Purchasing articles from February 2008

Purchasing archives from February 2008

'The Battle of the Forms'.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By 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 software supplier used...

Chemicals markets getting more complex.
February 14, 2008... By Richard Weissman Buyers are grappling with a host of new concerns, including logistics costs and tariffs, in an effort to find effective chemical suppliers in global markets. An increasing flow of commodity and specialty chemicals...

Benzene prices resist upward push from crude oil.
February 14, 2008... By Gordon Graff After hitting record highs last May, benzene prices have since retreated, even though crude oil prices have zoomed to the highest levels in history. The reason: a lackluster U.S. demand for some of benzene's downstream...

Business Intelligence.
February 14, 2008... By Staff 5% Buyers planning to build chemical inventories in January Source: www.purchasingdata.com WHAT IT MEANS: That's down from 12% the month before indicating that buyers are running even more lean with chemical prices...

Cost pressures send sodium bicarbonate prices higher.
February 14, 2008... By Gordon Graff After many months of steady pricing, producers of sodium bicarbonate in the fourth quarter of 2007 ratcheted up their prices by $30/ton in an effort to offset escalating raw materials and production costs. The new...

How to build the procurement Dream Team.
February 14, 2008... By David Hannon From developing interns to training veterans, building the right procurement organization is a lot like managing a sports team. The words football coaching legend Bill Parcels used to sum up his reasons for leaving the...

Electronics distributors expand EOL services.(End-of-life )
February 14, 2008... By James Carbone Managing end-of-life (EOL) parts, including finding appropriate alternatives, will likely always be a thorn in the side of electronics buyers. Suppliers will always have an "out with the old in with the new" mentality...

Buyers focus on shrinking power.
February 14, 2008... By James Carbone With energy costs rising, electronics purchasers are taking a close look at how much power a product consumes as well as how much energy it takes to build the product. When electronics buyers measure the performance of...

DSP prices will fall in 2008 despite strong demand.(digital signal processors )
February 14, 2008... By James Carbone Electronics buyers can expect prices for digital signal processors (DSP) in 2008 to fall by about 7%, but the market will still grow by 10% because of strong unit demand. DSP tags fell by about 14% in 2007 because of...

Business Intelligence.
February 14, 2008... By James Carbone 67% Electronics purchasers who say semiconductor prices are stable Source: www.purchasingdata.com WHAT IT MEANS: Chip supply and demand are in balance despite weaker demand. 18% Buyers who say they...

Distribution Briefs.
February 14, 2008... By James Carbone Avnet signs Taiyo Yuden Avnet Electronics has signed a new distribution agreement with Taiyo Yuden and will carry the supplier's line of capacitors, filters, inductors and magnetic components in North and South...

Expect less price erosion for relays.
February 14, 2008... By Gina Roos Relay prices will fall in 2008, but not as much as in 2007 when prices eroded by about 10%. Suppliers say prices will not fall as much because of rising costs for copper, silver, and plastics. Buyers can expect tags to...

Demand to grow for flash-based solid-state drives.
February 14, 2008... By James Carbone Prices for solid-state drives and hard-disk drives should fall as the two storage technologies compete against each other. At the recent Consumer Electronics Show, a number of flash memory solid-state drives were...

Prices.(Statistical table)
February 14, 2008... By Staff Oil and gas inflation boost cost of freight and plastics (national, recent price trend) -------------------------------------------- UP DOWN SAME INDEX Energy 79% 2% 19% 88.4...

PP price hike stunted.(polypropylene producers)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff It is becoming less likely that polypropylene (PP) producers will attain their price-increase targets of up to 7Acents/lb this quarter. PP buyers say they paid 75Acents/lb for the second month in a row in January. And, a majority...

Metals price forecast cut.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff UBS analysts cited "softening demand growth" for industrial metals in reducing their 2008 price forecasts for aluminum, copper and zinc. Copper will average $3/lb ($6,614/metric ton), an 8% revision downward from an earlier...

Paperboard price hiked.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff Rock-Tenn is trying to boost bleached paperboard stock in March by $40/ton. Rock-Tenn is spending $851 million to buy Southern Container, a containerboard and corrugated packaging firm.

Platinum prices up, up, up.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff Platinum prices, which reached a record $1,543/ton average in January, will remain high for the rest of the year, say analysts polled by Mining Weekly . "Producers are experiencing difficulties in meeting production targets while...

DSP prices will fall in 2008.(digital signal processors )(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff Electronics buyers can expect prices for digital signal processors (DSP) to fall by about 7% in 2008. DSP tags fell by about 14% in 2007 because of oversupply, according to researcher IC Insights. DSP manufacturers moved to...

Zinc will be up.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff Zinc prices on the London Metal Exchange will average $2,535/ton this year, says Macquarie Group in a recent report. "Markets appear to be taking their pricing cues from a combination of the expectation that new zinc supply will...

