Is business investment boosting productivity?

Companies were routinely criticized for rewarding shareholders rather than investing in new plant and equipment in the years before the pandemic. This is starting to change. Corporate investment – or Capex – rebounded sharply last year.

Corporate investment has rebounded far more quickly than normal…

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Companies are investing to meet booming demand. They are also relocating production lines closer to home – or “reshoring.” This helps make supply chains more resilient and, with higher production costs in China, makes economic sense.

Technology – and in particular automation – can help companies protect margins and profits in a period of rising inflation and labour shortages.

As populations get older, especially in developed economies, greater productivity becomes an even more important driver of economic growth.

Before the pandemic, digital technology was already leading to improving productivity. The modernisation of ageing plant and equipment should help to extend the trend.

...which could lead to faster US productivity growth...

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...especially as more businesses bring processes back onshore

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