European chemicals growth may slow this year

Abstract

The pace of growth of the chemical industry in Western Europe this year could well be below that of 1987. We are not forecasting a recession, says Richard D. Freeman, chairman of the forecasting panel of the U.K.'s Chemical Industries Association; we are expecting a slowdown. However, Freeman, who is also chief economist at ICI, acknowledges that there are a number of uncertainties. His panel's main interest centers on the future prospects for the industry in the U.K. But because this cannot be gauged in isolation from what takes place in the world at large, the panel looked further afield to other West European countries and to the U.S., Freeman told the association's Business Outlook Conference in London recently. In judging the prospects for the European chemical industry this year, A great deal depends on events in the world economy, Freeman notes. He cites as examples the collapse of stock prices in several countries last ...