Purchasing articles from December 2007

Purchasing archives from December 2007

'If your MRO prices are the best, prove it'.(maintenance, repair and operations)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Purchasing jobs often involve negotiations. And 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...

Chemical buyers and suppliers work Green from different angles.
December 13, 2007... By David Hannon and Gordon Graff With new regulations and new business cases, the chemicals supply chain continues to adapt in an increasingly global market. The environmental concerns of chemical buyers and chemical suppliers come in...

Biofuel bonanza could create specialty chemical foutainhead.
December 13, 2007... By Gordon Graff There's a heated debate going on in the chemicals industry centering on whether or not the biofuels boom will produce a dramatic increase in the supply of some specialty chemicals. The processes that transform biomass into...

Carbon black demand expands global supply.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Demand for carbon black is expanding in overseas markets, as increasing oil prices push up prices of the specialty chemical here in North America. Buyers are reporting higher prices for carbon black in Purchasingdata.com 's...

Chem News.
December 13, 2007... By Staff Basell and ConocoPhillips extend polypropylene marketing pact Basell and ConocoPhillips have signed a new long-term contract for Basell to exclusively market the polypropylene produced at ConocoPhillips' plant in Linden, N.J....

Inspiration from 5,909 miles away.(Personal account)
December 13, 2007... By Mark Mirelez Sitting in coach, on American Airlines flight 37 from Zurich to DFW, waiting for the plane to depart, I find myself struggling to put the last 12 months that I've spent living in Hungary into perspective. Am I sad about...

Distributors need a plan for counterfeit parts.(Sparton Corp.)
December 13, 2007... By James Carbone Counterfeit parts are a plague on the electronics industry and more must be done to stop their proliferation in the supply chain, according to the president of Sparton Corp., an electronics manufacturing services provider....

E-procurement software supports business strategies.
December 13, 2007... By David Hannon E-procurement software providers build improved productivity and industry-specific functionality into the latest versions of whiz-bang tools. Since its inception, e-procurement software has been equated with increased...

Consumer electronics will drive chip industry growth in 2008.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By James Carbone Global semiconductor industry revenue will grow 7.7% annually through 2010 when the market will reach $321 billion, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said in its annual forecast. The new forecast projects...

Business Intelligence.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By James Carbone 30% Electronics purchasers who will decrease their purchase orders over the next 90 days Source: www.purchasingdata.com WHAT IT MEANS: Buyers expect demand for their companies' end equipment to slacken as...

Distribution Briefs.
December 13, 2007... By James Carbone Arrow inks deal with Osram Sylvania Arrow Electronics has signed a distribution agreement with Osram Sylvania and will sell the manufacturer's line of light emitting diode products. The agreement is intended to...

Safety first for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.
December 13, 2007... By James Carbone The rechargeable lithium battery market will grow from $4.6 billion in 2006 to more than $6.3 billion by 2012 with a compound annual growth rate of 5.6%, according to BCC Research, based in Wellesley, Mass. That growth...

Mubadala invests in AMD.(Advanced Micro Devices Inc.)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By James Carbone AMD has received a $622 million investment from a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Co., a strategic investment and development company headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Mubadala invested and...

ASIC demand up, prices down in '08.(application specific integrated circuit)
December 13, 2007... By James Carbone The application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) market will grow by about 5% in 2008 after falling 2% in 2007 because of weaker demand and falling prices. Buyers can expect further price declines next year, although...

Hard-disk-drive price decline slows.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By James Carbone The steep price freefall for hard disk drives (HDD) is over, but prices will still drop by about 4-6% in the fourth quarter. In the first half of the year, HDD prices fell by about 20% per quarter for select...

Prices.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Cost of gasoline, diesel weigh on freight rates (National, recent price trend) -------------------------------------------- UP DOWN SAME INDEX Energy 80% 3% 17% 88.4...

Zinc Could Get Cheaper.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Expanded zinc supply and stalled demand could trigger a 13% slide in 2008 world price, according to early forecasts, which see $1.32/lb vs. $1.52 in 2007. Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Securities say collapsed new-housing starts and...

Zircon will Cost More.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Zircon buyers should expect to pay more than today's $775/metric ton in coming months, says Clarke Wilkins, a Sydney-based analyst for Citigroup, even if miners follow through with proposed capacity expansions. Reason: He sees...

