NEW YORK, July 29, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE)—Pessimism and uncertainty about the domestic and world economies reached a five-year high among
U.S.-based industrial manufacturers in the second quarter of 2008, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Manufacturing Barometer.
Ninety-two percent of senior executives surveyed are pessimistic or uncertain about the U.S. economy’s prospects over the next year, a four
point rise over the prior quarter and a significant jump from 38 percent in the second quarter of 2007. Twenty-seven percent expressed
pessimism about the prospects for the world economy in the year ahead, an increase of six points from last quarter and up dramatically from
the 2 percent who were pessimistic one year before.