Flattening out after two years in a declining trend, Canadian pipeline mileage for 1978 is expected to stabilize at moderately less than in 1977 but should be followed by several expansionary years well into the 1980's as the Alaska-Yukon gas transmission moves into construction and spinoff activity develops. It will not be a boom, however, but a steady forward movement with much needed stability in both equipment and labor force and careful planning to avoid peaks and valleys as much as possible. Outlook for 1978, as 1977 drew to a close with a decline of about 15% from 1976 in total footage, is for a holding pattern in big-inch projects and a moderate decline in the smaller jobs, with the prospect that a 10% drop from 1977 will be the bottom of the cycle.
