Manufacturers adopting 'wait and see' attitude on capital investment.

• Position: MANUFACTURING

U.S. manufacturing executives are expressing a firmer commitment to spending on capital improvements and manufacturing research and development in 2012, according to KPMG International's latest Global Business Outlook survey. But these same executives, who last spring predicted a broad improvement in business activity in the year ahead, now expect a stagnant market during the period, and sentiment in the U.S. service sector also continued a downward trend.

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In the poll, conducted in October, just half of the manufacturing executives said activity would rise--compared with June, when 71 percent of them expected better business activity, up from a relatively strong 68 percent in February.

Globally, expectations for higher business activities continued to drop. Those predicting increased business activity fell to 42 percent of manufacturing respondents in October, compared with 55 percent in June and 61 percent in February. In the service sector, 55 percent of U.S. executives expect improved business activity, compared to nearly 58 percent in June and a stronger 66 percent in February. Globally, just 44 percent expect improved activity, compared with 48 percent in June and 55 percent in February.

The survey findings underscore the "wait-and-see" mood that has taken over this market of unprecedented uncertainty, said Lynne M. Doughtie, vice chair of...