Purchasing articles from October 2006

Purchasing archives from October 2006

GM strives for consistent metrics.(General Motors)
October 5, 2006... By Susan Avery General Motors' vice president of global purchasing and supply chain Bo Andersson has taken steps to improve relationships with suppliers. He tells Purchasing of the progress GM has made in the five years he's been at the...

Update on buying in the automotive sector.(quality engineers are soon going to be part of the purchasing organization)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff - Quality - Consistency - On-time delivery - Cost reduction Those are the big hurdles facing automakers today. If they sound familiar, that's because you've read about them and heard about them all...

Nissan pushes suppliers on quality.(Nissan North America)
October 5, 2006... By James Carbone The Japanese automaker is not afraid to exercise some tough love when it comes to suppliers meeting its quality, cost, and delivery targets. Supplier base reduction is an initiative at most OEMs, but not at Nissan...

Suppliers tighten their own supply bases.(Interview)
October 5, 2006... By Tom Stundza Neil De Koker, president of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association, believes that a revamped supply base and a reorganized automotive industry will be a model of collaboration in the coming years. Automotive...

Brazil offers the best of both worlds.
October 5, 2006... By David Hannon Purchasing and supply chain professionals reportthat doing business with Brazilian suppliers requiresa detailed focus on building strong relationships. But the rewards are low-cost and high-quality material and...

Biopharmaceutical firm leveragese-procurement for indirect savings.
October 5, 2006... By Maria Varmazis Danish firm Novozymes uses online tools to streamline its increasingly global sourcing activities. Competing in the global biological and pharmaceutical market requires shrewd cost control and strategic sourcing...

Producer cutbacks add to upward price pressures.
October 5, 2006... By Gordon Graff High electric rates have prompted almost a dozen North American pulp and paper mills to close their doors in the past several years, creating a temporary glut of capacity for sodium chlorate, a chemical widely used in pulp...

Business Intelligence.(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff 9¢ Per pound increase being pushed by MMA producers Source: ICISPricing.com WHAT IT MEANS: Methyl methacrylate (MMA) buyers can expect a price push in the fourth-quarter as feedstocks like acetone and methanol...

Malaysian government to slow decline in rubber prices.(International Rubber Consortium)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff The government of Malaysia has called on the International Rubber Consortium (IRCO) to enact measures to counter the recent decline in rubber prices. "Rubber prices should not go up too high or too low," said Datuk Peter Chin...

Chemical buyers take careful approach to overseas sourcing.
October 5, 2006... By David Hannon Three-quarters of buyers polled by Purchasing say they are not increasing their buying of chemicals from overseas markets. But of those buying overseas, half cite price of domestic chemicals as the driving factor. The...

PCI"s purchasing works with R&D to reduce materials costs.(Precision Coatings)(research and development)
October 5, 2006... By David Hannon Precision Coatings (PCI) of Walled Lake, Mich. has learned a lot about cost management in the past couple years. The ever-increasing competition from offshore coatings makers has coincided with price run-ups in some of...

How to outsource business processes.
October 5, 2006... By Perry Mulligan Cutting hair is a tricky thing. I know many people who wouldn't trust just anybody to take a pair of scissors to their head. Even me. If that's true for you, it could explain why you probably frequent the same...

INFLATION MODERATES.(energy and food fell for the second consecutive month)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Inflation at the wholesale level rose slightly in August, but prices excluding energy and food fell for the second consecutive month. Overall, producer prices through August calculated by the Labor Department are 3.7% higher...

URANIUM PRICES ARE UP.(World Markets forecasts)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff With spot uranium prices at $52/lb in September, up from $38 in January, analyst Peter Grandich is presenting a price target of $75. Jeff Rubin of CIBC World Markets forecasts a slightly lower peak at $70. Demand should remain...

PVA TAGS PUMPED UP.(polyvinyl alcohol used by the textile, paper and adhesive industries)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff DuPont plans to raise prices this month for Elvanol-brand polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) by 7Ao/lb because of strong demand and raw material cost increases. Celanese plans to raise prices by 7% for its Celvol-brand PVA used by the...

LUMBER PRICES NOSEDIVE.(Chicago Commodity Exchange)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff The forest products industry's price indexes have gone down. The Chicago Commodity Exchange's framing lumber composite index in September is down 25% from a year earlier while the structural panel composite index has a steeper...

AIRFARES TO KEEP RISING.(American Express Business Travel)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff With higher demand, airlines have been able to raise domestic airfares by 13% in the past year, says American Express Business Travel, which also notes that international airfares have grown 6%. Analyst John Scholle at Global...

