Forecast for "most troubled" industries for 2003. (Communique).

Professionals in the turnaround management and corporate renewal industry expect another year of financial and operational difficulties for a variety of industries. Telecommunications, which topped the list of troubled companies in 2002 in the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) Trend Watch poll, also headed the list of industries that respondents believe will continue to struggle in 2003.

Asked to pick the industries that suffered the most during 2002, about 60 percent of the respondents to this December 2002 poll named telecommunications followed by manufacturing. Other industries commonly selected as experiencing significant distress during 2002 were technology, airlines/aerospace, e-commerce and transportation. "The year 2002 will be remembered for large company Chapter 11 filings. Companies such as WorldCom, Global Crossing, Kmart, US Airways and United Airlines marked the year with restructurings of unprecedented size," said Randall Eisenberg, the chairman of TMA and senior managing director of FTI Consulting in New York. "With half of the 10 largest bankruptcies in history occurring last year, the professionals in TMA are working on some of the largest assignments of their careers," he said. "We don't expect any significant slowdown in activity."

Looking ahead to 2003, Trend Watch poll respondents predicted no relief for the telecommunications industry, the most frequent answer provided for industries anticipated to experience difficulty this year. Retail was next on the list, with manufacturing and automotive close behind. Airlines/aerospace and transportation rounded out the list of industries anticipated to struggle in 2003. "Historically, retail ...