Graphicast participated in two trade shows last week, one in Marlborough, MA and the other outside of Toronto. That this was the first time we attended two shows at the same time is, in itself, an indication of the activity level in manufacturing. The view from the show floor was an even better indicator of the market. Both shows were very crowded, even over the lunch period, and the interest level was very high. This was not a week for just getting out of the office. Our reading is that manufacturing in New England and southern Ontario is coming back quickly, and with lots of energy. There is definitely interest in on-shoring production that had been sent overseas, and lots of new products ready to hit the market. We are following up on leads this week and will have all our sales people out of the office making calls; another sign of interest and a reboundin market.
We’re also seeing this rebounding in shipments. Our September shipments were the highest in two years. The only downside is the volatility of the activity. The trend is up year to year, but on a month to month basis we seem to be in the three forward, one backward mode.