TEMPE, AZ — Economic growth in the US will continue in 2017, say the nation’s purchasing and supply management executives in their December 2016 Semiannual Economic Forecast.

Expectations are for a continuation of the economic recovery that began in mid-2009, as indicated in ISM's monthly report on business.

The manufacturing sector is optimistic about growth in 2017, with revenues expected to increase in 16 manufacturing industries, and the non-manufacturing sector indicates that 14 of its industries will see higher revenues. Capital expenditures, a major driver in the US economy, are expected to increase 0.2% in the manufacturing sector and decrease 0.2% in the non-manufacturing sector. Manufacturing expects that its employment base will grow 0.6%, while non-manufacturing expects employment growth of 1.2%.

Manufacturing purchasing and supply executives report their companies are currently operating at 81.9% of normal capacity. This is a small increase when compared to April 2016 (81.7%), and also a small increase when compared to December 2015 (81.6%). Among the 10 industries operating above the average rate is Computer & Electronic Products.

Some 67% of survey respondents expect revenues to be greater in 2017 than in 2016. The panel of purchasing and supply executives expects a 4.6% net increase in overall revenues for 2017, compared to a 0.9% increase reported for 2016 over 2015 revenues.

“Manufacturing purchasing and supply executives expect to see growth in 2017. They are optimistic about their overall business prospects for the first half of 2017, and are slightly more optimistic about the second half of 2017," said Holcomb. "In 2016, manufacturing experienced eight months of growth overall from January through November, including three consecutive months of growth from September through November, resulting in an average PMI of 51.2 for the first 11 months of 2016 as reported in the monthly Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®. Respondents expect raw materials pricing pressures in 2016 to be low, and expect their profit margins will improve in 2017 over 2016. Manufacturers are also predicting growth in both exports and imports in 2017.”

The panel predicts prices paid for raw materials will increase 0.9% during the first four months of 2017, and will increase an additional 0.4% during the balance of the year, with an overall increase of 1.3% for 2017. This compares to a reported 0.4% decrease in raw materials prices for 2016 compared with 2015.

• Prev
• Next