ETHYLENE PRICES EXPLODE.(lower feedstock ethane prices)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Spot ethylene prices rocketed upward last month to 54Ao/lb from 46Ao in August after petroleum cracker shutdowns at Chevron Phillips in Texas and Westlake in Louisiana cut deliveries to the market. Prior to the spot-price...

HEATING OIL FUTURES SLIP.(New York Mercantile Exchange)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff No 2. fuel oil prices for October delivery traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange were averaging $1.74/gallon at press time. That compares with the year-to-date national average spot price of $1.91 through mid-September. The...

WATCH OUT FOR TARIFFS.(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Buyers could face higher prices of imported materials next year if the economy turns south. Analysts say U.S. makers of steel, chemicals, plastics, other raw materials and even office paper products will seek protective tariffs if...

POSTAL RATES TO RISE IN '07.(increases for postal rates)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Expect sharp increases for postal rates in 2007. U.S. Postal Service wants rate increases of 12% for overnight letters; packages to go up 13%; invoices and solicitations to rise 9%; and periodical rates to rise 11%.

STAINLESS MAY RISE AGAIN.(cold-rolled stainless sheet has risen by 38%)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Transaction prices of hot-rolled stainless steel sheet have climbed an average 24% for the 304 grade while cold-rolled stainless sheet has risen by 38%. Supply is extremely tight as the mills are running very late on deliveries...

POLYESTER PRICES GOING UP.( boost polyester staple fiber products)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Wellman is trying to boost polyester staple fiber products by 5Ao/lb. Joe Tucker, a corporate vice president, attributes the proposed increase to high petrochemical raw material costs, which are cutting into the Fort Mills, S.C.,...

GOLD IS LOSING SHEEN.(Market research)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Spot-market gold slipped from its 2006 monthly peak of $680/ounce in May, and was averaging $604 through mid-September. Futures on December gold were trading at $590 and analysts at Barclays Capital in London projected an end-2006...

OCTG IS UNDER REVIEW.(oil country tubular goods)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Prices for oil country tubular goods (OCTG) held steady this summer, as demand from energy producers remained strong and drilling activity remained active. Despite low-cost imports, OCTG prices averaged $1,498/ton in August, about...

Buyers plan to pay more for copper and brass products.(price expectations)(Table)
October 5, 2006... By Staff (Buyers' 90-day price expectations) -------------------------------------------- Up Down Same Index Copper & brass 58% 16% 26% 71.1 Paper 42% 3% 55% 69.4 Energy...

MANUFACTURING IS OK NOW...(Calyon)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Economists at calyon corporate and Investment Bank are "relatively optimistic about the near-term manufacturing outlook" for the U.S. "Manufacturing activity will continue to expand at a generally healthy pace this year," they...

HOUSING DROP IS REAL.(current downswing in home sales and production)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff The national association of Home Builders' monthly Housing Market Index fell to its lowest level in 15 years in August. David Seiders, NAHB's chief economist, says the current downswing in home sales and production won't move back...

RFID TESTS TO BEGIN.(radio-frequency-identification tags)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff The reusable pallet and Container Coalition soon will link multi-use radio-frequency-identification (RFID) tags and reusable plastic containers. The Washington-based coalition will start container trials with Generation 2 RFID...

BLOW MOLDER GROWS.(high-density polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Polyethylene plastics blow molder Alpha Packaging is investing $10 million to open a new facility in Jacksonville, Fla., and add capacity at its three existing plants in St. Louis, Salt Lake City and Bethlehem, Pa. The expansion...

BIG TRUCK SALES UP 14%.(report according to Wardsauto.com)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Heavy-duty truck sales have increased by 14.4% to 162,545 Class 8 vehicles in the U.S. through July, according to Wardsauto.com. This compares with 142,096 units moved during the same even-month period last year and on pace to set...

What's in short supply?(survey report )(Survey)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Buyers in Purchasing's monthly survey report problems sourcing: c Large structural steel beams c Steel plate, certain sizes c Aluminum wire c HDPE pails c Stainless steel sheet c Teflon rods c...

...BUT MAY SLOW IN 2007.(industry growth analysis)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Industrial production will show "pronounced slowing" of 2.5% growth next year after a moderate 5% acceleration this year, according to the latest quarterly outlook from the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI. The trade group's chief...

