Economic improvement in the U.S. will continue in 2024, according to the nation’s purchasing and supply management executives in the December 2023 Semiannual Economic Forecast from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).
Don’t miss any content from Distribution Strategy Group. Join our list.
Revenues are expected to increase in 15 of 18 manufacturing industries. Capital expenditures are expected to increase by 11.9% in the manufacturing sector (after a 14.9% increase in 2023).
In 2024, employment is expected to grow by 2% in manufacturing. After projected growth in manufacturing in the first half of the year, growth in the second half is projected to accelerate in manufacturing.
The panel of manufacturing purchasing and supply executives expects a 5.6% net increase in overall revenues for 2024, compared to a 0.9% increase reported for 2023.
Fifteen of the 18 manufacturing industries expect revenue improvement in 2024 listed in order of largest to smallest projected increase: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Computer & Electronic Products; Paper Products; Furniture & Related Products; Primary Metals; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Transportation Equipment; Chemical Products; Textile Mills; Machinery; Fabricated Metal Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; and Petroleum & Coal Products.
Purchasing and supply executives predict that capital expenditures will increase year over year by 11.9% in 2024. Manufacturers expect employment in the sector to grow by 2% in 2024 relative to December 2023 levels, while labor and benefit costs are expected to increase an average of 5.2%.
The panel predicts that prices paid for raw materials will increase 3.2% during the first five months of the year, with an overall increase of 3.3% for 2024. This compares to a reported 4.1% increase in raw materials prices in 2023.
