After a turbulent August, investors liked the half-point rate cut by the Fed in mid-September.

There was no rest for investors in traditionally sleepy August as Wall Street struggled valiantly to weather the volatility brought on by the subprime meltdown and subsequent credit woes.

The Slowdown is Gaining Momentum

Paint Industry Manages to Grow in 2006 – Preliminary Results

For the third quarter 2006, the total coatings industry continued to show growth. For the quarter, shipment volume increased 3.0% while shipment value increased 1.9%. For the year-to-date, shipment volume increased 4.6% and shipment value increased 5.6%.

For the first six months of 2006 the total paint industry continued to show growth over the same period of 2005.

The Industry Takes a Pause Following Several Years of Growth

The coatings industry did it again. For the year 2005, although the quantity rose only 2.5%, to 1,445.1 million gallons, the value increased to $19,472.7 million for a great finish of 6.7% over 2004. Both the volume and value were all-time annual records for the industry.

The total shipments of coatings for 2001 were 1,187 mil. gal. This was the lowest quantity shipped since 1993.

Over 4,500 people attended the Finishing ’99 conference in Cleveland, which was sponsored by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and the Association for Finishing Processes of SME.