WASHINGTON: While manufacturers across the U.S. are generally optimistic about revenues for 2017, small manufacturers are far more optimistic than larger manufacturers by more than a 2:1 margin. That is just one of the findings from the 2017 National Manufacturing Outlook Survey, conducted by the Leading Edge Alliance (LEA Global). “We found that 44% of small manufacturers expect revenue growth of 10% or more in 2017, while only 19% of large manufacturers do,” explains LEA Global President Karen Kehl-Rose.
With more than 250 participants, LEA Global’s survey report contains the expectations and opinions of manufacturing executives in more than 20 states across the U.S., producing a wide variety of products. “Half of the large manufacturers we surveyed expect 3% to 9% revenue growth this year, while a still strong 30% of small manufacturers have that same optimism,” Kehl-Rose adds.