Resources for a Prosperous 2015
Oil prices are falling, which has put more money in consumers’ pockets. This, in turn, has led to increased investment by businesses in machinery and facilities to turn out the products consumers want. Businesses also now need to hire more employees. Consequently, hiring is up — November net job gains were more than 320,000 — the best figure in three years and the strongest gain for U.S. employment since 1999.
 
All of this translates into projections for faster economic growth carrying into 2015. In fact, in early December, the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) said it expects the U.S. economy, as measured by GDP, to expand by 3.1 percent in 2015, representing the strongest rate of growth since 2005, when the economy grew 3.3 percent.
 
“Manufacturing purchasing and supply executives expect continued growth in 2015,” comments Bradley Holcomb, chair of the Institute for Supply Management’s Business Survey Committee. “Manufacturing experienced 18 consecutive months of growth from June 2013 through November 2014…and our forecast calls for continuation of growth in 2015. Manufacturers are also predicting growth in both exports and imports in 2015 over 2014,” he says.
 
With good news all around, company executives need to be prepared to make their next location or expansion move. In this 2015 Annual Directory issue, you will find several articles outlining the site selection process: “Leading Practices in the Location Decision Process,” “Decision-Makers, Drivers, and Inner Workings of the Location Selection Process,” and others. 

Gerri Gambale, Editor