Purchasing articles from April 2006

Purchasing archives from April 2006

Prices, supply getting more stable.(of industrial gases)
April 6, 2006... Wayne Forrest Increased capacity and more even demand should keep industrial gas buyers happier this year after a roller-coaster 2005. like many chemicals markets, the industrial gas market is still recovering from the 2005 hurricanes...

Sodium bicarb supply strong, tags level with producer costs.(chemicals prices)
April 6, 2006... Gordon Graff For purchasers of sodium bicarbonate, supplies are abundant but prices are drifted upward in 2005 in response to producers' rising costs. As a whole, sodium bicarbonate is a fairly staid commodity, with growth typically...

Elements.(Dow Chemical Co. formed a joint venture with BASF AG)(BASF AG building a new plant)(Lord Corp. buys Henkel Technologies' chemicals business)
April 6, 2006... Staff Arch Chemicals says 2006 sales will improve 6-8% over 2005, fueled mostly by its HTH water products business. This business expects results to improve through a combination of price increases, improved customer and sales mix, cost...

Prices will fluctuate until feedstock supply and resin demand balance.(polypropylene resin)
April 6, 2006... Tom Stundza polypropylene resin pricing "continues to yo-yo up and down with leadtimes doing the same," complains the purchasing manager of a Wichita cleaning-chemicals supplier that uses the resin to make colored-plastic containers. A...

Higher energy costs driving more chem capacity to China.
April 6, 2006... David Hannon More and more chemical makers are targeting expansions in China, especially in light of continuing natural gas and energy cost increases in the U.S. The chief economist at the American Chemistry Council estimates that more...

How to mold the next leaders.(training to supply chain leaders)(Column)
April 6, 2006... By Mark Mirelez "Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It...

Buyers' 90-day price expectations.(commodity prices)
April 6, 2006... Staff Commodities voted most likely to rise in price through June PERIOD UP DOWN SAME INDEX* Transportation MAR 59% 4% 37% 77.1 Corrugated products MAR 46% 4% 50% 71.2 Copper...

30-day buying plans.(housing sales are booming)(BASF AG buys Degussa AG's construction chemicals business)(Sigma Stretch Film investing to boost its production)
April 6, 2006... Staff Commodities voted most likely to be bought in the next 30 days HOUSING TAKES A HIT Staff Housing starts should reach 1.98 million this year, down from 2.06 million in 2005, forecasts the National Association of Realtors....

Leadtime Report.(elastomers and ethylene production after hurricanes)
April 6, 2006... Staff Elastomers remain stretched Staff The gulf coast hurricanes last summer wrecked elastomer production and pushed leadtimes out to longer than four months. As demand picked up early this year, delivery times actually stretched...

Asian demand drives air freight volumes, capacity expansions.
April 6, 2006... David Hannon Air freight buyers can expect to pay more for express services, especially in the Asian market, as demand spiked in late 2005, tightening available capacity for air freight. A recent report from the Seattle-based Air Cargo...

Rail capacity growing... in India.(Indian Railways)(Brief article)
April 6, 2006... Staff While rail capacity may be a concern in the U.S., the Indian rail industry is investing heavily in new capacity to meet growing demand for logistics services. Indian Railways, Asia's oldest rail network, said recently it plans to...

BNSF adds capacity, ends "free time".(BNSF Railway Co. )(Brief article)
April 6, 2006... Staff BNSF Railway Co., a subsidiary of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., will reduce the "free time" for container storage at its Memphis intermodal facility, to one day effective May 1. This new policy means customers can store...

Detours.(Schneider Logistics Inc. acquires American Overseas Air Freight)(UTi Worldwide Inc. acquires Market Industries Ltd.)(Menlo Worldwide opening a unit in Malaysia)(Brief article)
April 6, 2006... Staff Schneider Logistics recently agreed to acquire American Overseas Air Freight, an international freight forwarder and a licensed U.S. customs broker specializing in the handling and shipping of import and export products by air, ocean...

LTL buyers face an uphill battle.(less-than-truckload)(survey of shippers and buyers)
April 6, 2006... By David Hannon Some signs show LTL pricing and capacity will improve in 2006, but buyers and shippers are a long way from happy about their LTL service. Logistics buyers, in general, are not happy lately and less-than-truckload (LTL)...

