JULY 1989
How Americans rate the ability of different industries to serve the country's needs at a reasonable cost
| Excellent | Good | Fair | Poor | Don't know | |
| Computer industry | 26% | 46% | 15% | 4% | 9% |
| Food companies | 21 | 52 | 19 | 4 | 3 |
| Telecommunications industry | 18 | 42 | 23 | 9 | 8 |
| Cable-television networks | 12 | 39 | 25 | 12 | 13 |
| Pharmaceutical companies | 11 | 36 | 31 | 14 | 7 |
| Automobile companies | 8 | 38 | 34 | 15 | 5 |
| Defense industry | 9 | 34 | 28 | 20 | 9 |
| Airlines | 6 | 33 | 37 | 17 | 8 |
| Oil companies | 6 | 29 | 38 | 21 | 5 |
| Chemical companies | 5 | 28 | 33 | 21 | 14 |
| Insurance companies | 5 | 23 | 33 | 33 | 5 |
Source: Roper Reports Public Pulse , survey of 2,000 adults aged 18 and over, 1988.