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Extrusion Business Index

Source: Mountaintop Economics & Research, Inc
Last updated: August 2008

Latest Month	Previous Month	Year Ago	YTD % Change	Annual % Change
				2006	2007	2008
180.7	179.9	184.6	-7.2	-0.7	-1.3	-2.0

The Extrusion Business Index (1990=100) measures market demand for extruded plastics products. This is our largest index in terms of the total pounds of resins it represents, and it is a leading indicator of the demand for extrusion machinery and auxiliary equipment.

The Extrusion Business Index dropped by 2% in the latest month when compared with a year ago. This followed a 4% decline during the previous month.

When compared with the previous year, this Index decreased 5% the second quarter of 2008 after a drop of 9% in the first quarter.

The U.S. economy will experience below-average growth during the next few months. This will curb demand for many extruded products during this time, especially residential building materials. The U.S. manufacturing sector will start to regain some momentum in late-2008 or early-2009.

The cyclical low-point in the chart for the Extrusion Business Index will occur in the second half of 2008. The Index will start to post consistent monthly gains in 2009.

After a decline of 1% in 2007, total output of extruded products is forecast to decrease another 2% in 2008.