World Wire
JAPANESE FIRMS' PRODUCTIVITY</br></br>Japanese corporations' productivity lags behind their U.S. counterparts in terms of purchasing-power parity, the Japan Productivity Center said in its latest survey. This parity compares the amount of goods that can be bought for a certain amount of money.</br></br>Average productivity in all Japanese industries, or gross domestic product per employee, was less than that in the U.S., France, the former West Germany, and Britain. The U.S. surpassed Japan in productivity by 31%. The figures are for 1988, the latest available.</br></br>In forestry and fisheries, the U.S. was more than three times as productive as Japan. Japan almost equaled France in manufacturing but was outpaced by the U.S. and Britain.</br></br>Japan had the advantage only in the electric power, natural gas and water supply industries. It fell behind the U.S. in commerce, transportation, warehousing and communications.