Fraser Boosts Paper Prices.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Fraser Papers of Toronto is boosting selling prices by an average 6% this month for packaging grades and certain specialty printing papers. "We are continuing to make significant improvements in productivity," says Brian McAlary,...

Cup Stock Prices Could Rise.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Meadwestvaco of Glen Allen, Va., wants to increase solid bleached sulfate (SBS) cup-stock grades by $50/ton in January, regardless of coating. All cup stock grades (poly one-sided, poly two-sided, and uncoated) as well as plate...

Kaolin to get pricier.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Imerys North America Ceramics plans to increase prices in December in a range of 5-10%, and in January by 3-8% across its entire kaolin, ball clay, feldspar and mica product portfolio. The Atlanta firm says the price hikes are due...

Economy + Supply.(Statistical table)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Generally speaking, buyers are sitting on their hands (National, buying plans, 30 da- ys) -------------------------------------------- UP DOWN SAME INDEX Energy ...

Stronger Dollar Forecast.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff The dollar has fallen 9% against a basket of major currencies to record lows in 2007, largely because of darkening prospects for U.S. economic growth during a sharp housing sector slowdown. However, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry...

Business Reforms Work.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff The World Bank finds that recent global reforms aimed at improving the business climate and fostering entrepreneurship are on target. The cumulative effect of these reforms has produced a boom in small business startups and...

Book-to-Bill Ratio Low.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Orders for semiconductor equipment from North American-based manufacturers remained virtually unchanged in October, falling by $3 million on a three-month moving average basis. The moving average of billings fell by $69 million...

Nickel Demand will Grow.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Global nickel usage may gain 10% in 2008 from expected increased demand from stainless steel mills in the U.S. and China, suggests Sven Tollin, chief statistician of the Lisbon-based International Nickel Study Group. If his global...

Steel Sheet Prices May Rise.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Steelmakers have avoided flooding a soft 2007 market with supply so 10% hikes in sheet prices could be on tap for the first half of 2008. Even though softness in the auto and construction markets has dampened demand for sheet...

Builders' Confidence Low.(Wells Fargo & Co.)(National Association of Home Builders of the United States)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index of homebuilder confidence stayed at 19 for a second month, its lowest reading since records began in 1985. While it remains at an all-time low, the median forecast of...

Ethanol Pipeline Studied.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Shipping ethanol from farm states to the East and West coasts by pipeline could open up markets and help clear a bottleneck that has kept the fuel additive from getting to the pumps. Association of Oil Pipe Lines, a...

Coreboard Capacity Expands.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Stora Enso North America expects to complete its lengthy $35 million rebuild of a key coreboard machine in mid-February at its Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. mill. The project will expand recycling of various grades of scrap paper and...

New Container Plant to Open.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Matrix packaging, a unit of Sonoco in Hartsville, S.C., will open a new rigid plastic container plant in St. Louis in the first quarter of 2008 to meet growing demand for packaging. The new plant will produce extruded blow-molded...

Copper Demand Up.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Global copper use has increased by 7.5% in the first eight months of the year, according to the International Copper Study Group. But, because new supply has faltered, due to labor strife and plant production woes, there was a...

Next Fuel: Biobutanol.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff New fermentation techniques will allow butanol to be derived from biological sources. So, in time, biobutanol may race ahead of ethanol as a gasoline additive or motor fuel, says senior research engineer Andy Aden at the National...

Air Travel To Improve.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Business air travel is about to see some improvements. With U.S. carriers making a profit for the second year in a row, the airlines are planning to hire more ticket and gate agents, baggage handlers and other staff to beef up...

Economy Takes Center Stage.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff There's growing evidence that the economy will become a dominant issue-if not the No. 1 issue during the presidential campaign of 2008, says independent pollster John Zogby in Utica, N.Y. Various polls show a decline in the...

More Molybdenum Coming.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Mining giant Xstrata is considering more than doubling molybdenum processing capacity at its Altonorte metallurgical facility in Chile after molybdenum prices have continued to rise over the past five years.

Copy-Paper Prices to Rise 10%.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff After falling 9% this year, copy-paper prices are projected to increase 10% in 2008. In effect, after sliding to an average market level of $730 this year from $795 in 2006, the price average analysts foresee for next year is...

