The first four months of 2024 have already brought a ton of news. Politico recently reported that a common theme at the IMF and World Bank spring meetings was the increasing frequency and severity of shocks to the global economy. Such recent economic and political developments and their impact on U.S. manufacturing will be key points covered at AMT’s Spring Economic Webinar on Monday, May 13, at 1:00 p.m. EDT.
There have been both positive and negative developments since economists last took to the podium at AMT’s Winter Economic Forum. Houthi rebels in Yemen have disrupted shipping traffic through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden for most of the year. While commodity prices, especially oil, had remained relatively stable compared to other periods of unrest in the Middle East, that stability was recently threatened as Israel and Iran briefly traded direct attacks on one another. Elsewhere, deteriorating battlefield conditions in Ukraine threaten stability in Europe, and escalating tensions in the South China Sea are preventing countries from tapping resources in their territorial waters.
While the international picture looks murky, the United States has experienced a string of positive developments since the last economic webinar. The March 2024 ISM® Manufacturing PMI® showed the manufacturing sector expanding for the first time since September 2022. Overall employment has continued to grow, demonstrating the health of the labor market. Since July 2022, manufacturing employment has been higher than the peak level seen between 2009 and 2020, the first time that manufacturing employment has exceeded the previous peak following a recession since 1979. On the flip side of the coin, the strong labor market and inflation still in excess of the Federal Reserve’s 2% target have called into question the possibility of interest rate cuts this year. A recent headline in The Wall Street Journal declared that interest rate cuts are now “A Matter of If, Not Just When.”
A great slate of speakers at AMT’s Spring Economic Webinar will break down how many of the recent developments mentioned above and more could impact orders of manufacturing technology and your business. Mark Killion, director of U.S. industry services at Oxford Economics, will highlight the key economic events that impact manufacturing and update the 2024 machinery orders forecast. Next, John Min, chief economist at Monex USA, will analyze how recent events have affected their outlook for the U.S. dollar, which could affect your bottom line.
Be sure to register and mark your calendars for AMT’s Spring Economic Webinar coming on Monday, May 13, at 1:00 p.m. EDT, this spring’s can’t-miss economic event for manufacturing technology.