Quanex mulls options for Nichols.(Nichols Aluminum Alumi-Brite)(Brief article)
April 6, 2006... Staff Quanex management has yet to decide in the future of its aluminum sheet-making subsidiary, Nichols Aluminum, according to Raymond Jean, chairman of the parent company. Quanex has been considering various strategic options for Nichols...

Analysts see high-flying ingot prices well into '07.(aluminum prices)
April 6, 2006... Tom Stundza The world aluminum price is likely to remain high throughout the year, and probably well into 2007, given forecasts of a global aluminum market deficit of 375,000 metric tons for 2006 and uncertain production next year. The...

High-grade sheet keeps an American icon bright and shiny.(Airstream Inc.)
April 6, 2006... Staff Airstream's materials team buys what it takes to make that instantly recognizable line of travel trailers with aircraft-inspired aluminum-clad bodies. When your company's signature product is on display all day, every day for...

Crystal ball is cloudy.(aluminum industry)
April 6, 2006... Staff Aluminum sheet was a healthy market sector last year but the outlook for 2006 is suddenly uncertain. New-order bookings slipped 10% last year, according to Aluminum Association data, foreshadowing reduced mill shipments this year....

Supply of oil country tubular goods may tighten this year.(Column)
April 6, 2006... Staff There could be tight supply of the steel tubulars bought for use in energy exploration and transmission. That's because there are no signs of a slowdown ahead in the accelerated drilling activity of the past two years for crude oil...

OCTG News.(Maverick Tube Corp. is marketing goods of Rocky Mountain Steel Mills Div. and Tubos del Caribe of Cartagena de Indias)(Ipsco Corp. investments)(Brief article)
April 6, 2006... Staff Maverick Tube has won the right to market premium seamless-grade oil country tubular goods made by the Rocky Mountain Steel Mills division of Oregon Steel Mills. Maverick expects to sell 48,000 tons/year of the product worldwide,...

China to expand smelting capacity.(copper)
April 6, 2006... Staff China plans to boost annual copper-smelting capacity by 124% to 3.7 million metric tons by 2007, according to reports issued to the media by the country's National Development and Reform Commission. There currently are 18...

More ammunition for outsourcing MRO.(maintenance, repair and operations services)(Column)
April 6, 2006... Susan Avery This is the final story in a three-part series on reducing costs surrounding the purchase of maintenance, repair and operations goods and services. Purchasing published other stories in the series in its Jan. 17 and Feb. 16...

<EMPHASIS TYPE="ITALIC">Purchasing</EMPHASIS> honors MRO buyers with annual award.
April 6, 2006... Staff Once again, it's time for Purchasing magazine to recognize the achievements of MRO buyers in its pages. The editors are looking for purchasing professionals with responsibility for the MRO (maintenance, repair and operations) buy...

Buyers, economists agree: Signs of better business abound.
April 6, 2006... By Tom Stundza Buyers are getting busier at firms that make high-tech equipment, sophisticated machinery, construction equipment and aircraft. Recent business data indicates that the economy accelerated in the first quarter after...

The next generation.(purchasing leaders)(Column)
April 6, 2006... Paul Teague, Editor in Chief Quite correctly, Mark Mirelez of National Instruments points out in this issue's "CPO Views" column (page 54) that one of the many pressing needs in the purchasing field today is finding ways to build the next...

Strong demand, tight supply keep prices elevated.(packaging paper)
April 6, 2006... Staff Buyers can expect price hikes for paper-based packaging well into spring as producers try to offset wintertime cost increases for pulp, paperboard, linerboard and corrugating medium and kraft papers. "Raw material costs associated...

New drugs, regulations to boost buying of high-barrier packages.(Freedonia Group's market research)(Brief article)
April 6, 2006... Staff World pharmaceutical packaging demand is projected to increase 6.3% annually through 2009 when $30 billion in purchases will be attained. Europe, the U.S. and Japan will continue to account for more than 70% of demand, says a new...

New PE film from Denmark.(Borstar FB4370 polyethylene film from Borealis A/S )(Brief article)
April 6, 2006... Staff Borealis has begun marketing a new polyethylene film grade of resin in North America. The Danish company says Borstar FB4370, "balances mechanical properties such as high stiffness, toughness, easy opening and down gauging with...

