Summary

When we reported last year about NEXPO’93 in New Orleans, we were compelled to ,publish the report under the depressing heading : "Still no light in sight at the end of the tunnel". For NEXP0’94 that was held from 25 to 29 June 1994 in Las Vegas, at which 372 exhibitors showed their products on 232,000 sq. ft. floor space and for which 11,548 visitors (last year 11,375) had registered up to Sunday, we are able to be somewhat more optimistic. There are many indications that the economic recession in the USA is over. In May alone, some 534,000 new jobs were created by lowering wage costs, and the rate of unemployment is now given as 6 percent, a level that was last reached in 1990. Industry is willing to invest again. For the first time, the credits granted by the US banks have exceeded the US$600 billion mark. Industrial output is also rising. The relevant index calculated by the central bank, at 116.1 points, was 5.5 percent higher than in May 1993. The "weak" dollar will undoubtedly ensure that the balance of trade deficit will be reduced. The economic upturn in the newspaper industry is testified to by the fact that the American printing press manufacturers have received their first large-scale order in four years. The New York Daily News has placed an order with Rockwell Graphic Systems for nine Newsliner rotary presses. The fact that these presses will be equipped with the modem keyless inking technology (similar to anilox-offset) emphasises the importance of technical progress in this sector. Furthermore, the US$200 million new building of the Plain Dealer in Cleveland, a newspaper belonging to the Newhouse Group, is regarded as a symbol for the confidence of the entrepreneurs in the newspaper industry - despite all the fuss about information super-highways and on-line services. As in previous years, this report is intended to serve our members as a preview of IFRA94 that will be held from 4 to 7 October 1994 in Munich.