ASA’s Advisor, exclusively produced for ASA members by ITR Economics, shows U.S. industrial production during the 12 months through May was up 2.8% compared to a year ago. ITR says activity is expanding throughout the industrial economy with U.S. mining production leading the way at a 9.9% increase from a year ago.
ITR says industrial production in the country is growing at an accelerating pace and expansion will persist through the remainder of 2018, but the pace of growth will slow late this year. ITR suggests using the remainder of the year to build a backlog of work to keep your company busy when activity declines in 2019. ITR anticipates a return to growth in 2020.
ITR notes costs for certain commodities, including steel and oil will decline by the end of 2018, “making now an inopportune time to lock in these prices,” it says. “Beware of the threat that trade disputes could pose to your business. Tariffs on steel and a variety of Chinese products could lift prices, posing an upside risk to our inflation expectations and a threat to your budget.”