US manufacturing to rebound in 2009 - group

31 March 2008 19:00  [Source: ICIS news]

TORONTO (ICIS news)--US manufacturing is expected to grow 3.4% in 2009, compared with only 0.5% forecast for 2008, a top industry group said on Monday.

 

The worsening US housing collapse would continue to depress related industries, “making for turbulent times in the US manufacturing sector in 2008,” said US Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI.

 

Housing starts were down 26% in the fourth quarter of 2007 and were forecast to plummet another 33% in 2008 before bottoming out in the second quarter, said the group’s chief economist Daniel Meckstroth.

 

Partially offsetting the housing crisis were growing exports, which are expected to expand by 8.1% in 2008 and 9.9% in 2009 on an inflation-adjusted base.

 

“Any recession is bad news for manufacturing,” said Meckstroth.

 

“However, the structure of the current downturn is concentrated in finance, real estate, and construction and not on manufacturing intensive demand such as business equipment and exports.”

 

“Furthermore, the reduction in consumer spending may well hurt foreign imports more than domestically produced items.”

By: Stefan Baumgarten
+1 713 525 2653

< previous article(ICIS Chemical Business podcast November 2, 2009)

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