Purchasing articles from April 2009

Purchasing archives from April 2009

Buyers see potential and controversy with nanotechnology.
April 9, 2009... By Rich Weissman Chemical buyers strive to catch up with latest developments in nanotechnology. While buyer participation in the expanding nanotechnology industry may be limited to the stain resistant chinos they are wearing or the...

Business Intelligence.
April 9, 2009... Staff $100/ton April price hike for calcium chloride Source: Tetra Technologies WHAT IT MEANS: Tetra said short supply of hydrochloric acid led to the planned price hike for calcium chloride. But the company is investing...

Wary buyers keep polyethylene supplies lean despite low prices.
April 9, 2009... By Gordon Graff Polyethylene prices have been in freefall over the past six months, and are now little more than half of what they were last summer, when they rode the inflationary oil price rocket to record highs. But polyethylene buyers,...

LG centralizes to save.(LG Electronics Inc.)(Company overview)
April 9, 2009... By James Carbone CPO Tom Linton wants to cut materials cost by $5 billion over the next three years and believes centralizing purchasing is the way to do it. About 18 months ago, the CEO of LG Electronics made Tom Linton an offer he...

Falling analog IC prices will stabilize in the second half.
April 9, 2009... By James Carbone Prices for analog ICs will be lower in 2009 than 2008, but the bad news for buyers is that prices have already declined for the year and will stabilize in the second half. Some suppliers have cut back on production or...

Business Intelligence.
April 9, 2009... By James Carbone 11% Buyers who say business is up compared to last month Source: www.purchasingdata.com WHAT IT MEANS: After holding steady for the prior three months, the business conditions index for the electronics...

Distribution Briefs.(Digi-Key Corp.)(Micron Technology Inc.)(Mouser Electronics Inc.)(Avnet Electronics Marketing)(Toshiba Semiconductor Corp.)(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... By James Carbone Digi-Key signs Aptina Electronic components distributor Digi-Key, based in Thief River Falls, Minn., is now stocking Aptina image sensors for both color and monochrome applications in resolutions ranging from 640 x 480...

Larger OEMs turn to electronics distributors for services.(original equipment manufacturer)
April 9, 2009... By James Carbone The electronics industry downturn is proving to be challenging for distribution, but large distributors are reporting an increase in demand for supply chain and design services from large OEMs. While large OEMs have...

Buyers see no price inflation for any commodity group (National, recent price trend).(Brief article)(Statistical data)
April 9, 2009... Staff UP DOWN SAME INDEX Semiconductors 10% 18% 72% 45.7 Paper 16% 28% 56% 44.4 Passive electronics 7% 20% 73% 43.7 Tooling 14% 29% 57% 42.6...

Nickel Prices will Stay Down.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff Despite miners cutting global capacity dramatically, slumping steel demand will keep nickel prices low through the end of this year at least, says Macquarie Bank. Producers of the alloy will cut output by 36% in the first quarter and...

Linerboard Prices Fold.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff Buyers report that linerboard spot sales prices averaged $540/ton in March, down $15 from the month before, while corrugated medium also has dropped $15 to $530. George Staphos at Merrill Lynch & Co., says some April linerboard...

Gold Prices Shine On.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff More analysts have increased their gold price forecasts recently, as market-weary investors look for a safe haven. Forecasted gold price for 2009 Barclays $940/oz Goldman Sachs $933/oz Numis...

Steel Scrap Prices Crash.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff Steel scrap costs have continued to erode, pushing down market prices for various steel mill products, and further scrap costs are expected to slide in April. The Purchasingdata.com March average for shredded scrap is $190/gross ton....

Diesel Slide Hits Speed Bump.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff For only the second time since last July, weekly national on-highway average diesel prices went up in March. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, diesel prices registered a 7Ao/gallon increase on March 23 from the...

There still is no big buying pickup evident (Buyers' 30-day buying plans).(Brief article)(Statistical data)
April 9, 2009... Staff UP DOWN SAME INDEX Plastic resins 11% 37% 52% 37.1 Steel 17% 47% 36% 35.2 Copper & brass 13% 44% 43% 34.9 Transportation 10% 42% 48% 34.5 Organic...

Durable Goods Orders Up.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff The commerce department reported that new orders for durable goods increased 3.4% in February, marking the first advance since July and the strongest one-month gain in 14 months. Excluding transportation equipment, orders gained...

