Purchasing articles from June 2006

Purchasing archives from June 2006

Biozone makes the connection.(management of Biozone)
June 15, 2006... By Wayne Forrest Midmarket firm's sourcing group doesn't make a move without consulting R&D. Marie O'Reilly can have a supplier problem as often as once a week but that doesn't mean she changes suppliers that often. As purchasing...

Business Intelligence.(prices and rates of Energy)(petrochemicals made from natural gas and natural-gas liquids)(Proposed per-pound May price hike from Solutia for nylon plastics and polymers)(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff 90% Buyers reporting energy price increases Source: www.purchasingdata.com WHAT IT MEANS: More bad news for chemicals and plastics buyers in the latest monthly survey. Energy remains the top concern for the plastics...

High temps, demand could propel ethylene glycol.(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Supply could tighten and prices could jump for antifreeze-grade ethylene glycol (EG) in coming months because of weather forecasts calling for warmer-than-normal temperatures throughout much of the U.S. Lower-than-expected...

Glycerin glut sends prices plummeting.(glycerin prices )
June 15, 2006... Gordon Graff A glut of glycerinon world markets has caused prices of this versatile chemical to take a nosedive over the past year. The present oversupply of glycerin is mostly due to surging biodiesel fuel programs in Western Europe,...

Energy prices continue to put the hurt on plastics buyers.(prices of natural gas)
June 15, 2006... Staff In PURCHASING 's most recent survey of buyers, 90% of respondents said they expect energy prices to increase in the next month. That's bad news for buyers in a lot of industries, but plastics buyers might be the ones feeling the...

DuPont cites material costs in raising prices across the board.(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Chemical giant DuPont will be raising prices for many of its products to offset historic raw materials increases, most notably, oil. In a mid-May report, DuPont economists cited limited refining capacity and the continuing impact of...

Needed: Adaptive procurement.(company profile)(Company overview)
June 15, 2006... By Joe Carson, Chief Procurement Executive, Lucent Technologies I love science fiction. What I most enjoy about the genre is the ability of visionary authors to create a universe of "what could be's" and "what if's." In procurement, we deal...

Business Intelligence.(business planning)(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff 54% Electronics buyers who say business is improving WHAT IT MEANS: Business is picking up after a brief slowdown at the beginning of the second quarter. Only 44% said business was getting better in April. Buyers can expect...

Expect prices for standard logic to sprout.(standard logic revenue)
June 15, 2006... James Carbone Since 2001, buyers have enjoyed falling prices and short leadtimes for standard logic. However, strong across-the-board demand and tight packaging capacity for some products is resulting in longer leadtimes and firming prices...

India to open its first semiconductor plant.(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff India's first semiconductor assembly and test plant will open in Hyderabad by the end of the year and will eventually expand into a full fabrication facility. The plant is a joint venture between Semindia, a consortium, and the...

IBM moves purchasing headquarters.(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff IBM says it is moving its global purchasing headquarters from Westchester County, N.Y. to Shenzhen, China effective Aug. 1 John Paterson, vice president and chief procurement officer for IBM, will re-locate from Somers, N.Y., to...

Distributors see smooth RoHS conversion.(Restriction of Hazardous Substances )
June 15, 2006... Staff Electronics distributors say that the transition to parts that comply with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive is proceeding smoothly, despite earlier concern that the European law would create havoc in the...

Buyers worry about costs of energy, transportation.(Table)(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff (Buyers' 90-day price expectations) Up Down Same Index Transportation 80% 4% 16% 88.2 Energy 79% 5% 16% 86.8 Copper & brass 72% 3% 25% 84.7 Plastic...

Capacitor tags increase.(prices and rates of multilayer ceramic capacitors )(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Strong demand and higher raw material costs means prices for multilayer ceramic capacitors will move up by as much as 8% later this year. Prices have declined in recent years due to overcapacity. But suppliers now are paying more for...

Formaldehyde awakens?(prices and demand of formaldehyde)(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff The market price for formaldehyde has been stuck at 21Ao/lb for several months but it could be awakening from its slumber soon. The formaldehyde market is experiencing some improved demand as laminated lumber plants have been buying...

Methanol may slip.(prices and demand of methanol)(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Reduced methanol demand and high inventories at distributors may prompt suppliers to reduce prices in June. After slogging along at 90Ao/gallon for several months, the spot-market price average rose to 96Ao in May. Most buyers again...

