Dollar sales of semiconductors declined at a decreasing rate, and one contact estimates that sales growth will turn positive at the end of the first quarter. Business demand is being stimulated by Year 2000 issues, according to contacts, who expect sales to remain strong through the first half of the year. Cell-phone demand is strong but has slowed due to weaker demand from Asia. Demand for pagers has declined. Producers of corrugated boxes and other paper products reported weaker demand than a year ago.
Contacts say that import competition and weak domestic demand have led to an oversupply of paper.
One contact suggests that e-mail has reduced the demand for copy paper. Exporters of liner board reported increasing difficulty selling to markets in Southeast Asia and Europe. Demand was unchanged for lumber used in commercial building and the end-phases of residential construction. Metals producers say new orders are down. Petrochemical markets are still weak, with prices remaining stable despite a plant explosion and pipeline breakdown, that normally would have caused prices to spike.