PP Resins Get More Expensive.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Crude oil prices are trading well above $90/barrel, boosting downstream prices for polypropylene resins. Suppliers have been adamant that the steep feedstock increase would have to be reflected in PP prices, and boosted November...

Sugar Prices will Increase.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Sugar demand may exceed production next season, the first deficit in three years, the International Sugar Organization forecasts. That's partly because farmers will turn to other crops that sell for prices better than...

Dow Boosts Acrylates.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Dow chemical has increased fourth quarter prices by 8Acents/lb across its line of acrylic acids and esters, also known as acrylic monomers or acrylates. The increase affects butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate,...

Polystyrene Prices Rise.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Polystyrene demand has not been very strong in the last couple of months, buyers report, supporting the view of analysts that fourth quarter supplies are sufficient to meet buyers' requirements. Still, with benzene rising, PS...

Uranium Prices Near Record.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff The price of uranium, now averaging $93/lb, could scale new heights in the next 12-18 months past the previous high of $138, suggests Neal Froneman, CEO of nuclear fuel producer Uranium One in Toronto. Demand is growing yet new...

Dow Raises Glycol Prices.(Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Michigan))(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Dow chemical is boosting prices in North America by 5Acents/lb this month for all grades of both triethylene glycol, a dehumidifying agent for air and natural gas known in the market as TEG, and tetraethylene glycol, a plasticizer...

Vodafone flexes its purchasing muscles.
December 13, 2007... By Maria Varmazis The telecom giant finds savings by moving to center-led procurement. With a company as big as Vodafone, shifting how the company buys is no small change. But this year, the London-based telecommunications giant with...

How to: Moniter Supplier Performance.
December 13, 2007... By Staff This is the seventh installment in our series on how purchasing staffs at various companies implement strategic sourcing. You can find the other installments in the Strategic Sourcing channel at our website, www.purchasing.com... .

Restoration Hardware optimizes ocean freight bid online.(Interview)
December 13, 2007... By David Hannon As upscale retailer Restoration Hardware sources more of its products from overseas markets, its demand for ocean freight has increased to the point where traditional bid processes were no longer efficient. As a result, the...

Business Intelligence.
December 13, 2007... By David Hannon WHAT IT MEANS: The percent of buyers who planning to increase transportation spending has steadily declined this year. $97,802 Average salary for transporation buyers Source: Purchasing's 2007 salary survey...

UPS, FedEx to Increase Rates 4.9%.(United Parcel Service of America Inc.)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By David Hannon Logistics giants UPS and FedEx both will increase their rates for ground, air express and international shipments by an average of 4.9% in 2008. Both providers said their averages were based on a 6.9% rate increase, minus a...

Modal shifts from rail to truckload on the rise.
December 13, 2007... By David Hannon As demand and rates in the trucking market remain low and the rail market tightens, more logistics organizations are shifting their volumes off the rails to truckload where possible. According to a recent survey by Bear...

Iron ore dynamics put ocean freight rates in flux.
December 13, 2007... By David Hannon The demand for bulk commodities like iron ore and coal play a major role in dictating bulk ocean freight rates. The outcome of negotiations for a benchmark iron contract or the fate of mining giant Rio Tinto could...

Ocean container rates to increase in 2008.(Transpacific Stabilization Agreement )(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By David Hannon The 14 members of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement expect to raise the rate for shipping a 40-foot container to the U.S. West Coast from Asia by $400, and by $600 for shipments to all other U.S. destinations. It...

No big savings expected in 2008.
December 13, 2007... By Tom Stundza Buying aluminum from foreign sources won't be much of a price deal in 2008. The weakening dollar has put upward pressure on prices of ingot and mill products made offshore. Substantial purchasing of aluminum mill...

Prices are in a bull run; mavens expect buyers to pay more in '08.(Statistical data)
December 13, 2007... By Tom Stundza Mark Upchurch, the purchasing manager at heat exchanger manufacturer Rocore Thermal Systems in Burkesville, Ky., has seen the price of silver increase by 80% over the past two years. Meanwhile, buyer Clay Harris at Poma of...

Business Intelligence.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Tom Stundza $20/ton Sheet steel increase Source: CIBC World Markets WHAT IT MEANS: Despite a $30/ton increase announcement by the mills, "prices of flat-rolled products in North America in the fourth quarter are expected...

