China's glass production will continue to increase this year on the basis of 2003's record high output, which is expected to push sales revenues higher. A new wave of float glass lines are expected online this year and up the the middle of 2005. Last year the glass industry turned out a total of 252M weight-boxes of flat glass, registering an increase of 11.1% over 2002. One box weighs 50 kilograms. At the same time, the industry recorded a 22.4% growth in sales revenues to hit US$2.63BN, which was accompanied by a 10-12% rise in price and a total profit of US$163.24M. Encouraged by profit margins and rising demand from many sectors, especially the construction and automobile industries, flat glass production and sales continue to maintain a strong momentum in the second half of this year.
