According to a soon-to-be-released updated report from Business Communications Co. (BCC) Inc., the North American metal powder market was estimated at 1.14 billion pounds worth $2.4 billion in 2003 and is forecast to reach 1.45 billion pounds worth $3.4 billion in 2008. The P/M parts market was estimated at 993 million pounds worth $5.4 billion in 2003 and is forecast to reach nearly 1.3 billion pounds worth about $7.7 billion in 2008. About 90% of metal powders are manufactured into parts, which means that a total of metal parts plus parts shipments would involve double counting. BCC projects that all P/M activity production of metal powders and parts fabrication (including double counting) totaled roughly $7.5 billion in 2003 and will grow to more than $11 billion by 2008 with a growth rate of 7% annually.