Purchasing articles from October 2005

Purchasing archives from October 2005

Business is erratic, future uncertain.(tip sheet: KEY METRICS AND SUPPLY ALERT)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
October 6, 2005... Business is erratic, future uncertain Business Activity Indexes * Up Down Same Index Trend National 45% 16% 39% 64.0 [up arrow] Northeast 55% 12% ...

As General Motors Corp. wraps up its current three-year cost reduction program aimed at reducing its $85 billion global spend by 20%, it is launching another.(tip sheet: KEY METRICS AND SUPPLY ALERT)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... As General Motors Corp. wraps up its current three-year cost reduction program aimed at reducing its $85 billion global spend by 20%, it is launching another. The new plan, scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter, stresses that parts suppliers...

Companies with just-in-time inventory plans are likely to be hit hardest by the effects of Hurricane Katrina, says senior economist John Robertson at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.(tip sheet: KEY METRICS AND SUPPLY ALERT)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Companies with just-in-time inventory plans are likely to be hit hardest by the effects of Hurricane Katrina, says senior economist John Robertson at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. "One of the features that allows just-in-time to work has...

More than 80% of supply chain executives report outsourcing supply chain functions helps reduce costs, improve efficiencies, enhance customer satisfaction, increase revenues or improve competitiveness.(tip sheet: KEY METRICS AND SUPPLY ALERT)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... More than 80% of supply chain executives report outsourcing supply chain functions helps reduce costs, improve efficiencies, enhance customer satisfaction, increase revenues or improve competitiveness. According to research by consulting firm...

Purchasing magazine and Aberdeen Group are coproducing the CPO's Summit Conference at the Westin Hotel at Copley Square in Boston on November 16 and 17.(tip sheet: KEY METRICS AND SUPPLY ALERT)
October 6, 2005... Purchasing magazine and Aberdeen Group are coproducing the CPO's Summit Conference at the Westin Hotel at Copley Square in Boston on November 16 and 17. The CPO Summit will discuss supply management technologies, offshore sourcing strategies,...

Freight buyers should keep in touch with air freight providers in the wake of recent airline industry shakeouts.(ABX Air Inc. buys planes from Delta Air Lines Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Freight buyers should keep in touch with air freight providers in the wake of recent airline industry shakeouts. Cargo airline ABX Air is buying planes from Delta Airlines, which started selling off equipment prior to its Chapter 11 filing in...

Buyers' 90-day price expectations.(prices: FACTORS AFFECTING PRODUCT COST)(Illustration)
October 6, 2005... Buyers' 90-day price expectations Commodities voted most likely to rise in price through year's end PERIOD UP DOWN SAME INDEX * Transportation Sept 86% 2% 12% 92.4 Energy ...

The White House is considering reducing high tariffs imposed on such items as softwood lumber from Canada and cement from Mexico if building needs from Hurricane Katrina cause prices to spike.(prices: FACTORS AFFECTING PRODUCT COST)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... The White House is considering reducing high tariffs imposed on such items as softwood lumber from Canada and cement from Mexico if building needs from Hurricane Katrina cause prices to spike. "Obviously, if there are severe price spikes and...

DuPont tells buyers that it plans to raise prices for all products in response to rapidly increasing costs for energy and feedstocks.(prices: FACTORS AFFECTING PRODUCT COST)(E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... DuPont tells buyers that it plans to raise prices for all products in response to rapidly increasing costs for energy and feedstocks. The chemical giant cites a report by company economists that shows record-high energy prices, exacerbated by...

The Henry Hub natural gas price forecast for 2005 has been raised to $8.32 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) by Standard & Poor analyst Tina Vital, who also has boosted her 2006 forecast to $8.90.(prices: FACTORS AFFECTING PRODUCT COST)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... The Henry Hub natural gas price forecast for 2005 has been raised to $8.32 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) by Standard & Poor analyst Tina Vital, who also has boosted her 2006 forecast to $8.90. Due to Hurricane Katrina's shutdown on...

