According to Barometer

According to the quarterly Manufacturing Barometer from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC, more U.S. manufacturers are expecting to make money and create jobs.

The  report showed that 60 percent were planning to grow their workforce and 68 percent were optimistic about the U.S. economy in 2015. The survey panel predicted their companies’ revenues to grow by an average of 5.8 percent in the coming year, with 85 percent expecting growth.

“We certainly share that optimism with the manufacturers,” said Brian Gallagher, Director of Marketing for O’Neal, Inc., and integrated design and construction firm that specializes in industrial and process-intensive facilities. “Investment in capital projects has been steadily increasing.”

Overall, 43 percent of US industrial manufacturers surveyed plan major new investments of capital over the next 12 months (2015) – up 7 points on a quarter-to-quarter basis, but on pace with a year ago (43 percent). Yet they plan to spend less. Their mean investment as a percentage of total sales was a notably lower 3.3 percent compared to a typically higher inves
Highlights from this quarter’s report:

• Economic sentiment is up among US industrial manufacturers across a range of key indicators.
• Aiming to fill the skill gap, the majority of respondents plan to hire new workers.
• Concerns regarding legislative/regulatory pressures dropped.

PwC’s Manufacturing Barometer is a quarterly survey of US-based executives in large, multinational industrial manufacturing businesses. The survey captures participants’ assessments of the direction of the US and world economies and their company’s performance and expectations in such areas as revenue growth, margins, inventory, and costs. Other sections explore plans for investment, mergers and acquisitions, and hiring, as well as potential barriers to growth and much more.
To obtain a copy of the barometer report, visit PwC.