Metals Chips.(Azco Steel Co. plans to open a new center)(Wolverine Tube Inc. to close its plants)(Arcelor Mittal plans to idle tinplate lines )
December 13, 2007... By Tom Stundza Wolverine Tube of Huntsville, Ala., will discontinue its U.S. plumbing tube business and close plants in Decatur, Ala., and Booneville, Miss., that makes copper plumbing tube and smooth industrial tube. ArcelorMittal...

World Gold Council is looking for new applications.
December 13, 2007... By Tom Stundza The World Gold Council has identified five key markets-advanced electronics, optical materials, fuel cell systems, biomedical applications and industrial catalysts-for future research funding to develop new industrial...

Metals buyers lag behind other specialists.(Survey)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Tom Stundza Compensation for purchasing professionals who source metals increased on average 6.5% to $85,830, according to Purchasing's 27th annual salary survey. Interestingly, metals buyers get paid less on average than their peers...

SCS lets Central Steel & Wire make high-quality surface flat-rolled.(smooth clean surface)
December 13, 2007... By Tom Stundza Central Steel & Wire Co. of Chicago, this autumn began operation of a "smooth clean surface" (SCS) sheet cleaning line at its Central Coil Processing division plant in Portage, Ind., where hot-rolled sheet and plate are...

Boeing inks $900 million supply agreement with RTI Metals.
December 13, 2007... By Tom Stundza Boeing has signed a 10-year, $900 million contract to purchase extruded, welded and fully machined structural titanium components for the 787 Dreamliner from RTI International Metals of Niles, Ohio. RTI is a producer of...

Blount Boats uses Denman & Davis to process plate for ferry boats.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Tom Stundza Blount Boats of Warren, R.I., is using steel plate processed by the Denman & Davis steel service center company based in Clifton, N.J., to construct the hulls of two ferries, one destined for use off the east coast of Puerto...

ThyssenKrupp starts building carbon, stainless mill in Alabama.(ThyssenKrupp Steel AG)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Tom Stundza Thyssenkrupp Steel USA and ThyssenKrupp Stainless USA began construction in early November on a new $3.7-billion, 3,500-acre carbon and stainless steel processing facility in Calvert, Ala. Ekkehard D. Schulz, chairman of the...

E-auction tool determines MRO supplier pricing strategy at Lilly.(Eli Lilly and Co's Kathryn Miller)(maintenance, repair and operations)
December 13, 2007... By Susan Avery Kathryn Miller, senior sourcing associate at Eli Lilly and Co., has figured out a way to use an e-auction tool to determine MRO contract pricing that covers both planned and unplanned maintenance, repair and operations...

Business Intelligence.
December 13, 2007... By Susan Avery $75,556 Average annual salary of a purchasing pro with MRO responsibility Source: Purchasing's annual salary survey WHAT IT MEANS: It's lower than the average for all buyers responding to Purchasing's annual...

MRO Briefs.(McJunkin Corp's merger with Red Man Pipe and Supply Co.)(MSC Industrial Supply Company Inc's new fasteners)(Graybar Electric Company Inc. won the Amerinet Supplier Performance Award )(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Susan Avery McJunkin Corp. in Charleston, W. Va., and Red Man Pipe and Supply Co. in Tulsa, Okla., have completed a merger. The companies distribute industrial and oilfield pipe valve and fitting (PVF) supplies in North America. The new...

Purchasing and payables pros top agenda at NAPP 2008 conference.(Conference news)
December 13, 2007... By Susan Avery High performance in the procure-to-pay process is the topic of the keynote address at the NAPP 16th annual conference to be held Feb. 10-13, 2008 in Marina Del Rey, Calif. NAPP stands for National Association of Procurement...

Purchasing salaries are on the rise.
December 13, 2007... By Paul Teague, Editor in Chief Once again, we are happy to report that total compensation for purchasing professionals has increased this year. As our cover story (Page 44) by Senior Editor Susan Avery reports, companies in virtually all...

Supplier consolidation key to contract compliance.
December 13, 2007... By Maria Varmazis When it comes time to tightening the belt on office products spend, all the core tenets of spend management apply. Many office supply buyers find supplier consolidation to be a helpful strategy to manage their overall...

Business Intelligence.
December 13, 2007... By Maria Varmazis $71,392 Average annual salary for an office equipment/supply buyer Source: Purchasing's annual salary survey WHAT IT MEANS: The overall average salary for buyers with office equipment and supplies as their...

