Following the trend of total EU manufacturing, Austrian manufacturing experienced extraordinarily high growth in 2000. The growth rate of production amounted to 11.4 percent, the second highest value behind Finland. On the cost side, firms suffered from a marked increase in raw material prices, but gained from a further decrease in labour unit costs and the weakness of the euro against the dollar. In the WIFO business survey, which asks firms to subjectively assess their competitiveness on the EU market as well as on the other markets outside the EU, companies responded very optimistically. The balance of optimistic to pessimistic answers exceeded the long-term average by 7 percentage points. Despite the increase in material prices, WIFO estimates suggest a cash-flow/sales ratio – as a measure of profitability and the ability of firms to provide internal funds for their investments – of 10.2 percent in 2000. Hence, it is expected to be of about the same level as in 1999. The survey of the Federation of Austrian Industrialists indicates a similar result.