Prices of goods imported into the U.S. increased 1.3% in August, the highest increase since March.(prices: FACTORS AFFECTING PRODUCT COST)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Prices of goods imported into the U.S. increased 1.3% in August, the highest increase since March. The Labor Department reports the price gains were almost exclusively crude petroleum and natural gas. Excluding the 7.1% rise in petroleum...

Gold prices may climb well past 10% by year's end, suggests John Person, president of National Futures Advisory Service, who is touting $500 gold for December.(prices: FACTORS AFFECTING PRODUCT COST)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Gold prices may climb well past 10% by year's end, suggests John Person, president of National Futures Advisory Service, who is touting $500 gold for December. August gold averaged $439 per ounce but it jumped to $456 by early September.

Tire makers have announced yet more price increases for this autumn of 5-8% depending on model due to higher costs for shipping and such raw materials as natural rubber.(prices: FACTORS AFFECTING PRODUCT COST)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Tire makers have announced yet more price increases for this autumn of 5-8% depending on model due to higher costs for shipping and such raw materials as natural rubber. Goodyear expects costs for tire raw materials to rise 10% for the year....

Tracking the economy.(economy: HOW SUPPLY MANAGERS SEE BUSINESS)(Illustration)
October 6, 2005... Tracking the economy LATEST PREVIOUS YEAR % CHG/ INDICATOR PERIOD PERIOD PERIOD AGO YR AGO Industrial production Aug 119.7 119.5 116 3.1%...

Hurricane Katrina reduced the rate of change in total industrial production by an estimated 0.3%, the Federal Reserve Bank said.(economy: HOW SUPPLY MANAGERS SEE BUSINESS)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Hurricane Katrina reduced the rate of change in total industrial production by an estimated 0.3%, the Federal Reserve Bank said. Hurricane Katrina contributed to a drop of 1.1% in the production of chemicals and a drop of 0.9% in the output of...

Damage from Hurricane Katrina is projected at $125 billion, according to Risk Management Solutions, a catastrophe risk-modeling firm, which sees insured damage at $60 billion.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Damage from Hurricane Katrina is projected at $125 billion, according to Risk Management Solutions, a catastrophe risk-modeling firm, which sees insured damage at $60 billion. That would make Katrina far and away the costliest natural disaster...

After rising a solid 3.2% in the first quarter, productivity growth for the business sector has been revised downward to just 1.8% in the second quarter and was expected to be weak again in the third quarter.(economy: HOW SUPPLY MANAGERS SEE BUSINESS)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... After rising a solid 3.2% in the first quarter, productivity growth for the business sector has been revised downward to just 1.8% in the second quarter and was expected to be weak again in the third quarter. This means that productivity growth...

Recent data have suggested home sales may be slowing, and outgoing Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan has warned the nation's housing boom can't go on forever.(economy: HOW SUPPLY MANAGERS SEE BUSINESS)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Recent data have suggested home sales may be slowing, and outgoing Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan has warned the nation's housing boom can't go on forever. Atop that, Merrill Lynch says in a research note that homebuilding companies have...

Economic officials from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are working together to craft a package of tax credits and bonds to keep 70,000 businesses from leaving the region in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Economic officials from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are working together to craft a package of tax credits and bonds to keep 70,000 businesses from leaving the region in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Immediate goals are to make sure...

Weakened U.S. business activity data raises concerns about economic growth overall.(economic conditions forecast)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Weakened U.S. business activity data raises concerns about economic growth overall. So much so, in fact, that economists polled by the Blue Chip Economic Indicators newsletter have cut growth in the third and fourth quarters to 3.6% and 3%.

Forward demand, 30-days.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
October 6, 2005... Forward demand, 30-days COMMODITY DIFFUSION CATEGORY PERIOD UP DOWN SAME INDEX * Molded plastics Sept 33% 8% 59% 62.8 Transportation ...

