The declining value of the U.S. dollar is cutting in different directions for many motorcoach operators.

This year's steady slide in the dollars value, which accelerated last month, has resulted in U.S. greenbacks reaching one-to-one parity against Canadian dollars for the first time in 30 years and hitting a new low against the 13-nation European currency.

You have to go back to November 1976 for the last time the U.S. dollar and the Canadian dollar reached parity.

The half-point cut in U.S. interest rates last month, while aimed at shoring up U.S. credit markets, also had the effect of further weakening the dollar versus other currencies by reducing the cash yield on dollars.

However, a lower dollar also can make travel to the U.S. seem like a bargain to Canadians and other foreigners, which could boost the business of some coach U.S. operators, but at the same time it poses the risk of making imported buses and other foreign-made goods more expensive over time.

Yet, lower interest rates in the U.S. can make financing a new or used coach much easier.

When the euro topped the $1.40 barrier against the dollar last month, it solidified its position on world currency markets, giving it momentum toward becoming a reserve currency of choice -- a position long held by the dollar.

Meanwhile, many financial analysts are predicting further increases in the value of the euro versus the dollar.

The rising euro has yet to cause great consternation among most of the 13 nations that share the currency, save for France, which has criticized its increase. As the euro rises it could dampen exports, particularly to the United States, making European-made products more expensive for American buyers.

The dollar also has fallen against other currencies, including the British pound and Japanese yen.