UPWARD TREND CONTINUES

Continued economic expansion as well as an increase in material substitution will continue to drive growth in the plastics industry, according to The CIT Group/Equipment Financing's Ninth Annual Plastics Industry Outlook.

The forecast predicts that in 1999 real shipments of processed plastics will increase 3.7 percent to $121.9 billion, reach almost $125 billion in 2000, and then accelerate in 2001 to $128.6 billion, making it the tenth consecutive year for record breaking shipments. The key to this growth is the country's economic expansion, which is now the second longest in U.S. history and an increase in substituting traditional materials with plastics.

For more information, contact Karen Magliocca, The CIT Group, 650 CITDrive, Livingston, NJ 07039-0490, 973-740-5411, FAX 973-740-5323, Web: www.citgroup.com