Most executives at middle-market manufacturing and distribution companies expect solid growth over the next 12 months, and two-thirds plan to add jobs during that period, according to a survey conducted by McGladrey LLP earlier in 2014.

Results from the national survey by the firm, which provides assurance, tax and consulting services to mid-sized businesses, also included responses from 51 North Carolina executives. The results indicated that 88 percent of respondents expect the next 12 months to bring “further growth” and 67 percent reported they expect their profit – before taxes and interest – to rise over the next year.
Two-thirds of respondents indicated they expect to hire more employees in the U.S. over the next year, up 5 percentage points from the previous year’s survey results. The number of executives who expected to cut back employment dropped from about 10 percent in the 2013 survey to 5 percent in this year’s survey.

When executives were asked to identify challenges to growth, regulatory issues topped the list, followed by competition from other companies and taxation. Eighty percent of North Carolina respondents said they view implementation of the Affordable Care Act as a limit to growth, and 60 percent reported that they expect environmental regulations to have a negative impact on their company’s growth.