Reuters reported that each month, a dozen executives of General Motors Co gather on the 39th floor of their Detroit headquarters to survey the auto industry, the US economy and how they will meet demand from customers. Recently, the view has not been impressive.

With the economy still struggling to regain momentum after the financial crisis of 2007-09 and 14 million Americans out of work, the planners at GM and a host of corporations across America are in no rush to make big new investments to ramp up output and hiring.

The world's second biggest automaker has not reopened its idled plants or built new ones as Americans rein in spending. Like many US manufacturers, it is squeezing more from existing factories and using time honored efficiency boosts such as adding to overtime and eliminating plant bottlenecks.

Mr Don Johnson US sales chief at GM said that "Our manufacturing folks have been tremendous at squeaking out extra units through improving line rates, adding on extra shifts."

The caution among many top US corporations echoes that of US Federal Reserve Chairman Mr Ben Bernanke and other policymakers, who are scaling back their expectations of economic growth.

With unemployment stuck above 9% and surveys of manufacturers showing, at best, modest optimism for the months ahead, Mr Bernanke has sounded less sure about when the expected pickup in the pace of recovery will kick in.

Reflecting the downturn, heavy machinery maker Caterpillar Inc. on Friday announced results that fell short of expectations. Much of the higher demand it expects in the rest of 2011 is likely to come from outside the United States.

The largest US conglomerate, General Electric Co, said its core US revenues fell 2% in the second quarter of 2011, and Ingersoll Rand Plc said this week that US consumers bought fewer home air conditioners and locks.

With a deadline looming to avoid a default, questions about whether Congress can raise the country's debt ceiling also are fueling concerns.

For automakers and dealers, high gasoline prices are also a constant factor.

Mr John McEleney, a Clinton, Iowa, GM and Toyota dealer said that "People are so sensitive to the price of fuel, if it spikes like it did earlier this year, it can have quite an effect on either keeping people out of the market or causing them shift their preferences on product."

(Sourced from www.reuters.com)