A particularly intriguing one comes from the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), which just released the results of its Manufacturer’s Outlook Survey for Q2 2018. The biggest bombshell is the finding that 95.1 percent of all manufacturers—and 95.8 percent of medium-sized manufacturers—have a positive outlook for their companies. These are both all-time records in the survey’s 20-year history.
NAM credits these record-breaking results to the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by congress six months ago.
“Last year, manufacturers promised that we would deliver for our people and our communities if tax reform became law,” said Jay Timmons, NAM president and CEO. “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.”
The responses were collected between May 22 and June 5, 2018, which includes the administration’s announcement that Canada, Mexico and the European Union would no longer be exempt from tariffs on aluminum and steel imports, but only just. It’s also worth noting that “Rising raw material costs for our products” became the second most common business challenge, overtaking “Rising health care/insurance costs” compared to the Q1 report, though still behind “Attracting and retaining and quality workforce.”
Nevertheless, the survey results paint a rosy picture across the board. The expected growth rate for production over the next 12 months is up by 5.7 percent, up from 5.5 percent in March and the highest since the question was added to the survey three years ago. Even more impressive, the expected growth rate for employee wages is up 2.7 percent—the highest it’s been since 2001.
You can view the full NAM Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey for Q2 here.