For those encouraged by the stream of improving economic data in recent weeks, jitters are more and more giving way to confidence that the worst of the recession has been seen--and that it won't be long before signs of recovery start to appear.
But restoring the manufacturing industry to health won't come easily after the 15 percent plunge that production took in the 12 months ended Mar. 31, the biggest one-year drop since the end of World War II, according to Charles McMillion, chief economist at MBG Information Services in Washington, D.C. The scattered evidence of stabilization across the sector shouldn't be mistaken for signs of widespread recovery anytime soon, especially given most companies' lack of any kind of pricing power, he says.
Source: Business Week