Major Synthetic Fibers Well Into Long-Awaited Recovery: Markets could even get tight for some grades, as polyester, nylon, and acrylic move briskly out of the recession; imports still may be problem

U.S. synthetic fiber producers have been quietly convinced ever since the late 1970s that their day in the sun wasn't far away. Although the stop-and-go recession of the past three years kept that day from arriving, 1983 and 1984 could bring it in. Of course, with the tricky fibers market, all forecasts have to be in the conditional. In the past, prosperity time and again has touched fibers for a year or two only to vanish in five to 10 years of turmoil. That's what happened after the early 1970s bonanza. For the rest of the decade, major fibers went through a numbing round of plant closings, poor growth, and financial distress. But fibers people think they have paid the price now and will get something better. Evidence so far this year bears them out. And if they're right, it's good news for the entire chemical industry. Fibers traditionally are a leading-indicator product group. At ...