CEOS ARE NOT SO JOVIAL...(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff America's CEOs are feeling a little less buoyant about the business climate in the months ahead, according to a survey by the Business Roundtable. CEO expectations for sales, capital spending and employment are all decent, but...

...NEITHER IS SMALL BIZ.(U.S. economy is continue slowing)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Small-business optimism soured in August, falling to its lowest in more than three years as members of the National Federation of Independent Business expect the U.S. economy to continue slowing. The group's chief economist,...

TOSHIBA TO REPLACE BATTERIES.(recall of faulty batteries made by Sony)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Toshiba will be replacing 340,000 Sony laptop computer batteries worldwide, the third recall of faulty batteries made by Sony. The batteries, used in Dynabook and Dynabook Satellite laptops made between March and May this year,...

PRODUCTIVITY IS RISING.(Labor Department reports)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff U.S. business productivity, a measure of per-hour worker output and the key building block to rising living standards, has risen 2.5% over the past year, the Labor Department reports. This is a solid increase in line with the...

HIRING TO STAY STEADY.(Manpower Employment Outlook Survey)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff U.S. employers project healthy hiring for the fourth quarter, despite talk of a possible downturn in the economy, according to the latest quarterly Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. "Even the economic pressures of 2006, such as...

APPLIANCE SLOWDOWN SEEN.(appliance shipment growth)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff American appliance shipment growth is expected to slow to around 1% in 2007 from an average of more than 4% in recent years due to faltering new home construction and home sales, according to a forecast by Whirlpool Corp.

WAGE-COST GAP WIDENS.(labor Department)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff According to the labor Department, 90% of all U.S. workers have seen inflation run faster than their pay increases over the last three years. This may not change quickly since economists report earnings' gains have been softening...

Goodyear"s buyers have a portfolio of options to use.(Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.)
October 5, 2006... By Staff In what has become the most volatile purchasing environment for commodity materials, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'s procurement organization has developed a portfolio of buying tactics designed to keep prices as low as possible and...

Mirroring sales, purchasing emphasizes market research.(Company overview)
October 5, 2006... By Tom Stundza Buyers at Goodyear become expert in materials, equipment, goods and services so they can reduce purchasing costs when negotiating contracts even in volatile pricing environments. Their role models: sales organizations. ...

Leadtimes tighten.(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Metal product leadtimes got somewhat tighter for 20 commodities in September with the other 19 expanding. Most key sheet, plate and bar products took longer to be delivered in September. On the other hand, leadtimes for structural...

Goodyear leverages outsourcing partners in modal shifts.(Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.)
October 5, 2006... By David Hannon The key to outsourcing business processes is knowing when outsourcing will add value and when it will simply add complexity. Goodyear's logistics organization has a firm grasp of that concept and has leveraged outsourcing...

Business Intelligence.(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff 48% Buyers reporting transportation price hikes in September Source: www.purchasingdata.com WHAT IT MEANS: Transportation rates are dropping. In August, more than 80% of buyers reported price increases. Lower fuel...

Driver shortage is not going away any time soon.
October 5, 2006... By Staff As Ted Augustine of Goodyear points out, logistics buyers today not only have to evaluate carriers' capacity based on equipment, but also based on bodies. The truck driver shortage continues to limit capacity on the roads at a...

Carriers settle price-fixing suits; package security tightened.
October 5, 2006... By Staff Several global air cargo carriers agreed in September to settle price-fixing lawsuits without having to pay plaintiffs any money. American Airlines and United Airlines both got away from the case without any major monetary...

Logistics outsourcing on the rise in China.(Transport Intelligence )(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff A recent report from U.K.-based Transport Intelligence found that "Outsourcing will be the defining trend behind the growth of the Chinese logistics industry over the coming few years." The survey of 230 logistics users and...

EPA proposes increased use of ethanol.(new rules to encourage the use of ethanol and clean fuels)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff The Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed new rules to encourage the use of ethanol and clean fuels. The new standards that would increase the use of ethanol in gasoline to 7.5 billion gallons annually by 2012, 3...

USPS to make more than $1B in cost cuts in 2007.(forecast to decline by 0.5% in fiscal 2007)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff The U.S. Postal Service said it will cut $1 billion in costs in fiscal 2007 through "automation improvements and implementation of additional breakthrough productivity initiatives" according to a statement. Mail volume is forecast...

Buyers want high-quality copper but high prices remain a burden.(price volatility in the copper market)
October 5, 2006... By Tom Stundza Buyer surveys find widespread concern about price volatility in the copper market and the effect on manufacturing costs. Big questions about 2007 persist. According to a recent Purchasing survey, what buyers really want...