The U.S. fertilizer industry is one of the many that has been disrupted by Hurricane Katrina, when barge traffic on the Mississippi River slowed to a halt and the port of New Orleans shut down.(Supply: WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MARKETS)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... The U.S. fertilizer industry is one of the many that has been disrupted by Hurricane Katrina, when barge traffic on the Mississippi River slowed to a halt and the port of New Orleans shut down, and access to the key raw material natural gas...

Buyers are sourcing more aluminum this year.(Supply: WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MARKETS)(aluminum shipments are increased)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Buyers are sourcing more aluminum this year. Net shipments of aluminum into the North American marketplace were 13.06 billion pounds in the first six months of the year, according to calculations by the Aluminum Association. That's an increase...

Danish supplier Borealis is investing more than $70 million to boost capacity and increase efficiency for its phenol and aromatics business in Finland.(Borealis A/S)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Danish supplier Borealis is investing more than $70 million to boost capacity and increase efficiency for its phenol and aromatics business in Finland, including increasing cumene and benzene capacity by 30% and additional investment to expand...

LS-Nikko Copper, operator of the world's largest copper smelter, may build a plant in China or South America to expand its global footprint and be closer to supplies of ore for processing, as prices for copper continue to rise, according to Kang Seong Won, a senior vice president at the South Korean company.(Supply: WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MARKETS)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... LS-Nikko Copper, operator of the world's largest copper smelter, may build a plant in China or South America to expand its global footprint and be closer to supplies of ore for processing, as prices for copper continue to rise, according to...

Goodyear has sold its Wingtack adhesives resin business to the Sartomer unit of French energy firm Total.(Goodyear Chemical)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Goodyear has sold its Wingtack adhesives resin business to the Sartomer unit of French energy firm Total. Wingtack makes hydrocarbon resins used in pressure-sensitive and hot-melt applications. Goodyear will continue to supply raw materials to...

Are sports utility vehicles about to become dinosaurs as a result of increasing gas prices?(motor vehicle sales)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Are sports utility vehicles about to become dinosaurs as a result of increasing gas prices? According J.D. Power and Associates, the share of motor vehicle sales accounted for by SUVs fell to 38% by the end of August from 46% at the start of...

India takes first steps in electronics.(SEPTEMBER 15, 2005)(through EMS companies)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... EMS companies lead the way into the subcontinent. But will component manufacturers follow? Purchasing's most in-depth report on the Indian electronics market. www.purchasing.com/electronics

Online poll.
October 6, 2005... For which of the following are you doing low-cost-country sourcing? POLL ENDED SEPTEMBER 12, 2005 N/A 7% Design 5% Manufacturing 36%...

Planning starts with suppliers.(survey)
October 6, 2005... "Listen to your strategic suppliers and heed their input." That advice was one gem of wisdom among several that we heard from readers who responded to a short survey on their contingency-planning efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. And...

Diversity stops at the gates.(rants & ravings)(Letter to the Editor)
October 6, 2005... Regarding "The changing face of supplier diversity" (August 11, 2005), does the typical corporate board reflect the same goals as the supplier diversity programs? It appears that in most instances the diversification programs end at the gates...

A tip on the "Tips".(rants & ravings)(Letter to the Editor)
October 6, 2005... In your Logistics column "tO surefire Logistics tips" (August 11, 2005), Tip #3 should never have been printed. First, the idea that a logistics manager, or even a supply chain manager has the right to remove a package from the receiving...

Readers' rant.(Sound Off!)
October 6, 2005... Tell us what you think about the most important issues in the purchasing field--and the articles you read in Purchasing magazine You can do it in two ways: through the Readers' Rant section at Purchasing.com, where you can immediately see the...

A close-up view of a long-term vision: two early adopters stick to their plans in e-procurement.(Eastman Chemical Co., Rohm and Haas Co.)
October 6, 2005... In cosmology, six years is equivalent to about one-trillionth of the time it takes to blink an eye. In business, though, especially the electronic aspects of business, six years is a long time. When companies stay with a technology for this...

