U.S. manufacturers’ sales of insulated wire and cable rose by nearly 6% in 2004, reversing a three-year slide. All major industry segments participated in the recovery in 2004, but the outlook for the coming year is mixed. What is in store for the future? See our comprehensive analysis of overall market dynamics, including our forecasts for the coming year and the coming decade.

Magnet wire outperformed all other industry segments in 2004, with sales advancing by 11.5%. Some of the strongest growth occurred for film-coated copper magnet wire, Class 180 and higher, particularly products from 22 to 32 AWG. Don’t miss our comprehensive analysis of industry sales performance, on a product-by-product basis.

Rising copper prices have rekindled demand for fiber-optic cable. Double-digit growth is forecast for the fiber-optic segment through 2006, with the sharpest gains expected in single-mode communications applications. Will the fiber-optic market recapture the sales levels seen at the beginning of this decade? And what will become of traditional copper-based telephone and telegraph wire and cable? See our in-depth coverage of competitive trends in the marketplace.

Sales of wire and cable to the electric power industry will approach $1.6 billion in 2005, the highest level attained since the beginning of the decade...Housing starts are slowing in response to rising interest rates; construction of multifamily buildings has stalled...Overall spending on durable goods remains healthy...A special section of this report examines demand patterns in the major end-use markets for insulated wire and cable.

Wire and cable production in the U.S. will consume more than 3.3 billion pounds of copper and close to 450 million pounds of aluminum in 2005. Domestic production of these metals, including both primary production and recovery from scrap, is on the decline—and prices are rising. Don’t miss our detailed coverage of the impact of raw material supplies and pricing on the industry’s bottom line.

Belden CDT, Phelps Dodge, Corning, General Cable, Encore Wire, Alcatel, and 3M Company are just a few of the major competitors profiled in this report. Get all the latest news on sales performance, competitive strategies, mergers and acquisitions, foreign ventures, and other recent activities of the movers and shakers in the industry.