Earnings for industrial control companies through 3Q00 don't seem to parallel many analysts' opinions that overall industrial earnings for 2000 won't be too good. The Control Engineering (CE) Stock Index for control firms appeared healthy enough in 3Q00, with enough momentum to indicate that year-end figures will be pretty good. All companies in the index, except the smallest one, had increased earnings in 3Q00.

The CE Market Value Index also reflects a strong rebound in 3Q00, following a significant drop in 2Q00 and a modest increase in 1Q00.

The best news is that the CE Stock Index performed much better than other market indexes in 3Q00. The CE Index increased 7.4% compared to a 7.4% decline in the NASDAQ, a financial indicator that usually mirrors small companies.

Yet again, it's becoming more difficult to track companies that can be identified with the industrial control market. For example, Honeywell traditionally attributed 25% of its volume and operating profit to industrial automation, mainly in its Industrial Control (IC) division. When it was gobbled up by Allied Signal more than a year ago, the control and automation part of the new Honeywell declined significantly. Now, following General Electric's recent move to buy the new Honeywell, the new firm's control and automation-related portion might shrink again. However, Honeywell IC also could be buoyed by new ties to GE's own Industrial Systems division.