Economy + Supply.(Statistical table)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff Some buyers are refilling some inventory ho- les (national, buying plans, 30-days) -------------------------------------------- UP DOWN SAME INDEX Transportation 35% 14% 51% 60.7...

Iron-ore deficit predicted.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff Credit Suisse forecasts a worldwide iron ore supply deficit of between 20 million and 25 million metric tons in 2008 due to continued high demand from steel mills. Credit Suisse also predicted in January a 55% increase in annual...

Samsung to boost LCD line.(liquid crystal displays)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff Samsung will spend $853 million to increase production on its LCD panel lines in South Korea. The investment will increase output from the lines 27% to 280,000 units a month, as demand booms in Asian markets leading up to the...

Qatar: feedstock source.(Qatar Petroleum Corp. plans to increase production)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff State-owned Qatar Petroleum plans to more than double output of condensate, a light oil used as a feedstock in some chemical processing plants in the Middle East. According to company officials, Qatar will increase production to...

Sheet-Steel prices stiffen.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff With their own inventories down, North American steel service centers will have little choice other than to pay higher sheet prices the mills are demanding, says Timna Tanners of UBS Securities and a member of Purchasing's...

China to export less tin.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff Buyers take note: Because of China's new 10% export tax on primary refined tin, the world's biggest supplying nation could cut exports in 2008, which could tighten the market for global refined tin and boost prices. The new tax...

Ineos buys VAM biz from BP.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff Petrochemical firm Ineos has reached an agreement to acquire the vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) and ethyl acetate businesses from BP. Included in the deal are two U.K. sites: one VAM, and the other ethyl acetate, each with 250,000...

Nanya ups DRAM output.(Nanya Technology Corp.)(Financial report)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff Taiwan's no. 2 DRAM memory chipmaker Nanya expects DRAM bit output to rise 15-20% in the first quarter from the fourth quarter. Nanya officials said average selling prices for DRAM in Q1 are a bit better and will improve slightly...

DuPont feeling slump.(E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff DuPont and other chemical firms are in for a tough year, says Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Edward Yang. That's because 40% of these firms' revenues are linked to the construction and auto industries, which will stay in a slump all...

Software demand strong.(Microsoft Corp.'s software in high demand)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff Microsoft continues to see healthy purchasing of its software by both businesses and consumers in the U.S., while "growth in emerging markets is especially strong," says COO Kevin Turner. He went on to cite increased demand for...

Methode Electronics shrinks.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff Electronic components maker Methode Electronics will cut 700 jobs in its domestic automotive operations as it continues to move more manufacturing work overseas. Only limited production and support staff will remain at automotive...

Ameristeel expands rebar.(Gerdau AmeriSteel plans to increase production)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff Steel mini-mill Gerdau Ameristeel is planning a major expansion at its mill in Baldwin, Fla. The expansion will increase concrete reinforcing bar (rebar) production by 400,000 tons/year by 2010, on top of a previous $83 million...

Magnesium expansion eyed.(Magnesium Corporation of America to increase its capacity)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff With world magnesium supplies tight and its order book full for 2008, U.S. Magnesium Corp. is on track to reach expanded capacity of 47,200 net annual tons at its Utah primary magnesium smelter by this summer. So, the firm is...

Existing-home sales lag.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff Existing home sales in the U.S. fell 13% to 5.65 million in 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors. No quick turnaround is expected, says the group's economist, Lawrence Yun, who adds the market is suffering...

Oxoalcohol production up.
February 14, 2008... By Staff Oxea is expanding oxoalcohols capacity by 10% by mid-2008 at its propionaldehyde and n-propanol production site in Bay City, Texas.

Toluene price push seen.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff Toluene was slightly more expensive in January than in December but continues to retail slightly below the target price. So, analysts expect producers to continue pushing for a higher per-gallon sales price this quarter-as long as...

WTI oil will rise 22.5%.(West Texas Intermediate )(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff The energy department predicts that the 2008 price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil will average about $87/barrel in 2008, up 22.5% from around $71/barrel in 2007. The higher average crude oil prices will force gasoline...

Gas-tax hike proposed.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff The national surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission recommends the current 18.4Acents/gallon federal gasoline tax be raised to 40Acents/gallon to raise money to fund bridge and road repairs. The congressionally...

Magnesium heads to $3/lb.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff Spot-market buyers soon may face magnesium prices as high as $3/lb because of a global shortage of supply. Magnesium prices averaged $2.45 in January. Burgeoning demand for titanium metal from aerospace markets has increased the...