China's GDP will be Low.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff The world bank lowered its forecast for China's 2009 economic growth to 6.5% from its previous forecast of 7.5%. A poll of economists by Reuters has China's GDP at 7.8% this year. The World Bank forecasts global GDP to grow only 0.9%...

Auto Suppliers Get Bailed Out.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff In mid-March the U.S. Treasury Department announced the U.S. automotive supply base will receive $5 billion in Federal assistance funding in an effort to keep the U.S. automotive supply chain running on all cylinders. Under the Auto...

Housing Data Builds.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff Three major housing indicators trended up in February, fueling speculation that the housing market may be on its way out of the trench. The U.S. Commerce Department said that privately owned housing starts in February were 22.2%...

Producer Prices Tick Up.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff The U.S. producer price index ticked up ever so slightly in February by 0.1%. While it was a smaller gain than January's 0.8%, the February reading indicates that wholesale prices may have hit bottom. Core producer prices, which...

IBM Could Buy Sun.(International Business Machines Corp.)(Sun Microsystems Inc.)(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff The Wall Street Journal in March reported that IBM is interested in buying Sun Microsystems. Dell officials said the speculation has driven more server buyers to Dell. "Just the rumor of IBM potentially purchasing Sun creates an...

BASF Cuts Back.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff Plastics giant BASF said in March it will temporarily shut down one of its steam crackers (below) in Germany, taking 220,000 metric tons of annual ethylene capacity offline for at least three months.

Chip Market Tightening.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff Abhi Talwalkar, CEO of U.S. chipmaker LSI, told reporters recently that 80-90% of the necessary "inventory correction" in electronics has already occurred and that "pockets" of LSI's business and end-product categories are...

Asarco Slows Copper Output.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff Tucson, Ariz.-based copper company Asarco temporarily shut its rod and cake plants in Amarillo, Texas in March and is planning periodic slowdowns at its copper refineries in Amarillo and Hayden, Ariz., as a response to a very...

Chemtura Files Chapter 11.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff Specialty chemicals firm Chemtura in March filed Chapter 11 for its U.S. operations, citing a dramatic drop in demand for its specialty chemicals in the past several months. Company officials said Chemtura's "order volumes have...

National Semi Restructures.(National Semiconductor Corp.)(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff Chipmaker National Semiconductor announced a plan in March to consolidate its manufacturing from five facilities to three. The company also acquired Act Solar, a solar energy firm that expands National's SolarMagic business, which...

Dow-Rohm Deal Goes On.(Dow Chemical Co.)(Rohm and Haas Co.)(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff It took a lawsuit, a deal restructuring and a $4 billion asset sell-off, but Dow Chemical will go forward with its previously proposed acquisition of Rohm & Haas despite the chemical giant's move to back out of the deal last year.

Moly Supply Could Get Tight.(Erdene Resource Development Corp. )(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff Molybdenum suppliers including Erdene Resource Development Corp. plan to cut output dramatically this year in an effort to push moly prices up. But those moves could create supply issues when demand for steel comes back. Douglas...

Chem Market Stays Down.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff The chemicals demand slump will last through 2011, suggests analyst Sergey Vasnetsov, chemicals analyst at Barclays Capital in New York. "We continue to expect 2009-2011 to be the trough for the majority of commodity chemicals,...

Ocean Rates Off Bottom.(Baltic Exchange Dry Index)(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff After a massive dive in 2008, the Baltic Exchange's Dry Index, which measures rates on a variety of ocean lanes, held a steady climb for much of the first quarter. The index started January at a near-low of 773 before climbing to...

Energy Prices Stay Low.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff Buyers can cross energy prices off their list of issues to worry about--at least in the short term. That's one of the conclusions from the most recent Purchasing survey of buyers. Only 28% of buyers polled this month see a pickup in...

Iron Ore Expected to Drop.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff With contract season upon us yet again, market watchers are speculating on just how much iron ore contracts between ore providers and Asian steelmakers would drop this year after a record run-up last year. Analyst ...

Zinc Prices Weighed Down.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff Zinc prices will stay low, says Neil Buxton, managing director of GFMS Metals Consulting in London. He now forecasts zinc prices will average 52Ao/lb this year. By contrast, the London Metal Exchange (LME) zinc price in 2008 was...

Sheet Steel Prices Drop.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff Sheet steel demand and pricing "continue to look fairly bleak at this point," reports analyst Mike Gambardella at J.P. Morgan Securities, adding that executives at suppliers Nucor and Steel Dynamics "painted a relatively similar dour...

