Recovery Is Slow, Trade Group Finds

Abstract

Repeating a pattern seen in 2010 and 2011, economic growth dipped in the middle of this year, dashing hopes for an imminent robust recovery, says the American Chemistry Council, the U.S. chemical industry’s main trade association. ACC’s Chemical Activity Barometer, a leading indicator of overall economic performance that the association introduced in June, increased just 0.3% in September over the previous month and 1.8% over the same month a year ago. CAB hit a recent peak of 90.0 in April, declined in May and June, and has since grown slowly. “While it is encouraging to see three consecutive months of gains, this is not yet cause for celebration,” says T. Kevin Swift, ACC’s chief economist. “Rather, what we’re seeing is that the CAB is signaling subpar economic growth into 2013 as the economy continues to face strong headwinds and concerns around the fiscal cliff crystallize.” The fiscal cliff is the ...