In January 2001, the Congressional Budget Office pre- dieted that the US Gross National Product would increase a respectable 2.4 in 2001 and 3.4 in 2002. During the first few months of 2001, the economic decline sent tremors throughout the industrial sector about the possibility of a long-term decline or even recession. But rapid curtailment of production capacity at the beginning of the turndown kept inventories low and production losses to a minimum. First quarter GDP growth was an above-expectations 2 with continued of a stabilization during the Summer of 2001 and return to, albeit slow, growth in the 3rd and 4th quarter of the year.
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