Air Freight Rates Dive.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff A continuing decline in air freight demand is pushing rates to new lows. Analysts at Robert W. Baird report double-digit declines in air freight rates, saying its February heavyweight air freight index declined 33% in North America....

Aluminum Forecast Down.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff Analyst Lloyd O'Carroll of Davenport & Co. projects aluminum prices will average 66Ao/lb for this year, well below the consensus forecast of 77Ao. O'Carroll says aluminum will rise to just 82Ao in 2010.

ISM 2009 heads to Charlotte.(Institute for Supply Management)(Conference news)
April 9, 2009... By Susan Avery The focus is on the economy, education and suppliers at the 94th annual International Supply Management Conference and educational exhibit. Here is Purchasing's complete guide to the event. Driving high performance is...

Truckload carriers continue to feel the pain of lower demand.
April 9, 2009... By David Hannon At least one leading indicator of the U.S. economy--the truckload market--still shows signs that it will remain down for an extended period, according to market analysts. And overly aggressive freight buyers may be making...

Business Intelligence.
April 9, 2009... By David Hannon 3% Increase in truck tonnage shipped in January Source: American Trucking Associations WHAT IT MEANS: The January uptick helps offset the nearly 8% plunge in December, but ATA economist Bob Costello warns:...

ISO develops new RFID durability standard.(International Organization for Standardization)(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... By David Hannon One of the issues that supply chain managers point to in their limited adoption of RFID is the technology's durability. However, a new standard developed by ISO aims to remove that question mark. The new standard applies to...

Buyers target new business at Magna Electronics.
April 9, 2009... By David Hannon The purchasing organization's overhaul at Magna Electronics is designed to not only reduce costs and buy smarter, but also help the tier-one automotive supplier be more responsive and win more business. While most...

Demand is down--and dropping.(Industry overview)
April 9, 2009... By Tom Stundza The outlook shows a tough environment ahead for suppliers. That's because market analysts see no demand improvement in 2009, and only very little in 2010. So, prices continue to slide down. Steel and nonferrous pipe and...

Business Intelligence.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... By Tom Stundza 0.2% World refined copper use for '09 Source: Barclays Capital WHAT IT MEANS: China's usage growth is expected to be slower than in past years and ROW (rest of world) consumption is seen dropping off 2008...

Swagelok develops its own process to harden stainless steel.
April 9, 2009... By Tom Stundza Steel users such as Swagelok haven't given up on value-added projects that reduce the cost and improve the quality of the metal products they buy and use in making valves and fluid and gas system components. Case in point:...

Soft market conditions have reduced shipments, cut prices.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... By Tom Stundza Titanium mill product shipments could fall by 20% or more this year, producers admit, because of demand volatility. This has been caused by the uncertainty about the extent and duration of the current economic downturn that...

Metals Chips.(facilities of ThyssenKrupp AG)(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... By Tom Stundza Some of the stainless steel sheet plant being built in Mobile, Ala., by German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp may not come on-line until mid-2012 as opposed to the initial target date of mid-2010. U.S. Magnesium curtailed...

Omni-Source Southeast builds purchasing operation on MRO.
April 9, 2009... By Susan Avery Eric Sandford is building a purchasing operation at OmniSource Southeast in Spartanburg, S.C. At the foundation are agreements with suppliers of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) goods and services. The director...

Business Intelligence.
April 9, 2009... By Susan Avery 1.5 millioncu. ft. Size of new Graybar facility in Wisc. Source: Graybar WHAT IT MEANS: The electrical distributor is expanding and offering additional services to meet demands of MRO buyers located throughout...

MRO Briefs.(MSC Industrial Direct Company Inc. publishes new catalog)(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... By Susan Avery MSC Industrial Direct has published two new catalogs. The first, volume III of its fastener source book, features 3,000 new products. The second provides a new source of information on the company's line of Accupro...

MRO distributors receive excellence awards.(Awards list)
April 9, 2009... By Susan Avery Supplyforce, a network of North American MRO suppliers, presented its 2008 Commitment to Excellence awards to a select group of member companies at its national meeting held in Phoenix recently. The awards, presented...

Cap and trade: Where Green and energy buying meet.
April 9, 2009... By Paul Teague, Editor in Chief Energy prices have been going easy on buyers lately. And the trend could continue, according to the latest Purchasing survey of buyers. Only 28% of those polled say they expect energy prices to rise in the...

