| Nariman Behravesh, Chief Economist of IHS, discusses his 2014 predictions. |
According to industry analyst IHS Economics & Country Risk, world growth is set to accelerate gradually in 2014, which will be good news for the composites industry.
IHS expects 3.3% growth in 2014, compared with 2.5% in 2013. Its top 10 economic predictions for this year include the following:
- US growth will slowly speed up, and is expected to come in at 2.5% in 2014, up from 1.7% in 2013.
- The European recovery will proceed, but at a very sluggish pace (0.8% in 2014). However, some countries (e.g. Greece, Italy and Spain) will struggle to achieve positive growth, while Germany and the UK will grow faster than they did in 2013.
- China’s growth rate will be sustained, achieving growth of 8.0% in 2014, up from 7.8% in 2013.
- Other emerging markets will also perform a little better, moving up from 4.7% in 2013 to 5.4% in 2014.
- There will be more upside risks than downside risks facing the global economy. Although there will be plenty of potential downside risks (e.g. instability in the Middle East and North Africa), there could also be stronger-than-anticipated growth in the US, UK and Germany. Emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil could also do better than predicted.
Good news for composites
2013 proved to be another tough year for the composites market in Europe, where the GRP industry overall recorded very weak growth, while more positive developments were seen in the US market.
Let's hope that IHS's predictions for economic growth in 2014 hold true and lead to better business conditions for composites companies throughout the world.
What are your predictions for 2014? ♦
Amanda Jacob is Content Development Editor at Reinforced Plastics
