Trump cheers 'record-high optimism' among US manufacturers
President Donald Trump on Friday applauded a rosy reading of U.S. manufacturers’ optimism, despite continued legislative gridlock on his major policy proposals.
Manufacturers’ record-high optimism reported in the 1st qtr has carried into the 2nd qtr of 2017 via @ShopFloorNAM:https://t.co/a42fNElct1 pic.twitter.com/WHZtcAxhRQ
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 21, 2017
Trump tweeted out a report from the National Association of Manufacturers Friday, which showed that in the second quarter of 2017, 89.5% of survey respondents in the sector were positive about their own company’s prospects. As the president alluded to, this reading follows the first quarter’s record-high outlook reading of 93.3%. According to the organization, between the first and second quarters of 2017, manufacturing optimism was at its highest two-quarter average in the survey’s 20-year history.
Additionally, in the second quarter, manufacturers expected future full-employment opportunities to increase by 2.7%.
The surge in optimism since the election can be attributed, at least in part, to President Trump’s economic agenda.
“There is a sense that many of the pro-growth policies that businesses have long sought, including tax reform, a major infrastructure package and regulatory relief, among others, might finally come to fruition, albeit perhaps slower than some might prefer,” the report says.
The positive manufacturing report comes on the heels of the White House’s “Made in America” week, where the president showcased companies from each U.S. state that manufacture goods in the country. But while Trump celebrates positive economic indicators, he has encountered some stubborn challenges on the legislative front.
The senate, after failing to coalesce around a revised health care bill early in the week, will vote next week on either the same bill, or a separate repeal-only measure. Congress also still has to raise the debt ceiling and pass the budget before the onset of the new fiscal year in October. Further, lawmakers have yet to introduce an official tax reform proposal, finalization of which has been promised before year’s end.