Word: demanding
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...annual rate of 20% or higher - was showing unmistakable signs of a slowdown. In February, it plummeted to just 6.5%, compared with nearly 20% growth expected by economists. Exporters suffered major disruptions from power outages and transportation delays caused by that month's heavy snowstorms, but sluggish U.S. demand was also to blame. In February, the value of U.S.-bound goods showed a rare year-over-year decline...
...Although China is the world's second largest exporter, the country is not as dependant upon overseas trade as some. Exports accounted for 36.8% of China's GDP in 2006, compared with 43.2% in South Korea. But China may be unusually vulnerable to weaker international demand because the country has in recent years built too many new factories. With investment capital readily available and China's economy roaring ahead at double-digit growth rates, heavy industry expanded massively. The value of China's steel exports, for example, jumped tenfold between 2003 and 2007, from $5 billion to $50 billion...
...some potholes and a tight turn, and the wheels come off. Factories have been able to increase output in recent years because the global economy has been on a tear. The 2004-07 period saw the second strongest bout of global growth on record - which translated into strong demand for cheap Chinese-made products. But this era may be ending. Most economists are predicting a significant slowdown in worldwide GDP growth in 2008. This slowdown, predicts Lehman Brothers economist Sun Ming-chun, will prove to be the "unmasking of [manufacturing] overcapacity in China." Says Li of the Asia Footwear Association...
...yachtmaker Sunseeker launched its biggest boat yet at last year's London Boat Show: an $18 million, 121-ft. (37 m) superyacht. So far, it has built three of them; two are under construction at its boatyard in Poole, England; and eight more are on order. That kind of demand surprised Robert Braithwaite, managing director. "If we had sold five or six by now, I would be very happy." At this year's show, the company unveiled two more big boats, a $4.8 million 89-footer (27 m) and a $14 million 112-footer (34 m)--smaller than last year...
...rising-sales tide isn't lifting all boats. Sales of smaller yachts are somewhat adrift. For instance, demand for Sunseeker's $550,000, 44-ft. (13 m) Superhawk 43 is languishing. "The top end is pulling the industry along," says Ed Slack, editor of International Boat Industry...