APT price forecast to rise 25%.(tungsten demand and prices to rise)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff A new study by GBRM predicts increasing tungsten demand will not be matched by new supply until at least 2009. GBRM forecasts global prices for APT (ammonium paratungstate processed from concentrates) to reach and even exceed...

Uranium prices dropping.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff Uranium prices are sliding with the latest spot for U3O8 off $5/lb to $84, according to TradeTech. Ux Consulting, meanwhile, has lowered its price report on U3O8 by $3.50/lb to $86/lb. Both market researchers say there is a...

Methanol prices softening.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff Methanol peaked close to $2.60/gallon in November, and then dropped by more than 30Acents in January and could slide by another 20-40Acents in February to $1.90-$2.10/gallon. Canadian methanol producer Methanex has nominated the...

LTL market dynamics offer buyers leverage on fuel surcharges.(less than truckload )
February 14, 2008... By David Hannon If you haven't called your LTL carrier lately, now might be a good time. Both buyers and market analysts tell Purchasing that now is an opportune time to renegotiate with less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers, as demand...

Business Intelligence.(jet fuel price to rise)(trailers production depends on the company orders)(freight transportation prices forecasted)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Staff 1,270 Trailers ordered by Con-way Truckload for 2008 Source: Wabash WHAT IT MEANS: New equipment and increased truckload capacity is good for buyers, as Con-way's order from Wabash confirms. Trailer production...

Iron ore talks hit ocean rates.
February 14, 2008... By Staff A closed port and ongoing iron ore contract negotiations put ocean charter rates off their peak in January. In mid-December mining giant Vale (formerly CVRD) announced it would suspend iron-ore shipments from Brazil to China...

Around the world in 5 (not so) easy steps.
February 14, 2008... By Staff Sourcing professionals well versed in the art of overseas buying provide practical advice on how to do it right. Low-cost country sourcing. It is perhaps the most provocative topic to hit the procurement field in decades. Some...

Chinese demand strangles metals supply.
February 14, 2008... By Tom Stundza The country's need for metals to support internal growth in automotive, heavy truck, trailer and commercial building and construction activity is boosting prices worldwide for necessary raw materials. Buyers complain...

Drop in metalworking activity will soften purchasing of long products.
February 14, 2008... By Tom Stundza Steel bar demand dropped by an estimated 5% last year with no increase in demand expected in 2008. A merchant steel bar buyer in Ohio says that "business is down about 35% from this time a year ago," so he is one of the...

Mill product use ends five-year growth pattern.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Tom Stundza Consumption of aluminum mill products dropped by an estimated 7% in 2007, according to annualized-data calculations of Aluminum Association and Commerce Department data. Key indicator: Preliminary review of January-November...

No rebound seen in extruded product demand.(Indalex Holdings Corp.)
February 14, 2008... By Tom Stundza The building and construction sector is "a sore spot" in the overall economy, says analyst Lloyd O'Carroll at Davenport & Co., who projects that housing starts will fall another 11% in 2008 after being down 13% in 2007. He...

Business Intelligence.
February 14, 2008... By Tom Stundza 5% Decline in copper shipments Source: www.purchasingdata.com WHAT IT MEANS: U.S. copper consumption declined in 2007 due to the collapse in residential construction. Recent buyers' discussions also note a...

ThyssenKrupp Materials North America now is part of global aerospace service center network.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Tom Stundza The purchase of Apollo Metals, a British specialty metals distributor, by ThyssenKrupp Services, has created a new global aerospace metals service center operation with 30 stocking and processing facilities worldwide and...

Metals Chips.(Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.)(PNA Group )(O'Neal Steel )(Industry overview)
February 14, 2008... By Tom Stundza O'Neal Steel service centers in Cincinnati-AIM International and Ferguson Metals -are being consolidated into the Ferguson facility, which is now known as United Performance Metals . The consolidation is aimed at offering a...

U.S., Canadian steel inventories rise slightly in December.
February 14, 2008... By Tom Stundza Steel inventories at metals service centers in the U.S. and Canada rose in December by 1.24% to 12.67 million net tons from November's month-end supply. This is the first increase since the October 2006 inventory peak of...

Outlook for 2008 is a fourth year of reduced demand.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Tom Stundza Copper buyers will have less trouble sourcing the red metal this year as a succession of bad news on the economy-including poor bank earnings, falling construction rates and rising expectations that overall gross domestic...

Alcoa CEO sees world demand climbing 9.6%, led by China.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Tom Stundza Alcoa's CEO, Alain Belda, forecasts 9.6% growth in worldwide primary aluminum consumption this year, a slight dip from last year's projected 10% increase. He is projecting that consumption in North America could climb about...

U.S. recession won't slow global demand surge for nonferrous.(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Tom Stundza The global nonferrous metals demand surge is part of a six-year-old world boom in demand for manufacturing commodities and will stay robust enough in 2008 to keep prices elevated, analysts say, even if the U.S. economy goes...

