Don't miss the plastics 'weather report'.

No one can predict the weather for certain ... and the same goes for movement of the economy. However, most of us do check the weather forecast before we head out the door to work--should I take that umbrella, or not? And when you get to work, you don't want to guess blindly about business conditions for the next month or quarter or year. So you need some form of economic forecasting.

Now, PLASTICS TECHNOLOGY can help. On our website, www.ptonline.com, we have added monthly newsletters on levels of activity in some of the biggest processing markets. They're written for us by Bill Wood of Mountaintop Economics, the country's most experienced independent economist specializing in the plastics industry. Each month, you'll find an updated edition of Bill's Injection Molding Business Index, Extrusion Business Index, and individual Process Tracker & Forecaster pages on extruded film, sheet, pipe, siding, extrusion coating, window and door profiles, and wire and cable. There are also End Market Tracker & Forecaster pages on the biggest markets for extrusion (packaging and construction) and for injection molding--motor vehicles, appliances, packaging, medical, and computers.

Each of these 16 newsletters includes a chart of the ups and downs of that market sector, a series of short comments interpreting current conditions and trends, and a forecast for the coming year. This is information and professional interpretation you're not likely to find anywhere else, and certainly not for free. If you wish, you can even sign up on our website to have those newsletters e-mailed to you at no charge. There's no need to go without an umbrella again!

BY MATT NAITOVE, EDITOR