It's not all gloom and doom' The Mood Area businesspeople are tentative and watchful as the new year unfolds amid lingering questions about the national economy. They are concerned about the effects of declining consumer confidence, volatility in the stock market and other warning signs. On the other hand, many point to the fundamental strengths of their own companies and a healthy regional economy. James Trono, executive director of the Employers Association of New England, said that for many area companies the year 2000 was marked by strong sales but narrow profit margins due to rising costs for health insurance, energy, financing and labor. That feeling has registered in the tourist industry, which is second only to higher education in economic importance to the Valley.
Tourism is highly sensitive to any changes in discretionary consumer spending.
J. Curtis Shumway, president of the Hampshire Hospitality Group, the leading purveyor of lodging in the county, said he is budgeting for a 10 percent drop in occupancy rates in 2001. The year 2000 was good overall, Shumway said, and it would have been great, except for a sudden drop-off in occupancy rates in the fourth quarter, sparked by high gas prices. The question is, will the good times return. And productivity is up at many companies, taking some of the sting out of rising expenses. Manufacturing, considered the key and bellwether for the entire economy, is generally dealing from newfound strength and discipline despite the drop in a key manufacturing index in December, according to Paritosh Chakrabarti, owner of Pro Corp. PMC in Florence, a custom plastic-molding business that employs about 135.