A clue to payment practices can be found by examining the current ratio. A decline in the ratio shows a company's ability to meet current obligations has worsened. An increase on the other hand indicates it's better able to meet current commitments to suppliers. Annual reports are unlikely to address themselves directly to this bold question. But the information it conveys will bring you closer to an answer.
New rules require a company to disclose separately the disposal of a segment.
What this means is that when a company closes a plant whose activities represent a separate major line of business, it would be highlighted in the financial statements as a discontinued operation. Look for these details in the statements. In some cases, the president's letter might allude to changes affecting a company's productive capacity. Some companies may report special efforts they have undertaken to safeguard the environment. The most likely place to find such information would be either in the president's letter or in sections of the report describing the year's activities of company divisions.