Bear in mind that the sales forecast is just that a forecast. To the extent that your estimates of the industry averages for north America are off the mark, your branded sales forecast for north America will also be off the mark. On the other hand, if your estimates of the upcoming year’s industry averages for north America are close to what the actual industry averages turn out to be, then your branded sale forecast for north America will also be close to your company’s actual sales. The forecasts will never exactly equal actual sales (except by chance) for two reasons: