Miles Free Director of Industry Affairs, PMPA
Material Impacts on the Precision Machining Industry - August 2009
We believe that it is time to fasten our seatbelts as an industry. Inventories continue to decrease, foreign nations (Japan and Taiwan) are actively seeking to accumulate scrap, primary mills see no compelling reason to restart facilities, and the Chinese are "arresting" employees of the iron ore supplier companies that they are in "negotiations" with. Surcharges are volatile as a result of the 40-percent increase in steel scrap this month alone. Severstal announced it was ceasing all North American operations today as I prepared this report (5 August 2009). I cannot confirm that any BOF melt bar capacity is currently running in North America.
Read MoreThe New Domestics
The automotive market is an important sector served by the precision machining industry. Until 2008, it was the single, largest market served, according to the PMPA’s Annual Business Forecast Report.
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Material Impacts on the Precision Machining Industry - June 2009
An abnormal state in which the normal flow is slowed or stopped is called "stasis." With the exception of copper and brass (up ~ 40 percent since January 2009) stasis is a good descriptor of raw materials pricing trends these days. Demand for final products, not availability of raw materials, is the primary determinant of raw material prices. It doesn't matter how much iron ore you have in your mine, if no one is buying cars, that ore is just rocks in the ground. Several 'Green Shoots' are identified as indicating a possible bottom for manufacturing.
Read MoreThe Art of Management
One of the best lessons learned from my MBA experience was that there are three value disciplines that a company can embody. It is very rare that any company can master more than one.
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Adjusting to Unleaded
A move is afoot to get lead out of plumbing pipes and fixtures that carry potable water. It's the law in California and could be to your state.
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The One Thing I Know for Sure
Revisiting what has worked during the past year will help you sustain your company this year.
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We're the People Who Make Things
I just saw a news clip that highlighted some new-found attention to "people who make things. " It seems that, in a recent speech, the President of the United States recognized the value of the "people who make things. " Well, Mr.
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Material Impacts on the Precision Machining Industry - April 2009
The raw materials that we track are leading indicators for the precision turning industry. Prices for all of the materials that we track are down substantially year over year, as well as from their high in 2008. Inventories are tight on most materials, with Service Center inventories at 17-year lows for steel and aluminum products, according to MSCI. We urge our members to take the published "months of current supply" figures with a grain of salt. These estimates are based on current usage. When production resumes, those "months of supply" will likely evaporate in just a few short weeks. We have seen several presentations over our career that make the point that the economy usually mimics the copper market, so we are somewhat heartened by the trend in the copper and brass indicators that we track. The price of steel scrap remains depressed, offering a different take.
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My Favorite Photograph
Here’s my favorite photo. I took it in Chicago’s Millennium Park a couple of years ago during a break from a conference. It’s a little girl playing in a fountain.
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Material Impacts On The Precision Machining Industry - February 2009
The raw materials that we track are leading indicators for the precision turning industry. From their highs in 2008, to December 2008, these materials varied from 59% to 77%. High variability is problematic for trying to support fixed price contracts. Inventories are tight on most materials, with Service Center inventories at 17 year lows for steel and aluminum products according to MSCI. It is easy to be grim at the bottom of a market. What is critical for us as managers is to recognize that bottom and prepare for success as our markets improve. Having access to materials that are in very short supply due to the current inventory and credit lows may be what brings your company success on the way out of this recession.What are you doing now to assure you will have the materials that you need when the phone begins to ring?
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Material Impacts On The Precision Machining Industry - December 2008
The prices of all of the raw materials that we track are well below last year’s levels, and volatile. Producers are in a race all over the world to idle capacity to prevent excessive supply from further damaging their margins.
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PMPA Members Get New Financial Benchmarking Tool
As I write this in early October, the stock market has lost more than 30 percent, the federal government has signed on for $850 billion in bailout monies for the financial market, and the shared values of many major companies have fallen precipitously.
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