Global automakers urge an end to coated sheet dumping duties.
October 5, 2006... By Staff The steel industry and one of its major customer groups are at it again--over trade. A coalition of American and Japanese automakers wants to end penalty tariffs on certain types of coated steel, saying the protections are...

Business Intelligence.(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff 19¢ Drop in die-cast aluminum tags Source: www.purchasingdata.com WHAT IT MEANS: Price slippage off May's $1.26/lb peak to September's $1.07 shows demands from auto and construction is slowing and supply is...

Metals Chips.(distributor of premium stainless steels)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Hamilton , Ohio-based Ferguson Metals, a distributor of premium stainless steels, specialty metals and high-temperature alloys, has been purchased by O'Neal Steel of Birmingham, Ala. Ferguson's customers are manufacturers in the...

IMF report sees global commodity price declines in the future.(International Monetary Fund)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Prices of such base metals as copper and aluminum that reached record highs because of soaring demand and tight supplies this year are set to drop as much as 60% over the next five years, according to the International Monetary...

Russian mega-merger is business, not politics.(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff The Russian mega-merger proposal to create the world's largest aluminum company has "a compelling business case," says analyst Timothy McCutcheon at DBM Capital in Moscow, and is not being driven by political goals. In the deal,...

Metals Chips.(Goldcorp of Canada to buy rival Glamis Gold.)(Leeco Steel service center has opened a new plate processing and distribution center in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.)(Posco of South Korea will build a $250 million plant in Mexico.)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Goldcorp of Canada is paying $8.6 billion to buy U.S. rival Glamis Gold and create one of the world's biggest gold-mining groups. The new Goldcorp will produce more than 2.3 million ounces of the precious metal annually from...

One may not be ideal number when optimizing supply base.
October 5, 2006... By Staff At Volvo plants across North America, the nonautomotive purchasing team is using integrated supply agreements with a small number of select suppliers to manage the maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) buy. The results speak...

MRO Briefs.(Graybar sees sales growth of 19.7% in the first half of 2006.)(United Technologies Corp. has won Purchasing's Medal of Professional Excellence for 2006.)(Motion Industries has expanded with a branch in Watertown, S.D.)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Robert A. Reynolds Jr., chairman, president and CEO of Graybar, credits the company's employee-owners, a successful ERP implementation, expansion of the electrical and telecom sectors and an improved corporate accounts program for...

Distribution's customers continue to be discerning.
October 5, 2006... By Staff Results of Industrial Distribution magazine's 60th Annual Survey of Distributor Operations show that MRO purchasing professionals are deliberate and discerning in their relationships with distributors. The majority of distributors...

Suppliers hold key to auto turnaround.
October 5, 2006... By Paul Teague, Editor in Chief As the old saying goes, "Nothing focuses the mind like a hanging in the morning." In the U. S. automotive industry, the "hanging" comes in the form of dwindling sales, profits, market share and the...

Distributor ranks supplier market share as top metric.(Hawk Chemical Co.)
October 5, 2006... By Maria Varmazis Just five years after its founding, Hawk Chemical Co. has already made Purchasing's Top 100 Chemical Distributor list and is turning healthy profits--something Hawk's vice president of sales, Joe Santa Maria, attributes...

Purchasing professionals as salespeople.
October 5, 2006... By Tom Keenan You might get a funny look if you told someone that much of what makes a successful purchasing manager is the same as what makes a successful salesman. Negotiation, persuasion, collaboration and analytical skills are among...

How to work with engineering specs.
October 5, 2006... By Paul Teague In manufacturing companies, engineering owns the specs for parts. But purchasing, with its responsibility for costs, can still influence them. Here's how two purchasing professionals worked with engineering to ensure they...

KLA-Tencor centralizes sourcing processes in decentralized firm.(KLA-Tencor Corp.)
October 5, 2006... By William Atkinson Like many companies, $2 billion process-control system manufacturer KLA-Tencor Corp. of San Jose, Calif., came to a realization not long ago that its 20 separate divisions were buying a lot of the same materials. ...

Business Intelligence.(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff 48% Buyers reporting increased material prices in September Source: www.purchasingdata.com WHAT IT MEANS: That's down from the 67% that reported price hikes in August and 75% from the July survey. It's an indicator...

Material costs major concern for suppliers in 2006.(recent survey)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff According to a recent survey, industrial suppliers are adding headcount and investing in capacity, but also express serious concern about rising materials costs. A survey from GlobalSpec found that 38% of industrial suppliers...

