Industry group Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI) is forecasting that industrial production will increase 2.2% in 2013, an increase from 2% in the group’s December 2012 forecast. In 2014 growth is anticipated to be 3.6%.
Manufacturing production should outperform GDP growth, which MAPI estimates will be 1.8% in 2013 and 2.8% in 2014.
“Despite some austerity measures, there are several reasons to be optimistic about continued economic growth in 2013 and 2014,” said MAPI chief economist Daniel J. Meckstroth, Ph.D., author of the analysis.
“One is that consumer deleveraging is close to an end,” Meckstroth added. “Consumers have refinanced, defaulted, or restructured mortgage debt and paid down installment debt. Households have the capacity to use more credit, and loans are available for creditworthy households. In addition, the housing market is showing definitive improvement, particularly on the supply side.”
Looking at specific sectors aerospace products and parts production is forecast to advance by 10%. And non-high-tech manufacturing production (which accounts for 90% of the total) is anticipated to increase 1.8% in 2013.
High-tech industrial production (computers and electronic products) is projected to expand by 4.3% in 2013. An upswing to 9% growth is forecast for 2014.