New MFPs help meet cost-reduction goals and Green concerns.
April 9, 2009... By Nancy Hitchcock As companies strive to improve efficiencies and cut costs in this economy, office products buyers are taking a closer look at capabilities of new multifunction products (MFPs) which combine printing, copying, scanning...

Business Intelligence.
April 9, 2009... By Nancy Hitchcock 90% Companies that can't estimate document costs Source: www.idc.com WHAT IT MEANS: While these companies spend as much as 15% of their revenue on documents, they don't have a strategy in place to manage...

Office Briefs.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... By Nancy Hitchcock To help office buyers select the right equipment for their operations, Gartner has published a report, "Magic Quadrant for MFPs and Printers." More than 138 million printers, copiers, MFPs were purchased in 2007, which...

Four tips on spend analysis for small companies.
April 9, 2009... By Susan Avery Purchasing pros at big companies share what they've learned from years of analyzing spending and using the data to pursue strategic sourcing activities that benefit the bottom line. Armed with powerful software tools,...

Purchasing uses cards to analyze spend, seize cost savings opportunities in travel.
April 9, 2009... By Susan Avery More and more often in this down economy, travel buyers are invited to meet with senior leadership at their companies. Management now routinely asks purchasing for updates on spending on travel services and compliance to...

Meetings cancellations give buyers an edge in supplier negotiations.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... By Susan Avery It's becoming a buyer's market for meetings and events. As the economy forces some companies to cancel or postpone meetings and events, purchasing professionals may be gaining an edge in negotiations with hotel...

Incentives to cut costs of travel help to boost company profits.
April 9, 2009... By Susan Avery Providing incentives to get employees to make smarter travel choices that save money is one way companies can increase profits, says American Express Business Travel, in a new white paper, "Travel as a Strategic Investment:...

Carl Zeiss brings Lean to its distribution centers.
April 9, 2009... By William Atkinson When companies implement Lean concepts in their warehouses and distribution centers (DCs), most of the efforts tend to focus on processes internal to the warehouse. However, to get even broader benefits in the supply,...

Business Intelligence.
April 9, 2009... Staff 22% Uptick in Feb. housing starts Source: U.S. Commerce Dept. WHAT IT MEANS: It's another in a growing list of signs that the U.S. economy may be coming off its bottom. For more such signs, see Purchasing.com/positive...

Die casting suppliers see foreign orders coming back to the U.S.(Brief article)
April 9, 2009... Staff Orders for die-cast parts have been coming back to the U.S. from overseas during the last two quarters, according to 78% of the U.S. die casters surveyed by the North American Die Casting Association. According to these reports, die...

Oracle launches sourcing software on demand.
April 9, 2009... Staff Oracle is now offering its sourcing software as a hosted service. Oracle Sourcing On Demand is based on the company's Oracle Sourcing and Oracle Sourcing Optimization software. As host, Oracle manages all functionality, hardware,...

Six Sigma helps Ring Power become a better supplier and buyer.
April 9, 2009... By William Atkinson Six sigma can be an effective tool for making improvements in an organization. However, the Six Sigma strategies are most effective when the entire supply chain does not understand, embrace and use them. A chain, it is...

Manufacturing suppliers see growth ahead for 2009.
April 9, 2009... Staff Suppliers to manufacturing industries expect growth in the months ahead and are optimistic about a global economic rebound. That's according to results of a January survey of 570 North American suppliers by the online...

Purchasing's business conditions, buying plans indexes continue up.
April 9, 2009... Staff Two major purchasing indexes continued to rise off their low point in March, indicating that the plunge in materials demand has hit bottom and is continuing on the path towards growth. The Purchasingdata.com Business Conditions...

How to use shipping schedules to get Lean and save.(Brief article)
April 30, 2009... Staff Purchasing's smartest negotiators move from conflict to collaboration fast. Match your wits against these pros. Guess their strategy. Then, read what they really did at purchasing.com/negotiations. A testing-equipment...

Recession is a good time to grow your p-card programs.(purchasing cards)
April 30, 2009... By William Atkinson As more purchasing organizations extend efforts to manage costs, purchasing cards are playing a bigger role. According to some observers, any economy is a good economy for using purchasing cards, because they are so...

Chemical distributors prepare for recovery.
April 30, 2009... By Susan Avery Demand was strong until the fourth quarter with much of the year wracked by price hikes and product shortages. Now, distributors are working with buyers and suppliers to ensure there's enough product in the pipeline for when...