Wrappings.(Packaging Dynamics closing its Farmers Branch)(Hilex Poly Co. acquired Vanguard Plastics Inc.)(Caraustar Industries Inc. sold to Green Bay Packaging )(Brief article)
April 6, 2006... Staff Packaging Dynamics will close its Farmers Branch, Texas, flexible packaging plant during the first quarter of 2006 to cut costs. The company's food packaging production will be transferred to other facilities. Hilex Poly has...

John Miller, vice president of purchasing at Nissan.(Nissan Motor Company Ltd.)(Interview)(Brief article)
April 6, 2006... Interview by Karen Prema Player: John Miller, vice president of purchasing, Nissan, Smyrna, Tenn. Study abroad: Miller worked in Japanese operations of both Honda and Nissan. Challenges to global sourcing: "We look at the most...

Products.
April 6, 2006... Staff IT'S NO TROUBLE Staff The Moyno 1000 positive displacement pump is engineered for trouble-free operation in a variety of services, including shear sensitive chemical feeds, adhesives, lime, slurries and viscous crude oil...

Supply chain beats the clock.(Pratt and Whitney Aircraft of Canada Ltd.)
April 6, 2006... By Susan Avery Pratt & Whitney Canada turns to suppliers for help with building a new jet engine. Now, P&WC can make them for such customers as Cessna and Eclipse faster than anyone in the business. To capitalize on an emerging market...

Collaboration with internal customers builds confidence.(Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc.)
April 6, 2006... Paul E. Teague It's not unusual for suppliers, co-workers or even editors to get emails or phone calls from Janice Stephenson at 7am--or earlier. It's no wonder: As the lone purchasing person at Lexington, MA-based Cubist Pharmaceuticals,...

SRM + E-AUCTIONS: Tools in the toolbox.(supplier relationship management and e-auctions )
April 6, 2006... By Karen Prema Delta uses e-auctions as a tool, SRM as a process. With the rise of new technology focused on sourcing and supplier management, buyers are more often faced with the decision of which tool to take out of the toolbox....

CA's procurement overhaul focuses on global expertise.(CA Inc.)
April 6, 2006... William Atkinson Computer Associates (now known simply as "CA") International in Islandia, N.Y. has been through a lot the last couple of years, like many technology companies, including the implementation of a whole new leadership team...

Corrections:.
April 6, 2006... Staff The fastener photo appearing in the MRO section (Purchasing , March 3, 2006, page 26) should be credited to Bob Randall. In the January issue, the company Novozyme was incorrectly identified as Novoenzyme (Purchasing , January...

Chevron leverages buyers in outsourcing decisions.
April 6, 2006... William Atkinson More often, purchasing professionals are involved in the decision to find an outsourcing partner for an internal function. The process requires first deciding if the decision to outsource is the best one for the company...

Updated Northeastern MBA program includes supply chain track.(Master of business administration )
April 6, 2006... Susan Avery Northeastern University's College of Business Administration (CBA) in Boston has updated its full-time MBA program and included a new track on supply chain management beginning in the fall of 2006. "I've been telling the...

SCM software market enters consolidation phase.(supply chain management software market)(Open Ratings was acuired by D&B Corp.)
April 6, 2006... David Hannon Competition and consolidation is picking up in the supply chain software market, as several major acquisitions rounded out the first quarter. A recent report from industry analyst Frost & Sullivan says "there are signs of...

Nelson announces retirement, Delphi names Johnson new VP.(Brief article)
April 6, 2006... Staff Longtime purchasing executive, Purchasing editorial advisory board member and vice president of global purchasing at Delphi Corp. R. David Nelson has announced his retirement, following a 48-year career. Nelson started his career at...

Purchasing executives on the move...(management of purchasing executives)
April 6, 2006... Staff Weyerhaeuser Co. recently named Peter W. Sherland vice president of procurement and transportation. Sherland had served as vice president of transportation and logistics since 2002 and assumed the additional responsibilities...

