Prices paid for the wide variety of plastics materials used in packaging products were broadly higher during Q3 01 than in Q2 02. All seven of the plastics packaging product categories that we follow recorded average product price increases over the quarter, according to data collected as part of Purchasing magazine's monthly Transaction Price Survey. Average prices rose most sharply for the plastics packaging product categories of HDPE, film grade (+16.5%), LDPE, liner grade (+10.7%), and Polystyrene, general purpose (+9.2%). Over-the-quarter increases for the other four product groups were of a magnitude of between 2%-7%, with the smallest increase being registered by the PET, bottle grade category. But, compared to the same time during 01, some plastics packaging product materials prices were still lower during the fall of last year. Q3 02 average prices for general purpose PVC (-4.3%), bottle grade PET (-3.5%), and general purpose LLDPE (-1.5%) materials were all still a bit lower than during the same quarter a year earlier, despite the price increases recorded during the spring and summer of last year. The sharpest over-the-year increase for this period of time was recorded by the film grade HDPE (+19.4%) product group. Plastics price trend levels and trends during the year ahead will - as always - be critically dependent upon the price of oil. And oil price movements will, of course, undoubtedly reflect the course of any military action against Iraq.