Propylene and polypropylene prices see slight rebound on tight supplies.
April 30, 2009... By Gordon Graff Propylene and polypropylene prices have edged up a bit since they hit rock bottom last December. But there is little chance of runaway inflation for either commodity in the coming months. The reasons, say analysts, are the...

U.S. demand for industrial gases forecasted to rise through 2013.
April 30, 2009... By James Carbone A new report forecasts that demand for industrial gases will grow 4.9% per year to 7.5 million metric tons valued at $23.5 billion in 2013. Driving that increase in demand will be development of new products and...

Ethanol producer files chapter 11.
April 30, 2009... By David Hannon Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April, the latest ethanol producer to fall victim to the erratic swings in the market and increasing commodity costs. CEO Ron Miller said...

Praxair makes buys.(Alabama Welding Supply )(Brief article)
April 30, 2009... Staff Praxair Distribution in April acquired Alabama Welding Supply of Dolomite, Ala., Fowler Brothers of Birmingham, Ala., and Service Gas Supply, Inc. of Midlothian, Texas. The acquisitions involve four locations in Alabama and one in...

Business Intelligence.
April 30, 2009... Staff 70% Chemical buyers who say business is either up or flat Source: www.purchasingdata.com WHAT IT MEANS: The business conditions index for chemicals firms took a big jump this month and is very close to breaking the...

Petrochemicals market may have light at the end of the pipeline.
April 30, 2009... By David Hannon While the petrochemicals market has seen its share of struggles in the past year, there are some indications that demand is increasing. And there is some optimistic talk from market executives of late. In a recent...

Sulfuric acid supply glut drives Xstrata to shut Canadian plant.(Brief article)
April 30, 2009... By Tom Stundza Xstrata copper has shut its Kidd Creek smelter in northern Ontario through mid-June because of slumping demand for sulfuric acid, which it produces as a byproduct when smelting copper concentrate into metal. "Since...

Benzene prices erupt because of an Asian demand surge.
April 30, 2009... By Tom Stundza Spot market benzene prices in the North American market averaged $1.96/gallon in mid-April, a 72Ao increase from the March average--due mostly to a surge in demand in Asia, where the chemical had jumped to $2.05, and...

Plastic bag producers file dumping complaint.(Brief article)
April 30, 2009... Staff Superbag of Houston and Hilex Poly of Hartsville, S.C., are seeking punitive tariffs in the form of countervailing duties against Vietnamese, Taiwanese and Indonesian producers of ultra-high molecular-weight polyethylene bags. ...

Plastics prices continue to slump as suppliers cut back capacity.
April 30, 2009... Staff Overall, plastics prices continue their plunge as producers remain unable to scale back production fast enough to match diving demand. However, of the 22 plastic resins tracked by Purchasingdata.com, there were three went up in price...

Solutia sells nylon business to investment group.(SK Capital Partners )(Brief article)
April 30, 2009... By David Hannon After close to a year of shopping it around, Solutia Inc. in April entered agreed to sell its nylon business to an affiliate of SK Capital Partners II, a New York-based private equity firm that is focused on the chemical,...

Ammonia prices climb back up.(Brief article)
April 30, 2009... By Paul E. Teague Prices for ammonia have started to rise, and that means fertilizer could get more expensive just in time for the spring planting season. Ammonia is a major feedstock for the making of fertilizer, and ammonia prices...

A strategic meetings management program can be competitive edge in down economy.
April 30, 2009... By Susan Avery As companies continue to cut back during this economic recession, the meetings spend category has been taking more than its share of hits lately. Witness public reaction to financial services firms accepting government...

New products help corporate travel buyers cope with downturn.(Association for Corporate Travel Executives)(Conference news)
April 30, 2009... By Susan Avery While travel buyers were meeting at the Association for Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) Global Conference in Washington, D.C. last month, suppliers (many of whom were on hand at the show) were introducing new products to...

Pricing is the catch as buyers, distributors come together.
April 30, 2009... By Susan Avery Distributors are providing purchasing with more goods and services than ever before. But, for buyers, it is still not enough. Distributors once again earn high marks for performance from purchasing professionals. In...

Distribution will weather economic storm.
April 30, 2009... By James Carbone Most distributors expect double-digit revenue declines in 2009, but they are positioning themselves to ride the recovery in 2010. Electronics distributors acknowledge that 2009 is shaping up to be one of the worst...