Pointing to a worker productivity boom and a return to a more traditional pattern of growth, the executive director of the Indiana Business Research Center said the U.S. economy looks set to put up several more good years—and sees the industrial sector as very well positioned to play a major role.
“Fundamentally, 2025 looks really good and I would plan accordingly if I was running a manufacturing organization,” Phil Powell, who also is an associate clinical professor of business economics at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.
Speaking on an IndustryWeek webinar Nov. 20, Powell said he was surprised this year at how many companies appeared to put off major investments until they had clarity about the recent presidential election. That there’s certainty now is a good thing and Powell added that he’s hopeful more people will now begin to see the economy’s recent overall strength more clearly.
“Interest rates are coming down—not as fast as we’d like—and productivity is going up, which increases your margins […] And if regulations come down, that reduces your fixed costs,” Powell said. “Your default plan should be for another two or three or four years of prosperous growth.”
