PORTLAND (AP) - Oregon manufacturers have shed 43,600 jobs since August 1998. But things might finally be looking up.

More than half of 21 Northwest manufacturers surveyed recently by a Portland software provider say they boosted profits in 2002 and expect revenues and profit growth through 2004.

Three-quarters of those surveyed say better management of their suppliers has helped them survive the downturn. And 75 percent expect to hold or boost spending this year on product development, capital investment, worker training and better technology, the survey found.

"The clear defining line there is between high-tech and non-high-tech companies," said Tom McKasson, president of Acuity, the company that commissioned the survey. "The companies that are really looking forward positively are companies in high-end products, like yachts and boats, or other nontech industries."

The survey, called "Surviving & Thriving in the Current Economy," was conducted in February and March for Acuity by Incite Marketing. The firm surveyed executives from 21 Northwest companies in the industrial products, transportation, consumer products, electronics and aerospace industries.

In one key finding, about 75 percent of manufacturers said they survived the downturn by cutting the number of suppliers and improving their relationships with the suppliers they kept.

"It's nothing more than supply-chain management," said Frank Farruggia, vice president of Tidland, a Camas, Wash.-based company that makes assemblies for industries manufacturing paper, film and foil products. "It's not unusual what we're doing here. It's just, I think, a must to be competitive and really to keep your suppliers strong."

Tidland, which participated in Acuity's survey, has seen revenues jump more than 15 percent this fiscal year from its last one ending June 30, 2002, Farruggia said.

Freightliner, though not a part of Acuity's survey, has consolidated purchasing among fewer suppliers as part of a restructuring, company spokesman Chris Brandt said.

"We've also been working more closely with key suppliers to drive costs out of the supply chain," Brandt said.

The company restructured after reportedly losing more than $1 billion in 2001. The company said it returned to profitability in the second half of last year, earlier than expected.

Gary Conner, a Newport-based manufacturing consultant, has criticized Oregon manufacturers, saying most have been too slow to embrace so-called lean-manufacturing practices pioneered by Japanese companies in the 1970s and '80s. He said that's hurting their ability to compete with the growing number of manufacturing operations in China, Mexico and other countries.

Conner warned that some manufacturers are changing the way they manage suppliers but treating them improperly by ordering supplies sloppily.

"Some companies say the right words, but they don't really walk the walk," Conner said. "Sometimes the suppliers end up being the carrier of all the inventory. That brutalizes the little guy. That's not good for anybody."