DDR list prices up.(double data rate )(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Contract prices of double-data rate continued to see upward momentum in the second half of May amid tight supply, while prices of 512Mbit DDR2 saw a drop from April. According to DRAMeXchange, most memory makers raised their DDR...

Commodities are ablaze.(economic aspects of commodities)(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Wall Street economists see more supply and price problems ahead for commodities. Some traders think the pricing bubble may be passing. Not so, says economist David Rosenberg at Merrill Lynch. He says prices of raw materials will...

Barge prices rising.(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Prices of barges are rising, says research analyst Ken Hoexter at Merrill Lynch, "as demand growth outpaces supply after years of excess capacity." The Department of Energy finds "the U.S. may fall short of trucks, rail cars and...

World steel is elevated.(price of steel increases)(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Global steel prices are expected to stay heady for the next two to three years because of tight supply, according to Philip Tomlinson of the CRU Strategies research house in London. Steel prices around the world have risen to their...

Ethanol will be dear.(usage of ethanol as part of fuel supply)(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Ethanol may become a more prominent part of fuel supply in coming years, but it will be tight and pricey. Three dozen new plants are being built, designed to produce gasoline-alternative fuel from corn, wheat, barley, wood chips,...

Optic lines may burst.(prices of fiber optic cables are poised to increase)(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Prices of fiber-optic high-speed telecommunications lines are poised to increase. Since 2000, prices have fallen by 50% annually as capacity has outstripped demand. But now, says The Kiplinger Letter , more sophisticated applications...

Thermal coal may spike.(global electricity growth increases demand of thermal coal)(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Continued growth in global electricity demand is putting greater strain on the supply of thermal coal, the type burned at power plants. Upshot: A possible spike in coal pricing of about 10% or 15% this year, according to analysts at...

Alcoa ups wheels prices.(prices and demand of vehicle wheels)(Alcoa wheel products)(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Alcoa wheel products is boosting prices of automotive and commercial vehicle wheels in a range of 8-12%, depending on the specific product, in mid-June. "As you are aware, 2006 continues to be a challenging year (since) the costs of...

PC shipments growing.(personal computers)(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Purchases of personal computers at 57.4 million units in the first quarter were 13% higher compared to the first three months of 2005 when PC makers shipped 50.9 million to buyers. Market researcher iSuppli says most of the growth...

Material costs absorbed.
June 15, 2006... Staff Labor department readings of April wholesale prices show U.S. manufacturing still absorbing higher commodity and energy costs rather than passing them on to customers.

Hotel strikes possible.(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Hotel strikes loom in many big cities this summer and autumn, which could wreak havoc with business travel plans. The Kiplinger Letter warns that potential strike targets are convention magnets New York City, Boston, Chicago, Los...

Apple debuts MacBook.(iBook and PowerBook laptop computers )(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Apple has discontinued the popular line of iBook and PowerBook laptop computers in favor of new MacBook portables, which start at $1,099. The new laptops have chips from Intel, which allow them to operate up to five times faster than...

Packaging gets smart.(Printed electronics )(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Printed electronics could revolutionize the packaging and distribution industries, says ABI Research analyst Sara Shah. "Applied directly to corrugated cardboard, printed electronics can let manufacturers and distributors create...

New Intel gear due.(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Intel soon will ship new dual-core processor technology, which gets expanded computing power by stamping multiple processors on a single chip rather than straining to increase the speed of a single processor. The new chip technology...

Manufacturing kept in U.S.(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Part I: computer maker gateway has picked Nashville for the firm's first U.S. manufacturing facility, which will assemble custom-ordered desktop and notebook computers, servers and storage arrays. The company's existing manufacturing...

Factories are busy.(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff The federal reserve board puts industrial capacity use at 81.9% in April. This is a sign of increasing demand, and a possible sign that more workers and plant capacity may soon be needed to meet such demand, says senior economist...

Semi book-to-bill.(semiconductor equipment )(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Orders for semiconductor equipment from North American-based manufacturers rose to $1.6 billion in April. Growth in orders exceeded that of shipments, leading the book-to-bill ratio to rise to 1.11, its highest level of the past...

