MAPI — Manufacturers Alliance News and Reports — U.S. Industrial Outlook and More

Issues in the Brief

5 Trends in the HVAC Industry
Chief Economist Dan Meckstroth takes a look at the outlook for HVAC, drawing on his recent presentation to Baltimore Aircoil and his U.S. Industrial Outlook. The industry is facing a worsening deficit but is seeing a boost from the construction of buildings.

Q&A: Saving Money With the Circular Economy
Participating in the circular economy through material reuse and recycling saves companies money and minimizes environmental footprints. Read our interview with Andy Mangan of the US Business Council for Sustainable Development for a look at a pioneering pilot on resource efficiency, and join us on July 12 for Andy’s webinar on the circular economy.

Brexit and the Global Economic Outlook
In the wake of the Brexit, Cliff predicts multiple ramifications for the short-term global outlook, including upward pressure on the dollar, weakened US manufacturing growth and the possibility of recession in the UK and EU.

Can the Euro Be Saved?
Kris evaluates four types of proposals aimed at solving the EMU’s various crises and argues that only one stands a realistic chance of implementation in the next decade. He also delves into individual policy planks and assesses their chances of adoption, concluding that the common currency faces long odds of survival beyond the next few years.

Total Shareholder Return Paints an Incomplete Picture
Total shareholder return (TSR)—the sum of dividend yield and share price appreciation—is widely used by boards and governance committees because of rising pressure in the investment community, increased investor activism, watchdogs such as ISS, and say-on-pay practices. Many boards are tying pay to TSR without realizing that it can be misleading and opaque.

Economic Update

Automation Investment in U.S. Manufacturing: An Empirical Picture
Cliff analyzes the results of a national survey of US manufacturers that was designed to produce data on their automation investment behavior. His report offers a revealing look at the extent of automation investment, short-term plans, the relationship of automation to a broader corporate technology strategy, drivers of automation activity and the criterion that manufacturers use for evaluating new automation capital. The report also offers stratifications of survey results by size and industry.

U.S. Industrial Outlook: Shaking Off the Shocks
We lowered our forecast for manufacturing production to only 0.4% growth in 2016. The negative effects of high inventories, the strong dollar and low commodity prices have eased but are still a drag on growth. We now predict that manufacturing will not fully recover from the recession until the third quarter of 2018.