Washington, DC - American manufacturers think the future looks bright.
The GOP-led tax cuts and President Trump’s deregulation efforts are driving record-high optimism in the industry heading into 2019.
Nearly 89 percent of the 539 companies polled by the National Association of Manufacturers in the fourth quarter held a positive outlook for their business, bringing the yearly average to 92.4 percent, the highest in the survey’s 20-year history.
Just 18.5 percent of respondents cited an unfavorable business climate as a key concern, down from 71.2 percent in the final months of former President Barack Obama’s tenure in 2016. In the next 12 months, companies expect capital investments to increase 2.6 percent, full-time employment to rise 2.2 percent, and wages to jump 2.3 percent.
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“This year was one for the record books, with manufacturers’ average optimism for 2018 hitting an all-time high,” NAM President Jay Timmons said in a statement
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