It goes without saying that 2015 was a lackluster year. The U.S. economy continued to limp along, expanding at an anemic 2% for the year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis – the new normal, some say. International oil prices were forced into a nosedive, threatening the future of several key players in the U.S. energy sector and upending the American fracking revolution, which had given U.S. manufacturing a new competitive advantage: abundant low-cost natural gas. U.S. exports tumbled and factory output stalled. But through it all, despite these strong headwinds and the equal…