Business Leaders: Economy Will Grow Moderately in 2nd Half

By Michael F. Carmichael
Aug. 4, 2011

Corp! magazine, in partnership with the Business Improvement Team and Business Research Group, conducted the Corp! Business Trends Survey, a longitudinal survey that tracks the opinions of business owners and company executives on the economy.

In this exclusive Corp! survey of leaders from a broad spectrum of the business world, more than half anticipate the economy as a whole will increase moderately during the second half of this year. We’ve included a few of their comments throughout this report. 

As reflective of their leadership status (more than 75 percent were at least at the level of executive vice president with the majority CEO or chairman), all had definite opinions of what the next six months will hold for their company, their business sector and their regional economy. 

In its report on the second quarter’s national economic activity that was issued late last week, the government’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) agreed that the economy was improving, albeit slightly. The country’s Gross Domestic Product went from an adjusted .4 percent increase in the period from Q1 (January through March) to a 1.3 percent increase for Q2. The increase, according to the BEA’s analysis, reflected a decrease in imports and growth in federal spending but was affected by a “sharp deceleration in personal consumption expenditures.”

The Corp! survey is ongoing and, should there be significant changes, we’ll be back with an update.

Innovation
Nearly 8 out of 10 believe growth will come from good old American innovation, which will lead to increased sales. Companies from small to large are anticipated to contribute those innovative ways of doing business through new products or other means.

“Key drivers are innovation and job creation… .”

While average wages will remain the same, nearly half of survey respondents predict the cost of production will rise moderately, while a third think it will remain the same.