Online education provider gets high marks from buyers.(PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT)
October 6, 2005... Francis DiMotta certainly knows that the art of purchasing has changed considerably over his 20-plus years in manufacturing, serving in various procurement, warehouse supervision and materials control positions. "Purchasing is not just...

Key Plastics.(2004 Supplier Quality Award from Nissan North America)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Key Plastics received the 2004 Supplier Quality Award from Nissan North America at its 2005 Supplier Quality Award Ceremony recently, This is the second time Key Plastics has won the most prestigious supplier award from Nissan North America....

Alcatel.(won outstanding supplier award by SBC Communications)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... SBC Communications recognized Alcatel as an outstanding supplier this year, Alcatel provides communication solutions to telecommunication carriers, Internet service providers and enterprises for delivery of voice, data and video applications....

Applied Industrial Technologies.(PPG Industries Excellent Supplier for 2004)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Applied Industrial Technologies was selected as a PPG Industries Excellent Supplier for 2004. Each year, PPG rates selected suppliers based on criteria of quality, delivery, documentation, innovation, responsiveness, and commercial value...

Multi-Color Corp.(recognized as its Supplier of the Year by Miller Brewing Co.)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Miller Brewing Co. recognized label producer Multi-Color Corp. as its Supplier of the Year for the third time. Miller Brewing, which works with more than 8,500 suppliers, also named Multi-Color as one of its Partners in Excellence, an elite...

NEC Electronics America.(won Tektronic's Preferred Supplier award)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... NEC Electronics America won Tektronic's Preferred Supplier Award. Tektronic, a leading provider of test, measurement and monitoring instrumentation worldwide, recognized NEC Electronics America for their continued supply of liquid crystal...

Reptron Manufacturing Services.(wins Unisys Supplier Excellence award)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Plymouth Supply Chain Operations awarded Reptron Manufacturing Services, a division of Reptron Electronics, its Unisys Supplier Excellence award, Reptron Manufacturing Services offers full electronics manufacturing services including complex...

Chemcentral.(2004 Supplier of the Year by Dow Corning)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Chemcentral was named 2004 Supplier of the Year by Dow Corning, for Chemcentral's commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction. Headquartered in Chicago, Chemcentral set a benchmark for other companies, said Dennis Buckler, Dow Corning...

Seagate Technology.(KUDOS)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Hard-drive maker Seagate Technology of Scotts Valley, Calif., announced the winners of its Outstanding Supplier Awards for 2005: Belton Group, Hoya Corp. and Xyratex. The awards were presented to the suppliers for delivering consistently high...

The Belton Group.(wins Outstanding Supplier award in the mechanical components category )(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... The Belton Group, a manufacturer of Arm Coil Assembly and Hook-Up, was this year's Outstanding Supplier in the Mechanical Components Category for delivering aggressive volume requirements and meeting Seagate's quality, Six Sigma, Lean...

Hoya Corp.(wins Outstanding Supplier Award in media/suspension category from Seagate)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Hoya Corp., which supplies Seagate with glass substrates, was awarded the Outstanding Supplier Award in the Meda/Suspension category. Hoya's execution, technology and flexibility were key elements of Seagate's success throughout the year.

Xyratex.(honored as Outstanding Supplier in the Manufacturing Capital Equipment by Seagate Technology)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Xyratex was honored as Outstanding Supplier in the Manufacturing Capital Equipment category. Xyratex, a provider of capital equipment to Seagate's manufacturing sites, responded proactively to Seagate's accelerated demand schedule, which helped...

SAP provides a sounding board for purchasing pros.(purchasing and supply chain management)(Ray Hill of Pitney Bowes Inc.)
October 6, 2005... "We in purchasing are constantly being challenged to look for new ways to control expenses and generate additional benefits," says Ray Hill, chief procurement officer, Pitney Bowes. After years of yearning for a seat at the table, purchasing...

