Los Angeles, 7/10
Ad spending may have passed its peak but no matter: car spots continue a busy board flow trend, whetting production appetites while continuing an upswing of activity that kicked off last month.

"The car boards really got the engine running," notes one producer on a busy town of automobile activity. Toyota, for example, spurred furious bidding on its upcoming worldwide campaign. "But remember: most of the car work has now been awarded so we'll see how the scene looks over the ensuing months."

Alcohol, cell phones, beauty products, sports and banking campaigns represent some of the thick turret of scripts on offer on the West Coast.

Most prodcos seem to be bidding on boards received from the East Coast and Midwest, with little to laugh at. "The majority of our work seems to be coming from New York and Chicago," notes another ad veteran on the action around town. "All of my comedy guys are moaning."

As global clients seek global services, more boards are being offered to prodcos from the UK and Europe. "We're seeing some cool creative work from across the pond," highlights another producer. "Plus it is busy out there. I'm seeing more freelancers on set, which is a really good sign. That means things are on the up."

As a footnote, branding and direct marketing are also seeing some action. A good month overall with busier activity. Not bad, but no boom.

Toronto, 6/10
On the face of it, when the Rolling Stones and AC/DC feel the need to do a charity gig for your city, and industry peeps form a desperate consortium, you know it's time to stay in bed and let Meals on Wheels do their thing.

As Mick and the lads rock on, prodcos and unions troll for tax breaks in a bid to rejuvenate Toronto's $1-billion-ish production sector. The rising dollar, funding cuts and SARS hangover have slashed the number of Toronto productions this summer by almost one-third since last year.

In the trenches, though, it doesn't sound so dire. "The world has finally turned in our favor," says one happy prodco head. Not only is Canadian flow high, foreign flow from the US and UK has also started to pick up. "There are still people who are feeling the hit from the past four months, but anybody in sales is pretty happy right now and we expect things to rebound dramatically in the next 60 days."

Down the street, a Toronto production heavy says things are busy, mostly with one-day shoots. "It's steady but not crazy busy, which it should be by now." There's more roadhouse work coming to T.O. although several people said US clients are still tentative, favoring Vancouver, so those with dual offices are best off right now.

Boards: cars, booze, banking, corporate, packaged goods and PSAs. "Let me say this," one insider declares: "we are back."

New York, 5/10
Breathe in, breathe out, now sigh with relief. By all accounts, things have improved since the last time the New York contingent was pestered about board flow.