For the next few days, what with the holidays approaching, we’ll be speaking to small retail stores in the South Sound. How’s business? What’s up? What are customers saying?

If you’d like one of our reporters to speak with a business you’re curious about, let me know at c.r.roberts@thenewstribune.com.

Thanks - and Happy Thanksgiving!

Today: Watermark
Address: 1115 A St., downtown Tacoma
On the phone: Karen McGrath, owner

Please give me a quick description of what you sell.
We sell distinctive gifts and decor, and a wide variety of cards.

When did your holiday season start?
Any minute now. Today is the first lunch hour I’ve see that it’s been busy. Actually, it started on Nov. 10. We had an open house.

How are sales so far?
It’s quiet. It’s slow. People are very cautious.

What are you hearing from your shoppers about their budgets?
They’re asking, ‘Is this going to be on sale after Thanksgiving?’ Everybody’s watching their budget. People are concerned.

Are you having any sales?
We typically don’t have a sale before the holidays. If you do, people always look for things to be on sale. We offer wonderful items at a reasonable price. I think they’re worth what the price is.

What are your most popular sellers so far this season?
So far, ornaments. This month and early December, lots of ornaments. Lots of office-exchange gifts. People are getting ready to decorate their homes.

Are there any particularly notable items you’ll be selling this season?
We have the “Yodeling Pickle” you press a button, and it yodels. We have all kinds of body-care items, for men and women. And Baggallini – it’s a line of contemporary, fabric bags, from Portland. And cards, ones with good quotes. We are selling more religious items, we have for some years.

Cargobusinessnews.com is out today with some unencouraging numbers from the American Trucking Association – whose seasonally adjusted “For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index” dropped 3 percent in October. That’s the fourth consecutive monthly drop, according to a Monday news release.

The index fell 0.8 percent in September and 1.9 in August, the site said in its daily newsletter.

Trucking association Chief Economist Bob Costello said that truck tonnage is down a total of 6.3 percent in the last four months, year-over-year.

“October should be the busiest month of the year, but instead this October was a fizzle,” he said. “The latest truck tonnage drop suggests that retailers are very pessimistic for the holiday sales season.”

For more information, visit www.truckline.com or www.cargobusinessnews.com.

The frequently-delayed new European military transport aircraft, the Airbus A400M, is facing yet another delivery postponment.

An Airbus executive today said the first plane won't be delivered until the second half of 2009.

Tom Williams, head of aircraft programs for Airbus, said engine problems are holding up testing and certification of the aircraft, Bloomberg News reports.

European governments have ordered 192 of the airlifters for military operations. The turboprop plane is larger than Lockheed's C-130 Hercules but smaller than Boeing's C-17 four-engine jet transport.

The aircraft has already been delayed four times since its construction began.

Meanwhile in the Puget Sound area, Boeing was doing its share to add to the delays.

The Australian newspaper reports that Boeing is now telling the Austrailian government that the first of six Wedgetail electronic surveillance aircraft won't be delivered until late 2009. The Wedgetail is a commercial 737 modified for military use.

The Wedgetail was originally supposed to begin delivery in 2006.

Primus International Inc. of Bellevue announced today it acquired Accra Manufacturing Inc. of Bothell on Nov. 14.

Accra, founded in 1978, produces a range of components and assemblies for aircraft. The company employs about 150 people.

"Accra is a significant direct and indirect supplier to Boeing and has significant content on three of the four best-selling commercial aircraft in the world," said Pete George, Primus' chief operating officer.

"We all believe Accra is well-positioned to grow organically as demonstrated by its recent contract wins to supply the Boeing 787 with components and assemblies," he said.

Primus is a so-called "Tier 2" supplier of aircraft parts and structures worldwide.

Nutplates, small metal parts that hold two aircraft parts together, are causing more trouble at Boeing.

The company previously had revealed that thousands of nutplates untreated with a corrision-resistant finish had been mistakenly installed in more than 300 737 aircraft.

Now the company acknowledges some of those parts may have been installed in its 777s, 747s and 767s.

While those parts don't pose an immediate safety hazard in the relatively new aircraft, they must be replaced during the planes' maintenance overhauls.

Substandard nutplates installed on aircraft still on the assembly line are being taken out and replaced, the company said.

Airbus' chief executive Thomas Enders raised the possibility of production cuts at a Monday aviation evening dinner in Paris, the European press reports.

Enders said that Airbus "Can't rule out anything out at the moment," when questioned about a slowdown in production.

Airbus has already canceled plans to raise production of its A320 single aisle jet to 40 planes a month from the present 36 because of order cancellations.

Airbus has seen 119 aircraft orders cancelled this year including 71 in October. Boeing reports only six cancelled airliner orders this year, four 737s, one 747 and one 787. Boeing's production of its rival to the A320, the 737, is about 31 planes a month at its Renton plant.

Even with the cancellations, Airbus is ahead of Boeing this year in the order race with a net order total of 675 after cancellations compared with Boeing's 640.

Boeing claims its order book is more solid than that of its rival because it has fewer orders from financially unsteady carriers.

A major blow to Airbus came when low-cost carrier Skybus, an all-Airbus airline, quit the business earlier this year. Skybus had orders for 65 more Airbuses.

Continental, JetBlue, Virgin America and Midwest airlines have won top honors in a new Zagat survey of frequent travelers.

That survey of 10,000 fliers named Continental the best domestic airline for its premium cabin. JetBlue won the top honors among large airlines for its economy seating.

Virgin America, the San Francisco-based upstart carrier, won the top award for its premium cabin among mid-sized airlines. Midwest took the top spot for its economy cabin.

SeaTac's Alaska Airlines won third place in the premium seating category and fourth among the airlines in the economy category.

Singapore Airlines took first place honors among international carriers for its premium and its economy cabins.

This Thanksgiving holiday may see airline traffic dropping for the first time in decades, but train travel is up.

So far up that Amtrak has added an additional train each way between Seattle and Portland during the holidays.

That makes a total of six daily trains each way between the Northwest cities and other cities such as Tacoma on the route between.

Looking at Amtrak's reservations, it appears that two of the six trains are already sold out Wednesday for the southbound trip.

All six trains still had space available for a Sunday return from Portland.

If you're booking online, don't refer to the everyday schedule. That schedule shows only five trains. Instead, enter your intended arrival and departure dates in the interactive menu, and the site will show you all trains including the two added for the holidays.