The manufacturers’ buying group, Chicago-based Prime Advantage, released findings from its latest semi-annual Group Outlook Survey that revealing the top financial concerns its small and mid-sized U.S. manufacturers for the last half of 2011. Highlights of the latest survey's findings include:
- Of the small and mid-sized manufacturing professionals
who took the survey, 40 percent reported that their companies expect revenue
increases in the last half of 2011. The leading drivers of this expected
increase include new product lines and overall growth in customer demand.
Respondents are more positive this year than in August 2010, when 36 percent of
respondents expected revenues to increase in the next 6
months.
- Another 47 percent believe that revenues will remain the same for
the rest of the year, on par with August 2010, where 45 percent felt revenues
would remain the same.
- Nearly 25 percent reported that their companies expect capital
spending increases in the second half of 2011.
- Just 13 percent said they predicted revenues would fall in the last half of 2011, with anticipated slowdown in specific markets and overall customer demand listed as main reasons for the decline. This number shows improved confidence when compared to August 2010, when 18 percent anticipated revenues to decline.
Prime Advantage members are surveyed twice each year for their six-month projections on a range of economic indicators, from revenue to hiring to capital spending and cost pressures.
