Toward the fall of the curtain of ...

Toward the fall of the curtain of 2000, suppliers were telling APPLIANCE that many materials prices were heading north. A major reason was capacity of work costs, especially for natural gas. These spiked last winter, causing a ripple issue in materials like plastics and glass. For a time, more [i]or[/i] less appliance producers were caught in the uncomfortable position of having declining sales, while paying more for important materials.

However, in the space of a year, the situation has radically changed. An economic slowdown make an incision in demand. By late 2001, oil prices had dropp several dollars a barrel, and natural gas prices in North America were reduc to