China became world's largest producer in 2007.
February 14, 2008... By Tom Stundza Global gold mine output fell by a modest 1% in 2007 from the previous year to total 2,444 metric tons, according to the second update of Gold Survey 2007 by London-based metals consultancy GFMS. The report says China became...

The secret to success in MRO: Communicate with customers.(maintenance, repair and operations)
February 14, 2008... By Susan Avery The most important measure of success in MRO purchasing is customer satisfaction. If MRO (maintenance, repair and operations) purchasing's internal customers, most often plant managers or maintenance engineers, are not happy...

Business Intelligence.
February 14, 2008... By Susan Avery $56,517 Average annual salary of a female MRO buyer Source: Purchasing's 27th Annual Salary Survey WHAT IT MEANS: That's lower than the average for all purchasing pros with MRO responsibility. ($75,556). ...

MRO Briefs.(Purchasing Card Professionals)(Brief article)
February 14, 2008... By Susan Avery P-card program managers can get an inside look at the largest commercial card program in the world at the National Association of Purchasing Card Professionals 9th annual conference April 13-16 in San Antonio, Texas. David...

Global diversity efforts make wise investments.
February 14, 2008... By Paul Teague, Editor in Chief It's interesting how seemingly unrelated trends in business can occasionally support each other, each giving new energy to the other. For example, the trend toward "concurrent engineering" several years ago,...

Document-management software leads to paperless efficiency.
February 14, 2008... By Maria Varmazis It's a familiar situation in any office: you're looking for that important file or document, but you don't know whose desk it's on. Or you finally find the document, but you don't know who has worked on it lately or what...

Business Intelligence.
February 14, 2008... By Maria Varmazis $300M Amount companies spent in 2007 to optimize document production Source: InfoTrends WHAT IT MEANS: Corporations are looking for new ways to improve productivity while keeping costs down, and many are...

Global sourcing has its challenges for Cognex.
February 14, 2008... By Maria Varmazis Cognex Location: Natick, Mass. * Size: $250 million revenue in 2007 * Business: Vision systems John Sullivan and John Hasler aren't new to global sourcing. As the manager of strategic sourcing and senior...

Corporate travel department delivers efficiency dividend for Charles Schwab.
February 14, 2008... By Susan Avery Just as it takes a unique approach to advertising ("Talk to Chuck"), the Charles Schwab Corp. takes a unique approach to the travel buy. The San Francisco-based financial services firm has a corporate travel department...

Tom's of Maine makes all-natural cost-effective.(Company overview)
February 14, 2008... By David Hannon Imagine you're head of supply chain at a popular and growing consumer health products company, facing the usual challenges of sourcing safe and effective ingredients, evaluating suppliers, negotiating contracts and working...

Business Intelligence.
February 14, 2008... By Staff 68% Buyers reporting a monthly increase in prices in January Source: www.purchasingdata.com WHAT IT MEANS: That's a 10% jump from the previous month, indicating that many producers and suppliers are pushing...

LORD Corp. attracts top talent with expanded training offerings.
February 14, 2008... By William Atkinson Vic Venettozzi, director of global purchasing for LORD Corp. in Cary, N.C. is a big believer in streamlining business processes as a way to ensure a successful supply management program. But beyond the processes, he...

Procurement professionals define role in combating counterfeit parts.
February 14, 2008... By Susan Avery While only about a third of procurement professionals polled would term counterfeiting a widespread problem, the majority of buyers say they have a role to play in combating the issue. The results of a recent Purchasing...

General Motors extends early lead in developing a Green supply chain.
February 14, 2008... By William Atkinson While many supply chain organizations are now just jumping on the "Green bandwagon" one company's supply chain organization has almost a decade of experience under its belt. In the late 1990s, Detroit-based automotive...

Top sourcing groups structure data, maintain strict process control.
February 14, 2008... By Staff Top-level purchasing performers are significantly more likely than lower-level performers to be building strong information infrastructures and centralizing and structuring their data, be it spend data, supplier performance data,...

Railroads predict higher prices in 2008.
February 14, 2008... By David Hannon While the trucking industry struggles with higher fuel costs and decreased pricing power, railroads are seemingly immune from the economic downturn when it comes to pricing. In the fourth quarter of 2007, railroads...

Chrysler shuffles purchasing executive team.
February 14, 2008... By David Hannon Chrysler has promoted its top purchasing executive, Simon Boag , to the newly created position of vice president of global alliance operations, where he will focus on developing Chrysler's global alliances. Chrysler also...

Cracks appear in the glass ceiling.
February 14, 2008... By Susan Avery It's more evolution than revolution, but women are gaining greater responsibility in purchasing at companies of all sizes. Here are five who have made it to the top, and their advice for others. We may have to wait until...