By James B. Kelleher
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The weakness in the U.S. economy caused by the slowdown in the auto-making and residential and commercial construction sectors doesn't appear to be spreading rapidly into other corners of the domestic economy or reverberating overseas, top executives told the Reuters Manufacturing Summit this week.
"No sign of slowdown in order rates," said John Rice, a vice chairman at General Electric Co (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) who heads the company's infrastructure unit.
"From a global perspective no sign of big impact. For now things continue to look strong."
While acknowledging that the current environment was "as murky a time to predict as I have even seen," David Cote, the chairman and chief executive of Honeywell International Inc (HON.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said concerns of a full-blown recession were overstated -- and possibly self-fulfilling.
"The press and the financial industry are demanding a recession," said Cote "and if the demand is great enough, by God you'll get one. But if you take a look at our orders ... order rates are not that bad. Yeah, there's a slowing, but it's not a killer."
His upbeat tone contrasted with a number of recent reports, including Institute for Supply Management data showing a sharp and unexpected plunge in nonmanufacturing activity in January, that have led some economists to believe the downturn that began in the U.S. housing market was spreading.
In part, the optimism seems to be a function of pricing power, which the CEOs said they were continuing to enjoy -- even as many of them wrestle with rapidly rising commodity prices -- as well as strength in overseas markets.
"Our ability to get price realization to cover material costs pressures has been pretty good," Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) CEO Jim Owens told Reuters. "We've been able to exceed that." Continued...
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| Japan Investment | Jul 01 - 2, 2008 | Country Summits |
| Global Real Estate | Jun 23 - 25, 2008 | Real Estate |
| Consumer and Retail | Jun 16 - 18, 2008 | Consumer Retail |
| Investment Outlook | Jun 09 - 12, 2008 | Financial Services / Exchanges |
| Global Energy | Jun 01 - 5, 2008 | Energy |
