The industrial manufacturing sector is leading the U.S. economy out of the recession on the strength of a number of key growth strategies, according to ThomasNet’s second Industry Market Barometer. The latest survey to weigh in on manufacturers’ changing economic fortunes reveals that selling into new industries, innovating to develop new products and services, and leveraging the Internet to pick up the pace of business are the top growth drivers.
Of the 1,176 respondents to the survey, 27% said their businesses grew during the last two quarters of 2009, when GDP rose 2.2% and 5.5%, respectively. Only 17% reported growth during the first half of 2009.
Also, fewer respondents to this year’s survey (41%) reported a decline in their business; last year 54% said they had experienced a decline.
The top two successful growth strategies are selling into new industries (36%) and introducing new products or services (33%). When asked what part product development will play in their 2010 plans, nearly two-thirds of respondents (62%) said it would be important or critical. And 71% said their online strategy would be important or critical, a new question this year.