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Industry Forecast Points to Strong Growth in Europe, According to wittendal.com

11 January 2000

Industry Forecast Points to Strong Growth in Europe, According to wittendal.com

    PARIS, Jan. 11 -- Growth accelerates in the European Union.
In year 2000, manufacturing production will increase by close to 4% in real
terms.
    This is a forecast just released by wittendal.com
(http://www.wittendal.com), a research organization specializing in the
economics of the industries in the European Union.
    In 1999, the recovery in the industry was uneven across Europe -- with
France and Spain leading and Germany lagging -- and with persistent signs of
weakness.
    However, later in the year, clear signs of accelerating growth appeared in
metals, chemicals, and pulp and paper, the intermediate goods cyclical
industries. According to wittendal.com, these industries are now all on the
way of fast growth, i.e., between 3 and 6%, in year 2000.
    In addition, the low Euro exchange rate continues to give an advantage to
European investment goods industries in world competition.  An export led
reawakening in the investment goods producing industries, with a high labour
content, will impact on employment and invigorate consumer confidence.  As an
example, the mechanical engineering industries, which contributes a lot to the
strength of the economic outlook in Germany, are likely to experience a growth
of above 3.5% in year 2000.
    Here are the forecast percent changes in real production (i.e. with price
incidence removed) for year 2000: Aerospace +6, Automobile -1.0, Chemicals:
+3.6, Clothing +1.4, Textile +0.8, Computers and office Machinery +12,
Construction +1.8, Consumer electronics +6.5, Electro-technical +2.5, Food
+1.0,  Glass and minerals +1.6, Mechanical engineering +3.6, Basic metals
+5.8, Fabricated metals +2.5, Pulp and Paper +3.0, Oil-Petrol refineries +3.0,
Pharmaceuticals +5.0, Converted Plastics +4.3, Printing-Press-Publishing +3.5,
Rubber +2.4.
    wittendal.com is an independent research organization located near Paris,
France.  It produces leading indicators, forecasts and assessments covering
economic developments in the manufacturing and construction industries
throughout Europe.
    Detailed information on http://www.wittendal.com

    CONTACT:  Frank Wittendal of wittendal.com, +33-1-60-92-07-31.