Manufacturing Recovery Expected To Be Slow

October 19, 2009

The Washington Times reports, "American manufacturers have started to come back after suffering the deepest, most prolonged collapse since the Great Depression." But manufacturing's recovery "will likely be slow, and job losses will continue to mount for quite some time, economists and manufacturing executives say." Emily Stover DeRocco, president of the Manufacturing Institute, commented, "The facts clearly illustrate that manufacturing is central to America's economic future." The Times continues, "Manufacturing production, which represents about 12 percent of GDP, reached its all-time peak in December 2007 - when the recession began." However, factory output "may not return to its pre-recession level until 2014, said David Huether, chief economist for the NAM." According to the NAM forecast, "Employment in manufacturing industries will likely continue to fall through the middle of next year...Then, during the next 4 years, from mid-2010 through the end of 2014, only 43 percent of those lost jobs will return." Huether "doesn't expect a vibrant uptick in the overall economy until after the first quarter of next year."