2008

In a recent survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the majority of U.S.-based industrial manufacturers said they are pessimistic about the prospects for the U.S. economy over the next 12 months, and most of the others said they are uncertain. Only 12% remain optimistic. Their overall uncertainty now includes the world economy where 21% say they are pessimistic and 41% say they are uncertain about the next 12 months.
 
Overall, U.S.-based industrial manufacturers will be readjusting to a slower-paced domestic economy for most of 2008, but with the continued strength of international sales, an uptick is anticipated as they move into the first months of 2009.
 
Key findings:
Optimism drops dramatically. Those optimistic about the 12-month outlook for the U.S. …

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector failed to grow in April, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.
 
The manufacturing sector failed to grow in April as the PMI fell below 50 percent for the third consecutive month. Manufacturers are in a situation where both new orders and production are slowly declining, but prices continue to rise at highly inflationary rates, according to ISM.
 
Bright spots this month are the growth in the Backlog of Orders Index after six consecutive months of decline, continued strength in new export orders and a reduction in customers’ inventories.
 
More details …

Soaring industrial product prices and robust demand for resource-based goods offset declines in some of Canada’s key durable goods industries in 2007, according to a Statistics Canada report. Overall, there was little change in both the volume and value of manufacturing sales.
 
Manufacturers posted a modest 0.4% increase in sales to $613.4 billion, according to a year-end review, published in the Analysis in Brief series. In constant dollars, factory sales were essentially flat, following a lacklustre 2006 in which sales edged down.
 
Manufacturers had a mixed year in other respects in 2007. Employment fell by an estimated 55,300 jobs and total hours worked declined 2.9%. However, labour productivity in the sector …