However, the outlook among large firms remains largely unchanged over the same projection period. This implies that the rising trend in the outlook appears to largely reflect the outlook among small firms. Large firms also appear to make more conservative, lower projections on sales prices than small firms. 2.
For both general and sales prices, the “Don’t have clear views” and “Don’t know” responses are greater among large than small firms. Large firms are likely to face a greater degree of uncertainty in their outlooks for both types of prices – probably because of the direct exposure to fierce global and domestic competition in finalproduct markets.