Pigments and dyes buyers have more choices, but at higher prices.(Industry overview)
April 6, 2006... Gordon Graff Pigments and dyes, although in abundant supply, have been climbing steadily up the price ladder over the past year as energy and raw materials have become more expensive. Demand for organic pigments is outpacing that of...

Perils of a free-market economy.(price increases ruinous )
April 6, 2006... Staff Price increases ruinous As a buyer of raw materials for an electroplater I see nothing but price increases and more price increases. This covers just about everything from non-ferrous metals to specialty chemicals to common,...

The New Distribution Hot Spots.(growth of electronics distributors in North America)
April 20, 2006... By James Carbone Even as they grow their business in Asia, electronics distributors are competing harder than ever for North American customers. And they see their growth here coming from lower-volume manufacturers. For most...

Catalogers expect double digit growth.(Company overview)
April 20, 2006... By James Carbone Domestic R&D efforts will bring in the orders. "This will be the year of the catalog distributor," forecasts Rob Birse, director of marketing communications for Allied Electronics, a catalog distributor in Fort Worth,...

RoHS could boost independents.(Restriction on the use of Hazardous Substances)
April 20, 2006... By James Carbone Market confusion may work to distributors' advantage. Revenue for the top 10 nonfranchised independent distributors failed to mirror the sales growth of franchised distributors in 2005 as revenue for independents fell...

Purchasers give distributors good grades.(performance of distributors )(Brief article)
April 20, 2006... Staff Electronics buyers are generally pleased with the performance of distributors and give them high marks for delivery, price, payment terms and responsiveness, according to a new Purchasing survey. Seventy-nine percent of buyers...

2005 North American Rankings.(Table)
April 20, 2006... Staff 2005 North American Rankings --------------------------------- Sales breakdown (%) Ranking 2005 Ranking 2004 1 2 2 1 3 3 4 4 5 6 6 ...

Astrex is tops in sales growth.(sales and earnings)(Brief article)
April 20, 2006... Staff While avnet and Arrow had the most revenue in electronics distribution in 2005, they did not have the highest growth rates. That honor belonged to Astrex, a connector distributor with just 65 employees. It grew sales 65% to $23...

Trends in distribution.(sales and earnings)
April 20, 2006... Staff Electronics distributors gain a little ground in 2005 The top distributors showed minimal growth of $755 million or 3.6% over 2004, but growth was stronger in some product sectors than others. For instance, computer products...

Value-added services and new products drive growth.(market research of retail trade)
April 20, 2006... Staff Distributors expect that value-added services and new products will drive growth in 2006. The survey reveals that distributors focused heavily on providing value-added services. About 17.4% or $4 billion of the top 75 distributors'...

Fewer sales needed to make the top 75.(rankings of electronics industry)(Brief article)
April 20, 2006... Staff Purchasing 's top 75 distribution ranking for 2005, distributors needed slightly fewer sales this year. Distributors needed $3.4 billion in revenue, compared to $4.0 billion in the previous year. Six new companies made the list...

Genie Group remains tops in productivity.(production management)(Brief article)
April 20, 2006... Staff The Genie Group keeps its title as the leader in employee productivity with $3.9 million in sales per employee, followed once again by Dependable Component Supply, with $2.3 million in sales per employee. The survey also reveals that...

China sales will increase in two years.(industry forecasts)(Brief article)
April 20, 2006... Staff Although only 46 out of the top 75 distributors responded to Purchasing's question on what percent of their total sales in 2005 were derived from Asia and China, it reveals that it may be more difficult for small to midsized...

Online buying sees growth.(Brief article)
April 20, 2006... Staff Sales transactions via the Web are still a small portion of the distribution industry's sales, generating as little as 1% and as much as 47% of total sales, according to Purchasing's survey, although more distributors are offering...

Alphabetical listing.
April 20, 2006... Staff A.E. Petsche Co. Rank: 17 2112 West Division St., Arlington, TX 76012; (817) 461-9473 Distributor type: Specialized www.aepetsche.com Advanced MP Technology (i) 1010 Calle Sombra, San Clemente, CA 92673;...

Leadtimes shrink.(production management)(Brief article)
April 20, 2006... Staff Component demand weakened last month as leadtimes for 38 of 41 components tracked monthly by Purchasing shrunk in March. Leadtimes stretched just for zener diodes, pushbutton switches and switching power supplies. Some of the...

