| However, he adds, there can be dramatic disparities between how fast a research firm predicts a trend will take shape and the realities of what happens when the "mental floodgates" of a segment of society are opened by the rate of acceptance of a product, idea or way of thinking by friends and family, media exposure and social events.
"There's just no way to effectively to say, for example, how fast a certain make and model of car will gain in popularity in a week, month or year if all of a sudden it's on TV shows and movies and in the newspaper and your neighbor's driveway," he explains.
How Fast Cremation Rate Actually Grows Is Anyone's Guess
While the comprehensive cremation figures CANA gathers every year are invaluable, many industry observers are also using their common sense, local experience and information they gain from networking with colleagues to make their own predictions.
And with the number of crematories in the U.S. rising from just over 1,000 in the early 1990s to 1,835 in 2004, the signs are clearly pointing to the fact that the cremation rate is coming on strong.
"Based on the number of inquiries we're getting about our replicated rock monuments from cemeterians in even traditionally low cremation rate states, it's obvious that managers everywhere are feeling an urgency to expand their memorialization product mix to meet demand," says Stephen Hartmann, marketing director of Calif.-based Valley Monuments, Inc.
He says creating easy-to-install natural cremation gardens and trails using his company's GFRC cast stone memorial rocks are being seen by planners as an ideal way of offering their families an alternative to scattering ashes or keeping them in an urn at home, one of the biggest concerns of cemeterians wanting to remain profitable as the cremation rate continues to grow.
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