Wages boost economy.(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Monthly wage gains of almost 1% will keep consumer spending as a support for the not-too-hot, not-too-cold economy, says economist Heather Boushey at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Wage gains in retail, transportation,...

Lab gear giant created.(Thermo Fisher Scientific)(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Thermo electron will buy competitor Fisher Scientific for $10.6 billion to create Thermo Fisher Scientific, a giant provider of laboratory equipment. Quintin J. Lai, an analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co., said the deal will create...

E-commerce active.(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Internet sales for consumers increased by 7% during first quarter of 2006, as compared with a 3.3% increase in the fourth quarter of 2005. Furthermore, first quarter e-commerce sales increased over 25% compared to the first quarter...

Builders less optimistic.(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff The homebuilder optimism index dropped in May to its lowest level since the middle of 1995. Still, housing starts have remained healthy through April at an average 2.13 million annualized units. That compares with 2.07 million...

Leadtimes shrink.(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Twenty-four of 41 electronic component leadtimes tracked monthly by Purchasing shrunk in May. However, suppliers and buyers report growing demand for components which should result in longer leadtimes over the next few months. ...

Boeing, HP make the most of outsourced logistics.
June 15, 2006... David Hannon Every company has its own challenges in moving to and implementing a third-party logistics provider, and certainly different industries have their own nuances. But there are still some common strategies and lessons learned...

Business Intelligence.
June 15, 2006... Staff $103.7 billion 3PL gross revenues in 2005 Source: Armstrong & Associates WHAT IT MEANS: This is a 16% uptick over 2004, and 3PL margins climbed to more than 9%. International transportation management was the largest...

Prices are defying gravity; investors have seized control.
June 15, 2006... By Tom Stundza Buyers' alert: The five-year commodity price boom has catapulted precious and nonferrous metals to record highs; steel is poised to rebound from cyclical lows. Much like an old-fashioned political coup d'etat, investment...

Mills push the product to rebuild Gulf Coast.
June 15, 2006... Tom Stundza A dozen north american steel companies have joined together under a special initiative to help rebuild the U.S. Gulf Coast region in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The steelmakers as a group have committed...

Business Intelligence.(Highest forecast for copper cathode)(Drop in aluminum order index)(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff 5.6% Drop in aluminum order index Source: Aluminum Association WHAT IT MEANS: The new-order index for aluminum mill products in April fell 5.6% from March, so supply has loosened and buyers should have no problem...

Metal Chips.(Metals USA Inc.)(Alro Steel Corp. acquires Block Iron and Supply Div.)(Marmon/Keystone Corp. opens a new centre)(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff The Copper and Brass Sales division of ThyssenKrupp Materials North America has completed the acquisition of the assets of C-S Metals Service, a distributor of nonferrous metals in Baltimore. Houston-based steel service center...

Prices will remain volatile in 2006.
June 15, 2006... Staff Aluminum prices, lately at 18-year highs, should remain extremely volatile for some time "given the low levels of primary aluminum inventory globally," says the latest Davenport Monthly Aluminum Update, a report written by analyst...

Demand to be 'robust' in 2006.(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Tin consumption is expected to be "robust" in 2006 and 2007 due to increased tin use in solder to meet European RoHS regulations on removing lead from solder, according to a report by Natexis Commodity Markets of London. The metal...

For factory supplies, UTC workers hit the mall.(United Technologies Corp.)
June 15, 2006... Susan Avery An online shopping mall that makes it easy for employees to place orders with suppliers for MRO items and other indirect goods and services is helping to improve productivity at United Technologies Corp. (UTC) in Hartford,...

Business Intelligence.
June 15, 2006... Staff 71% MRO buyers who are consolidating purchasing to reduce costs Source: Purchasing's 2006 MRO/Indirect Sourcing Benchmark Study WHAT IT MEANS: The bottom line is still the number-one reason for undertaking a new...

MRO Briefs.(Quadrem introduces desktop application software)(Motion Industries Inc. acquires Don Hills Company)(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff At the ISM conference in Minneapolis last month, Quadrem introduced a new desktop application that enables procurement professionals to unearth valuable spend data quickly and easily. Quadrem Spend Intelligence has the capability to...

Manufacturers deserve better.(environmental regulations)
June 15, 2006... Paul Teague, Editor in Chief If you believe in the need for initiatives to protect the environment--and I do--you'll like what you read in our cover story this month on RoHS. If you believe that those who promulgate such initiatives have a...

