The latest edition of the PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Manufacturing Barometer reports less pessimism among U.S.-based industrial manufacturers over the US and global economies, according to the second quarter report. While a majority of survey respondents continued to view the U.S. and global economies as declining in the second quarter of 2009, their overall outlook through the second quarter of 2010 shows improvement.

In the prior four quarters, an overwhelming majority of respondents viewed the US and world economies as declining. However, the outlook began to shift in Q2 with a 30 point drop to 63% of industrial manufacturing executives maintaining that the US economy is in decline. Similarly, 66% of respondents doing business abroad continued to view the world economy as declining …