Timken Co.: Michael J. Hill.(appointment)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Timken Co. of Canton, Ohio recently named Michael J. Hill as its senior vice president of supply chain management. Hill was previously vice president of manufacturing for the industrial Group at Timken. In his new role, he will be responsible...

Timken Co.: Donna Demerling.(appointments)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Timken also named Donna Demerling as its new senior vice president of quality and Lean Six Sigma. Demerling will be responsible for quality assurance throughout all of Timken's business processes, including product design, manufacturing, supply...

BJ's Restaurants.(appoints John Allegretto and Sal Navarro)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... John Allegretto joined BJ's Restaurants as chief supply chain officer. He will be responsible for leading the development and implementation of the supply chain strategy for every aspect of the company's operations, including responsibility for...

Oshkosh Truck.(appoints Christopher Hacker )(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... As part of a new strategy to emphasize and implement lean manufacturing processes within the company, Oshkosh Truck promoted Christopher Hacker to the newly created post of director of lean deployment and best practices. Hacker was formerly...

Imation.(Randy Christoffersen appointed)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Imation named Randy Christoffersen as its new vice president of sourcing. Christoffersen comes to the position from his previous post as executive director of supply in the power generation group at Cummins. In his new position, Christoffersen...

Horton Holding.(Steve Wardleworth hired)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Horton Holding hired Steve Wardleworth as vice president of manufacturing. He will oversee Horton Manufacturing facilities around the world as well as corporate purchasing. Previously, Wardleworth was executive director of strategic procurement...

Wheels Inc.(Gino Fontana appointed)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Wheels Inc. announced the appointment of Gino Fontana to senior director of purchasing operations. Wheels is a fleet-leasing company based in Des Plaines, Ill. Fontana will oversee purchasing operations and acquisitions as well as truck...

New spend areas: a great adventure, or a problematic jungle?(purchasing methods)
October 6, 2005... As companies continue to look for ways to cut costs, they are asking purchasing to become involved in more far-ranging areas of spend, especially in nontraditional purchasing, such as personnel benefits, advertising and marketing costs, travel,...

Long-term industry viability requires more consolidation.(steel supply and demand, forecast)
October 6, 2005... To remain competitive, the global steel sector must continue to consolidate until it is comprised of a small group of companies each producing about 80 million to 100 million metric tons annually. So says PricewaterhouseCoopers in its new...

Hold on: prices have not peaked.(Aluminum industry)
October 6, 2005... Aluminum primary ingot will average 90 cents/lb next year and 86 cents in 2007, compared with about 83 cents so far this year, forecasts analyst Daniel Roling at Merrill Lynch & Co. "Aluminum prices have not yet peaked," he says, pointing out...

Teligistics.(RFP Management Suite )(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Teligistics, a telecom financial-management company based in the Houston area, announced that it launched a Web-based Telecom procurement and request-for-pricing (RFP) management application used for purchasing telecom services. David Roberts,...

Vykor.(released EPM 4.5 engineered parts management solutions)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Vykor, a provider of on-demand engineered parts-management solutions, released its EPM 4.5 to capture a broader spectrum of parts. EPM provides systematic tools to analytically develop engineered part-manufacturing strategies to calculate...

Provia Software.(warehouse management system developed)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Supply chain software provider Provia Software has developed a warehouse management system (WMS) RFP scoring template to help companies evaluate providers with the most viable WMS solutions to meet their needs from among the hundreds of...

Factory supplies team kicks it up a notch: four key suppliers provide United Technologies with continuous improvement ideas that are beating cost targets.(partnering with mro suppliers)(K&S, Haas TCM, Bruckner Supply Company Inc. and Praxair)
October 6, 2005... At some companies, the purchasing professionals seem almost weary of programs designed to reduce costs. Not so at United Technologies, where the supply management operation appears energized by the relaunch of a cost-savings initiative for...