High demand, tight supply will boost transaction prices.
June 15, 2006... Tom Stundza Prices have been increasing on a quarter-to-quarter basis for the ubiquitous copy paper as printing and writing paper grades have joined the bull market boosting costs for numerous commodities. North American uncoated...

Business Intelligence.
June 15, 2006... Staff 51 Pages per minute output of a new Canon color MFP WHAT IT MEANS: Introduced at the AIIM On Demand show, the imageRUNNER C5180 brings fast engine and data processing speed and color to office users. 700 MFPs at...

Buyers open new doors to beat price hikes.
June 15, 2006... By Tom Stundza Purchasing professionals aren't sitting on their hands in the wake of volatile raw materials costs. Buyer polls show changes in buying patterns, sources and strategic thinking. Buyers appear to have misjudged the cost...

RoHS: The tip of the environmental iceberg.(Reduction Of Hazardous Substances)
June 15, 2006... By James Carbone The European directive restricting the use of lead and other substances in electronics is the beginning of a wave of global environmental laws. For the past two years, most electronics companies have been working...

RoHS enforcement rules still unclear.(reduction of hazardous substances)
June 15, 2006... By James Carbone The deadline for RoHS compliance is July 1, but incredibly no enforcement guidelines have been issued by the European Union weeks before the law goes into effect. While the electronics industry has spent billions of...

Internet boosts communications.(online purchasing services of LeChase Construction Services)
June 15, 2006... Tom Stundza LeChase Construction Services, a private construction company, is trying something new--online purchasing, project engineering supervision and overall supply chain monitoring--on a $200 million construction project that will...

Colgate Palmolive's council strategy drives diversity efforts.(supplier relations)
June 15, 2006... William Atkinson Consumer products giant Colgate Palmolive Co. of New York relaunched its supplier diversity program in 1998 under the moniker Emerging Business Sourcing. "At the time, we realized it wasn't just the right thing to do, but...

Business Intelligence.(business management services)
June 15, 2006... Staff 61% Firms with supplier contract management programs Source: Aberdeen Research WHAT IT MEANS: An Aberdeen report finds that top performers have had contract management programs in place longer, and are typically more...

Purchasing execs on the move...(appointment of executives)(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Keith Anderkin has joined ARCOP, the national non-profit food service purchasing and distribution organization for Arby's Restaurant Group, as vice president of procurement. In his new post, Anderkin is responsible for purchasing all...

Shipman supply management award goes to Nelson.(J. Shipman Gold Medal Award)
June 15, 2006... Staff R. David Nelson of Delphi Automotive, two-time winner of the Purchasing Medal of Professional Excellence, was awarded ISM's J. Shipman Gold Medal Award. Nelson was presented with the award at a special banquet at ISM's 91st annual...

Manugistics, Frictionless to be bought.(JDA Software Group Inc to acquire Manugistics Group Inc)(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff Supply chain software firm Manugistics announced recently that it was being sold to retail software firm JDA Software Group for $211 million in cash. Rumors of a Manugistics takeover have circulated for more than a year. In November...

Rockwell Collins recognizes top suppliers at conference.(Rockwell Collins Inc to give award to Mini Circuits Laboratory)(Brief article)
June 15, 2006... Staff The material and supply operation of Rockwell Collins presented its President's Award for 2006 to Mini-Circuits, Brooklyn, N.Y. Clay Jones, chairman, president and CEO of Rockwell Collins, presented the award at the company's...

Centralized procurement: Success breeds success.
June 15, 2006... William Atkinson The benefits of centralizing procurement are not automatic--creating a centralized organization with the wrong professionals staffing can create more problems than it solves. But using the centralization process to step up...

Small is beautiful: Make your business appealing to suppliers.(Joanna L. Martinez )
June 15, 2006... William Atkinson Joanna L. Martinez, cpo for financial services firm AllianceBernstein in New York, has worked for very large companies where people wanted to do business with her simply because the company had a high profile. "I have...

Energy prices fuel anger.(price hike in energy reduces purchasing power)
June 15, 2006... Staff Push back hard on price hikes Regarding "energy official: Gas prices could remain high" (Price and Supply Alert , May 17, 2006) how can we as citizens rally around this issue and put a stop to the rising gas prices. I'm incensed...