Global Economic Highlights for Manufacturing

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No boom. No bust. Just slow, steady growth. That summarizes the near-term global economic trends highlighted by John Walker, Chairman of Oxford Economics, at the AMT Global Forecasting & Marketing Conference 2015 (GFMC).

Following his well-received presentation, John sat down to talk about hot topics ranging from Greece to China to another recession with Pat McGibbon, Vice President of Strategic Analytics at AMT — The Association For Manufacturing Technology.

Global economic outlooks remain strong for both the automotive and aerospace sectors, noted John. He predicted that the positive trends in these areas would continue for at least the next year.

Focusing on specific regions, John pointed out that there have been gains in the EU economy, which makes a Greek exit markedly less likely than it was just a few months ago. Despite some growth, he does not predict a boom in the European market.

In China, John predicted that continued movement toward a more consumer focused economy means that the investment booms of the last 15 years are a thing of the past. However, he quickly pointed out that this is not all bad, as there is still significant consumption of machine tools and an increasing demand for more complex machine tools. Due to a declining population and major labor shortages, automation is an important trend in China.

On the domestic front, John anticipates continued slow, steady growth with no great recession looming in the near future. He expects another 3-4 positive years before any downturn is likely and advises that we enjoy the good times, while preparing for the challenging ones.