BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : DECEMBER 18, 2000 ISSUE
COVER STORY Technology Booms and Busts RAILROADS The railroad boom of the 1800s was punctuated by several sharp downturns, including a near-depression in the mid-1890s. But after each wave of consolidation and bankruptcies, strong railroad growth resumed. AUTOMOBILES The 1920s boom was largely propelled by a tripling of auto sales, and the Depression was precipitated in part by a plunge in car buying. But that market rebounded by the late '30s, and the industry dominated the postwar economy. COMPUTERS With a few exceptions, such as the mid-1980s and early 1990s, info-tech industries have known mainly strong growth. Even with today's tech slowdown, the long-term trends driving tech spending are still in place. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _					RELATED ITEMS The Tech Slump COVER IMAGE: The Tech Slump CHART: Tech Spending Slowdown TABLE: Angst in the Air Who May Prosper Despite the Fall TABLE: Recession-Resistant Commentary: Tech Leads--Both Up and Down TABLE: Technology Booms and Busts Commentary: Greenspan: This Is Your Captain Speaking... More Bad News for the Naz CHART: Valuations Remain Sky-High Asian Electronics: Who Pulled the Plug? (int'l edition) CHART: Cooling Down INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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