Most Chinese see bribes as necessary.(bribery is widespread in business)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff A recent survey conducted by Nankai University found that 94% of Chinese people polled feel that bribery is widespread in business while 77% said they would bribe someone. The worst cases of bribery occurred where there was...

Fluor Hanford builds online buying tool in-house.
October 5, 2006... By William Atkinson At the time the procurement organization at waste cleanup firm Fluor Hanford of Richland, Wash. decided to push more of its transactional buying to end-users, it seemed like a way to streamline the company's buying...

Purchasing execs on the move...(Company overview)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Louisiana-Pacific Corp. recently named Neil Sherman as vice president of procurement, logistics and supply management. Sherman replaces Brian Luoma, who recently was named vice president and general manager of LP's engineered wood...

Automotive suppliers need cost transparency.(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff "Auto suppliers should focus on managing their material costs by identifying volatile and critical raw materials," says Erkut Uludag, partner at consulting firm Roland Berger. "Suppliers need to provide cost transparency to...

Procuri buys TrueSource, partners with SciQuest.(TrueSource)(Mergers and acquisitions)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff On-demand software firm Procuri has acquired TrueSource, a spend intelligence software provider. Procuri plans to repackage the data cleansing and analysis tools from TrueSource as Procuri Analytics, which will allow users to...

New supply chain visibility tools.(Management Dynamics)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Two new supply chain visibility tools were released recently. At its annual user conference, Sterling Commerce introduced its new Supply Chain Visibility application that combines real-time visibility of supplier information with...

Software News.(TrueSource)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff Procuri buys TrueSource, partners with SciQuest Staff On-demand software firm Procuri has acquired TrueSource, a spend intelligence software provider. Procuri plans to repackage the data cleansing and analysis tools from...

Helium supply deflates, gas prices rise quickly.(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By David Hannon Supply issues are popping up with helium, but so far have had limited impact on industrial and contract buyers. The shortage is being traced to plants in the Middle East and Africa--one in Qatar and two in Algeria--that had...

Effective supplier management is top priority when disaster strikes.(Gartner)
October 5, 2006... By Susan Avery "Relationships matter," Roberta J. Witty, research vice president for security and privacy at Gartner, told purchasing professionals attending a recent meeting of the Purchasing Management Association of Boston (PMAB). ...

Anglo Platinum brings rural suppliers online.(Quadrem)
October 5, 2006... By Maria Varmazis In late 2002, South African mining company Anglo Platinum initiated a project to expand its supply base to create more competition. At the same time, the company was moving more of its supplier communications online via a...

China wants more say in global commodity price negotiations.
October 5, 2006... By Tom Stundza China has signaled it wants to play a larger role in setting global commodities prices by forming new industry negotiating groups to leverage its buying power to secure lower fiscal 2007 contract prices. Wei Jianguo, a...

PLM Market to see continued growth.(product lifecycle management )(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... By Staff The market for product lifecycle management (PLM) software is expected to grow 9% through 2010, according to a recent report from AMR Research. A variety of factors will contribute to that growth, but internal and external...

Differences on prices.
October 5, 2006... By Staff A grain of salt Regarding: Price & Supply Alert article: "Nickel forecast to crash in '07," The Westpac Banking forecast--$6.50/lb nickel in 2007, down from somewhere around $9 this year--upon which this article is based is a...

Resistor network tags firm as material prices increase.(noncompliant Restriction on Hazardous Substances)
October 19, 2006... By Gina Roos Buyers can expect stable tags for most resistor networks for the remainder of 2006. While the average price for resistor networks and arrays declined 3-5% in 2005, suppliers didn't drop prices this year because of higher...

Business Intelligence.(electronics companies have switched to Lean manufacturing )(Brief article)
October 19, 2006... By Staff 13% Electronics buyers who report business was down from last month Source: www.purchasingdata.com WHAT IT MEANS: OEMs expect healthy fourth quarter demand for equipment which will mean longer leadtimes for some...

PC revenue to decline.
October 19, 2006... By Staff Worldwide PC shipments will rise 10.5% to 233.7 million units in 2006, but PC revenue will decline 3.5% to $198.3 billion, according to a preliminary forecast by researcher Gartner. "Unit growth will continue to be price...

Electronic Briefs.
October 19, 2006... By Staff Allied signs Kemet, Microchip Staff Catalog distributor Allied Electronics of Fort Worth, Texas has signed a distribution agreement with passives component manufacturer Kemet. The agreement will expand Allied's offerings...