What's hot.(demand for airplanes is decreased after September 11 terrorists attacks )(decrease in demand for nickel-based alloys, super stainless steels, copper brass products and titanium)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... After the terrorist attacks of September 11, demand for aircraft went into a steep decline and the sale and use of nickel-based alloys, super stainless steels, copper and brass products, and especially titanium, tanked. Commercial airplane...

Boeing revises supply arrangements of mill products: procurement adjusts contracts to ensure supply during manufacturing boom.(Boeing Co. Boeing Commercial Airplanes)
October 6, 2005... Recently ramped-up production by Boeing Commercial Airplanes has sent parts and components suppliers scrambling for supply of semiprocessed titanium mill products. So, the commercial airplane manufacturer's purchasing group has rejiggered...

Ipsco is expanding heat-treating capacity for OCTG (oil country tubular goods) at Calgary, Alberta, before year-end and will increase its casing product range through mill modifications at Calgary and Regina, Saskatchewan.(steel markets)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Ipsco is expanding heat-treating capacity for OCTG (oil country tubular goods) at Calgary, Alberta, before year-end and will increase its casing product range through mill modifications at Calgary and Regina, Saskatchewan. Full production is...

Crucible Specialty Metals is adding a new high-temperature furnace that will increase capacity for annealing and heat treating by 35%.(steel industry)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Crucible Specialty Metals is adding a new high-temperature furnace that will increase capacity for annealing and heat treating by 35%. Anticipated to be on stream during the first quarter next year, the furnace will primarily process 300 series...

Crucible Service Centers is planning a late-2005 opening of a greenfield 25,000 sq ft warehouse in Chatham, Ontario.(METALS CHIPS)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Crucible Service Centers is planning a late-2005 opening of a greenfield 25,000 sq ft warehouse in Chatham, Ontario. The stocking location will replace a facility that the Syracuse, N.Y.-based service center chain closed more than a year ago...

Severstal North America will spend $500 million to boost hot-metal output and finished steel capability at its Dearborn, Mich. plant.(METALS CHIPS)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Severstal North America will spend $500 million to boost hot-metal output and finished steel capability at its Dearborn, Mich. plant. The plan is to produce 72-in.-wide coils of automotive-grade sheet, says Bill Hornberger, executive vice...

Canadian steelmaker Stelco is selling its Stelpipe steel pipemaking operations to Romspen Investment, an independent financier based in Toronto.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Canadian steelmaker Stelco is selling its Stelpipe steel pipemaking operations to Romspen Investment, an independent financier based in Toronto. Romspen will rename the facility Lakeside Steel. The sale is likely to conclude at the end of...

Grupo Techint of Argentina is purchasing Grupo Alfa's 42.5% stake in the Hylsa steelmaker in Mexico.(METALS CHIPS)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Grupo Techint of Argentina is purchasing Grupo Alfa's 42.5% stake in the Hylsa steelmaker in Mexico. Techint, which already owns steelmakers Sidor in Venezuela and Siderar in Argentina, now plans to consolidate all these Latin American steel...

Nippon Steel will spend $228.5 million to start a new continuous casting facility at its Kimitsu steelmaking plant in Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo.(METALS CHIPS)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Nippon Steel will spend $228.5 million to start a new continuous casting facility at its Kimitsu steelmaking plant in Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo. The new machine will start operations in November 2006 and will have the monthly capacity to...

Metal One is the new parent of Rafferty-Brown Steel, which operates flat-rolled steel processing and distribution plants in Waterbury, Conn., and Greensboro, N.C.(METALS CHIPS)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Metal One is the new parent of Rafferty-Brown Steel, which operates flat-rolled steel processing and distribution plants in Waterbury, Conn., and Greensboro, N.C. Metal One is a Japanese steel trader whose New York-based North American company...

Commercial Metals has purchased the steel joist manufacturing operation in Juarez, Mexico, from Canadian fabricator Canam Group.(METALS CHIPS)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Commercial Metals has purchased the steel joist manufacturing operation in Juarez, Mexico, from Canadian fabricator Canam Group. Commercial Metals will use the plant to service the southwestern U.S. and Mexico. It currently has facilities in...

