U.S. Manufacturers’ Confidence Soars

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM; Washington, DC) have released the results of their Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey for the second quarter of 2018, which shows that 95.1 percent of manufacturers have a positive outlook for their companies – an all-time record in the survey’s 20-year history – following enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The release of the survey results coincided with the six-month anniversary of tax reform and follows a May survey that shows U.S. manufacturers are increasing wages, hiring and capital investments in the wake of tax reform. Highlights from the Q2 survey include:

• Optimism among manufacturers registered its highest level ever recorded (95.1 percent) in the 20-year history of the survey.
• Optimism among medium-sized manufacturers is registered at its highest level ever recorded (95.8 percent) in the 20-year history of the survey.
• All-time highs for projected employment growth and capital spending.
• Projected wage growth registered its fastest pace in 17 years.
• Projected sales growth kept pace at its second-highest reading in survey history.

“This record optimism is no accident. It is fueled by the game-changing tax reform passed six months ago,” stated Jay Timmons, the president and chief executive officer of NAM. “Last year, manufacturers promised that we would deliver for our people and our communities if tax reform became law. Congress and the president delivered, and now manufacturers are keeping our promise: hiring new workers, raising wages, improving benefits, buying equipment and expanding right here in the United States. And the best part is, with manufacturers’ record-setting confidence and plans to keep hiring and growing, more good news is yet to come.”

Conducted by Chad Moutray, the chief economist for NAM, the Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey has surveyed the association’s membership of 14,000 large and small manufacturers on a quarterly basis for the past 20 years to gain insight into their economic outlook, hiring and investment decisions and business concerns. NAM releases these results to the public each quarter.

www.nam.org