Commercial real estate is getting cheaper.(Survey)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Tom Stundza The value of commercial real estate (including office space), which nearly doubled in the past seven years, is now starting to decline due to the credit crunch, according to a report by Moody's Investors Service. The report...

Product Briefs.(briefs)(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Maria Varmazis Konica releases three new color multifunction products Konica Minolta came out with new additions to its "bizhub" multi-function device line with three new mid-sized models that can print in monochrome as well as...

Purchasing salaries continue their Climb.(Survey)
December 13, 2007... By Susan Avery Compensation for purchasing pros rose again last year, and those seeing the biggest paychecks have taken on responsibility in some nontraditional areas-services, IT and logistics. Compensation for purchasing...

Bell thinks outside the box.
December 13, 2007... By Susan Avery * Bell Inc. Size: $65 million in sales, 245 employees * Business: Producer of paperboard packaging-the folding cartons used in most consumer product packaging-and overnight envelopes As the paperboard industry...

How buyers handle obsolete parts.(Sun Microsystems Inc.)
December 13, 2007... By James Carbone Finding the replacement part is only one problem. Another is making sure that the part is truly obsolete. In some ways buyers at cell phone manufacturers and notebook computer companies are lucky. The products...

Tailor catalogs to capture savings.
December 13, 2007... By Randy Watson, Suman Sakar Most companies put enormous effort into clinching the sourcing deal with a supplier, but less effort into teaching employees outside the procurement organization how to buy under the new contract terms. Online...

Electronics buyers use fewer independent distributors.
December 13, 2007... By James Carbone Electronics purchasers are conducting more site visits of independent distributors to reduce the risk of buying substandard or counterfeit parts. The issue of counterfeit and substandard parts is turning out to be...

ConAgra Foods takes fresh approach to travel spend.(Amanda Jackson)
December 13, 2007... By Susan Avery When Amanda Jackson came to ConAgra Foods in Omaha, Neb., a year ago as procurement category manager, she set three goals: Draft a new travel policy, implement an online booking tool and centralize the meetings and events...

Business Intelligence.
December 13, 2007... By Staff 81% Buyers expecting transportation price hikes this quarter Source: www.purchasingdata.com WHAT IT MEANS: That's a big jump from the 50% last month. Buyers are likely including fuel prices and surcharges into that...

Clorox sees benefits of treating suppliers like employees.
December 13, 2007... By William Atkinson Good supply chain managers hire employees with the intent of creating cooperative relationships with them, not pitting them against each other. They encourage the employees to work as a team. And they only terminate an...

Pfizer outlines best practices for retaining procurement talent.
December 13, 2007... By Susan Avery Retaining talent is a challenge for Lisa Martin, senior vice president of worldwide procurement, at Pfizer in New York. But, as she sees it, it is not necessarily a bad thing. One reason it's tough for her to hold on to...

Oil prices won't drop on increased supply anytime soon.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff Rex Tillerson, chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp., said oil buyers expecting prices to drop soon on increased supply are going to be sorely disappointed. Dow Jones reports that Tillerson told the World Energy Congress in...

Chilean copper group increases price forecast.(Brief article)
December 13, 2007... By Staff The Chilean government's copper commission, Cochilco, has boosted its 2008 price outlook for world copper cathode to $3.10/lb from its previous estimate of $2.70. Karen Poniachik, mining minister, tells the media that Cochilco...

Buyers say leadtimes lengthen; overseas materials a big problem.
December 13, 2007... By Tom Stundza The delivery performance of suppliers has been below buyers' expectations for nine consecutive months based on Purchasing's November survey of buyers. Buyers polled say they especially are having trouble with deliveries of...

Energy demand from emerging markets to drive coal use.
December 13, 2007... By Staff The international energy Agency's annual forecast says several factors, including increased demand from emerging markets and the soaring cost of crude oil, will contribute to increased use of coal globally in coming years. ...

Procurement brings Green initiatives to life at Kaiser Permanente.
December 13, 2007... By David Hannon As a major healthcare services provider, it's no surprise that Kaiser Permanente's Green purchasing takes its inspiration from the Hippocratic oath: first do no harm. But under the direction of CPO Dean Edwards, the...