CHICAGO– U.S. manufacturing leaders have turned pessimistic regarding the U.S. economy, according to Grant Thornton LLP’s most recent Business Optimism Index, a quarterly survey of U.S. manufacturing business leaders. Only 40% believe the U.S. economy will improve in the next six months, down from 60% three months earlier. At the same time, 26% believe the U.S. economy will get worse, up from 3%.

“There are many factors causing concern amongst U.S. manufacturing leaders,” says Wally Gruenes, manufacturing practice leader at Grant Thornton LLP. “Soaring energy and raw material costs and Japanese manufacturing supply chain disruptions are weighing heavily, as are unresolved U.S. debt reduction issues and a corporate tax rate that still puts the United States at a global competitive disadvantage.”