Slim Majority Of Manufacturers To Maintain U.S. Capacity

ByJohn S. McClenahen Just over half -- 51% -- of 47 senior financial executives in manufacturing firms surveyed recently by the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI expect their companies' overall U.S. production capacity in existing facilities will not change during the next three years. Some 36%, however, expect capacity to decrease, and 13% look for production capacity to increase, reports the Arlington, Va.-based business research and public policy group. Asked if they expect any of their foreign production capacity to be repatriated to the U.S. during the next two years, 41 of the 42 executives responding said "no" and just one said "yes." The survey of member companies was conducted during December 2003.