Economic Confidence Rises Sharply

John Wolz

Fastener industry confidence in overall economic conditions soared during 2003, after several years of declining or flat expectations.
Industry confidence in the North American economy climbed 22% to a 3.3 rating after five consecutive years of decline.

A year ago the FIN North American Economic Confidence Index dropped to 2.7 from 2.8 in 2001. The highest index figure was 3.8 in 1998.
Distributors expressed more confidence in the North American economy for 2004 than manufacturers. A total of 39.7% of distributors registered “very high” or “high” confidence in domestic business, compared with 31.7% of manufacturers.
Confidence in global economic conditions also improved, jumping 19% to 3.1, the highest level since 1997. Nearly 20% of the fastener industry expressed “high” or “very high” confidence in the global economy in 2003.

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