This is an exclusive summary of the MDM Webcast, the 2011 Economic Forecast. The recent webcast provided a forecast for two key distributor end-markets, construction and manufacturing. Growth is expected in both. The webcast is available on DVD at www.mdm.com/2011economicforecast.
For many, this recovery has not felt like what most expected when the recession ended.
“The economy’s grown over the past five quarters, but not at a rate that gives somebody a feeling of a real recovery,” said Don Norman, economist for MAPI/Manufacturers Alliance in the recent MDM Webcast, the 2011 Economic Forecast.
“In fact, the pace of recovery is somewhat of an anomaly. Sharp recessions in the post-World War II period have usually been accompanied by a very sharp recovery. The difference this time is the nature of the cause.
“Namely we had a financial crisis.”
Norman, in his forecast for the manufacturing sector, says he expects a modest recovery in 2011.