Commodity costs drive some connector tags up.(prices and rates)
April 20, 2006... James Carbone The bad news for buyers is many connector manufacturers have increased prices 3-7% for select products this year because of increasing costs for copper, gold and polymers. The good news for buyers is prices have not increased...

At today's Cisco Systems, the fewer suppliers the better.(company overview)(Company overview)
April 20, 2006... Staff In the 1990s when cisco systems was enjoying 25% quarter-over-quarter revenue growth, it seemed the company could not add suppliers fast enough. It needed component suppliers as well as manufacturing partners so it could meet...

Analog chip tags to fall this year, despite strong demand.(technology applications)
April 20, 2006... Staff The analog chip market will grow from $31.8 billion in 2005 to $34.4 billion in 2006 driven by communications, computer and consumer equipment. By 2010, the analog market will reach $47.8 billion, according to researcher IC Insights....

Few buyers expect component inflation.(prices and rates of electric components)
April 20, 2006... Staff (Buyers' 90-day price expectations) NAND TAGS ERODE Staff Spot prices for NAND flash memory keep falling. Prices have fallen by 50% this year with 2 gigabit (Gb) and 4 Gb devices having the sharpest price declines of...

Economy + Supply.(contratcs)(United states economy)(sales of optoelectronics)
April 20, 2006... Staff ALCATEL, LUCENT TO MERGE Alcatel and lucent have signed a pact to create a telecommunications-equipment giant based in Paris and run by an American CEO, with annual revenue of $25 billion. The deal must be approved by...

Capacity hits the Pacific--but is it enough?
April 20, 2006... David Hannon Demand for ocean container shipping will remain strong, but as more capacity comes online, rates will slowly come down. Don't believe it? Ocean carriers reported collecting lower freight rates in their most recent quarterly...

Tankers also report rates dropping.(Interpool Inc and its subsidiary will perform management services on behalf of the purchaser )
April 20, 2006... Staff On the ocean tanker side, frontline, the number two ocean oil tanker, saw cited lower freight rates in its 73% drop in 2005 income, especially at the end of the year. A Bloomberg report said Frontline had to accept lower freight...

The automotive news isn't all bad.
April 20, 2006... Paul Teague, Editor in Chief The U. S. automotive industry is going through a particularly rough patch right now, and the reasons often cited range from quality problems in American cars, to product-planning and marketing missteps, to...

Buyers leverage demand planning from distributors.
April 20, 2006... Karen Prema Office buyers looking to better leverage their spend can learn a lot from what their distributor partners tell them. The old mantra of "buy more, get a better price" does not always hold true, but more strategic buying and...

Thomas Murphy, global procurement director, Instron.(Interview)
April 20, 2006... Interview by Paul Teague PLAYER: Thomas Murphy, global procurement director, Instron, Norwood, Mass. ANNUAL SPEND: $15 million, direct. BIGGEST CHALLENGE: Leveraging the buy. "We manufacture small quantities of a lot of products....

Strategic sourcing computes at Palm and Sun.(Sun Microsystems Inc)(Palm)
April 20, 2006... Paul E. Teague Supplier partnerships control costs and enable development of new technologies. One has products that fit in your pocket. The other's products sit on a desk or can take up a small room. But despite those...

EMS firm focuses on customers, flexibility in its buying.(Surface Mount Technology Inc.)(electronics manufacturing services)
April 20, 2006... David Hannon Flexibility and customer focus are a big part of the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) industry. But at a midmarket EMS, flexibility and customer focus need to be at the core of everything it does-especially...

Spinoff drives move from tactical to strategic.(Randall Ellis to plan purchasing strategy for its own FMC Technologies Inc)
April 20, 2006... Susan Avery Managing change is one of the biggest challenges purchasing professionals face as a buying operation makes the move from tactical to strategic. Randall Ellis, chief procurement officer at FMC Technologies (FMC) is meeting...

Global sourcing is tough with military-style products.(Letter to the editor)
April 20, 2006... Staff Good work covering the regs "Sourcing expands its footprint" (Purchasing , March 2, 2006; p. 33) is an interesting article about an innovative company, BlackHawk Products Group. The article highlights BlackHawk's centralized...