However, the second quarter results show a softening of the growth rate for the total industry. In the second quarter the total industry increased by only 0.4% in volume and 2.2% in shipment value. This softness was primarily due to the weakness of Architectural coatings for the second quarter.
Architectural Coatings continued to show good growth for the six-month period with an increase in shipment volume of 6.0% and an increase in value of 8.8% over the 2005 period. The slowdown in housing starts and housing resales was passed on to the segment as shown by the second quarter results. During the second quarter of 2006 shipment volume declined 2.2% from the 2005 quarter, and shipment value declined 1.3%. This decline was expected because of the housing slowdown and should continue to impact the segment for the next few quarters or until housing begins to grow again.