Astro Air of Jacksonville, Texas, has begun fabricating brazed copper-brass heat exchangers to replace aluminum heat exchangers in some motor vehicles made by General Motors and Ford.(metal chips)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Astro Air of Jacksonville, Texas, has begun fabricating brazed copper-brass heat exchangers to replace aluminum heat exchangers in some motor vehicles made by General Motors and Ford. International Copper Association says CuproBraze materials...

Most strategists reckon prices will stay high.(IRON ORE prices)(steel industry shipments)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Iron-ore prices may slip a little next year, but stay near this year's record high, as growing demand for the raw material from steelmakers worldwide will keep supply tight, says a recent Bloomberg news report. World crude-steel production...

China's steel output may slow in 2006.(STEEL)
October 6, 2005... China's steel-production growth may slow starting in 2006 if the government follows through on a decision to close plants that fail to meet the nation's new industry guidelines. That's the view of analyst Jim Lennon at Macquarie Bank's London...

Mittal Steel eyes Liberia.(IRON ORE)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Mittal Steel, the world's largest steelmaker, may spend $900 million on building iron-ore mines, railways and port facilities in Liberia, seeking to secure supplies of key raw material supplies for its mills. Mittal Steel currently sources...

Supplies tighten as aviation soars: "good times are back," says aerospace industry. Upshot for metals buyers: prepare for inconsistent deliveries and increased prices.(superalloys)(Cover Story)
October 6, 2005... Buyers of specialty alloys made from nickel, cobalt, titanium and beryllium metals may have to endure many months of headaches caused by concerns about supply, quality, delivery and price. Superalloys are used to make products for the...

Technology vs. process: another round: buyers search for the blend of strategy and functionality that is SRM.(srm report)(supplier relationship management process)
October 6, 2005... The supply chain and procurement industries are wrought with acronyms and buzzwords and its participants are getting more savvy about looking under the hood and finding out how exactly a given piece of technology will help them do their job....

The old idea returns again.(supplier relationship management software)(Column)
October 6, 2005... One of the new, loud kids on the technology block is supplier relationship management (SRM). While it has been around for a while (PeopleSoft in its pre-Oracle days was an early promoter), interest in SRM is growing. Procurement organizations...

Battered, not broken, supply chain copes: in the wake of Katrina, buyers and supply chain managers think contingency planning.(survey)
October 6, 2005... If you didn't have a contingency plan in place in your supply chain after the attacks of September 11, you sure better have one in place after Hurricane Katrina. Surprisingly, many buyers and supply chain managers say they did not have such a...

Analysts: virtually all commodities are impacted.(COMMODITY BREAKDOWN)(Hurricane Katrina impact)
October 6, 2005... The impact of Hurricane Katrina on industrial buyers could be greater than any prior hurricane on record. In fact, purchasing managers should plan on short supplies and higher prices for a wide range of energy products, manufacturing...

What's hot.(Deutsche Post AG to acquire Exel PLC)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... The logistics industry continues its consolidation crunch, with the news that Germany's Deutsche Post is in talks to buy British logistics giant Exel. At press time, industry sources reported that Exel had opened its books to Deutsche Post in...

Get creative! In a seller's freight market, the buyer is the painter and the bidding project is the canvas.(STRATEGIC SOURCING)(delivery services)(Roll International Corp.)(United Stationers Supply Co.)
October 6, 2005... Companies with complicated disparate divisions or regional operations often have the most difficulty in sourcing and managing the transportation operations. As the parent company grows by acquisition of business units or expansion into new...

The logistics industry and freight buyers continue to wrangle with the swirling fuel prices in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's wrath, which caused fuel shortages and some outages.(FUEL PRICING UPDATE)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... The logistics industry and freight buyers continue to wrangle with the swirling fuel prices in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's wrath, which caused fuel shortages and some outages. On Sept. 6, The American Trucking Associations asked Secretary...