A U.S. manufacturing group on Thursday cut its outlook for 2005 growth and factory output due to the destruction of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but said economic expansion should rebound in 2006 as rebuilding begins.
The Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI downgraded its forecast for third-quarter gross domestic product growth to a 3.3 percent annual rate, down from 4.2 percent projected a month ago. The outlook for fourth-quarter growth was cut to 2.3 percent from the 3.0 percent predicted in August. Economic growth slowed to a 3.3 percent pace in the second quarter from 3.8 percent in the first three months of the year, according to government figures released on Thursday.
