Barry Misthal

NEW YORK, N.Y.—More than eight in 10 (83 percent) of industrial manufacturers are optimistic about the global economy over the next 12 months, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Manufacturing Barometer, a quarterly survey of U.S. industrial manufacturing executives. Yet, continued softening of the U.S. economy led to a drop in optimism among executives, down seven percentage points from the previous quarter, with 57 percent of executives expressing optimism about the domestic economy. While 69 percent of executives believe the domestic economy is growing, this is down from the reported 92 percent in the first quarter of 2006. However, only five percent of manufacturers were reported as

NEW YORK, N.Y.—Less than half (45 percent) of U.S. industrial manufacturers are optimistic about the U.S. economy over the next 12 months, down from 63 percent last quarter and 76 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ recent Manufacturing Barometer. Forty-eight percent view lack of demand as a barrier to growth, equal with oil and energy prices; however, most expect oil prices to level off over the next year. “This shift in confidence among industrial manufacturers is the result of continued high energy prices, which affects not only the bottom line but also demand,” said Barry Misthal, a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers’