Output of carbon fibers dropped significantly in 1991, bringing to a halt its almost continuous growth over the period from 1985 to 1990. Military orders for light, fast, radar-transparent stealth-type aircraft were expected to grow from about 35% of all uses of the high-tech fibers to about 50% between 1987 and 1993. Instead, military orders have declined to about 15% of all uses, according to some recent estimates. In addition, commercial aerospace production slowed as the recession gripped such producers as Boeing, McDonald Douglas, and Airbus, causing demand for carbon fiber used to reinforce thermoset and thermoplastic composite parts to decline in that market. To counter the slowdown in orders, the most forward-looking carbon fiber producers have targeted a number of industrial, automotive, and sports markets for growth. However, even producers admit that the number of nonmilitary uses for carbon fibers is still limited because of the high cost of fabrication as well as ...