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Steel Melts Down
Shipments of steel products from U.S. and Canadian metals service centers fell by nearly 30% for a second consecutive month in December, while inventories of the metal continued a steady decline in year-over-year comparisons, the Metals Activity Report from the Metals Service Center Institute
shows. Full-year 2008 U.S. steel shipments of about 46.8 million tons were down 10.6% from 2007. Steel inventories at the end of December of 8.6 million tons were 16.1% below December 2007 stocks and, at current shipping rates, equal a 3.6-month supply.
In Canada, December steel shipments from metals service centers of 322,400 tons were down 29.2% from December 2007. Full-year 2008 Canadian steel shipments of about 6.7 million tons were 10.9% below 2007 annual volume. Canadian steel inventories at the end of December of about 1.2 million tons were 34% below year-end 2007 stocks and, at current shipping rates, also represent a 3.6-month supply.
The British metals tracking firm MEPS assessed that U.S. transaction values may have reached bottom, however.
Globally, MEPS estimated global steel production in 2008 to have decreased 1.2% for the year as a whole. They also predicted a small reduction for 2009.
According to a MEPS forecast issued Jan. 21:
"The steel market is forecast to remain weak during the first half of 2009 in all parts of the world. Demand for motor vehicles, home appliances and residential properties is likely to remain poor. However, a degree of inventory building should occur but to levels well below those in the first half of 2008.
"Many governments are embarking upon plans to stimulate their economies through investment in large infrastructure projects. This is good news for the steel industry in the medium and long term. Unfortunately, this type of spending takes time to become effective." |
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Duties Imposed On Chinese Welded Stainless Pipe
The U.S. International Trade Commission
voted unanimously to issue a countervailing duty order and an antidumping duty order on imports of welded stainless pressure pipe from China. Products subject to the petition are primarily ASTM A-312 or A-778 specifications using grade 304 or 316 stainless steel. Imports from China are believed to have taken approximately 30% of this market in 2007, although they declined substantially after the filing of the antidumping and countervailing duty petitions in January 2008. Companies bringing the petition included
Bristol Metals, Felker Brothers,
Outokumpu Stainless Pipe and Marcegaglia, along with the United Steelworkers union.
Insituform Buys Bayou Companies, Corrpro
Insituform Technologies announced definitive agreements to acquire the assets of
The Bayou Companies (TBC) for $125 million and
Corrpro Companies
in a merger transaction worth approximately $91 million. The company expects both acquisitions to close by March 31. TBC. based in New Iberia, LA, provides a variety of pipeline services to the oil and natural gas industry and had sales of $125.7 million at the end of its last fiscal year. Its former Shea family owners will stay on to manage the business. Corrpro, with principal offices in Houston and Medina, OH, provides corrosion protection and pipeline maintenance services. Insituform is a worldwide provider of proprietary technologies for rehabbing underground piping systems without digging.
Tyco Expands Nuclear Valves OperationsTyco Flow Control
announced its purchase of a 118,000 square foot facility in Mansfield, MA. The purchase is part of a more than $20 million investment plan to relocate its existing operations in Wrentham, MA to a new, modern facility in support of its Valves & Controls nuclear power generation business. The new Mansfield site is scheduled to be operational in Fall 2009.
Curtiss-Wright Acquires Nu-Torque
Curtiss-Wright Corp.
announced that it has acquired substantially all of the assets of Nu-Torque. Nu-Torque is a designer and manufacturer of electric and hydraulic valve actuation and control devices primarily for the U.S. Navy ships. The business will become part of Curtiss-Wright's Flow Control segment. Nu-Torque was founded in 1980 and acquired by Tyco Flow Control in 2002. Headquartered in Redmond, WA, Nu-Torque has 37 employees and annual sales of approximately $8 million.
Schwartz Named RathGibson CEO
RathGibson, a leading global manufacturer of welded, welded and drawn, and seamless stainless steel, nickel, and titanium tubing, has appointed Michael Schwartz as CEO. Schwartz joined RathGibson in April 2008 as the president and COO. Prior to that he served as president and CEO of Airoom, Inc.
ITC Expedites China Malleable Fittings ReviewThe U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) voted on Feb. 6 to expedite its five- year ("sunset") review concerning the antidumping duty order on imports of malleable cast iron pipe fittings from China (Inv. No. 731-TA-1021 (Review)).
The Uruguay Round Agreements Act requires the Department of Commerce to revoke an antidumping or countervailing duty order, or terminate a suspension agreement, after five years unless the Department of Commerce and the ITC determine that revoking the order or terminating the suspension agreement would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping or subsidies (Commerce) and of material injury (ITC) within a reasonably foreseeable time.
Outokumpu Announces More Production, Staff Cuts
Due to weak stainless steel demand,
Outokumpu
continues to cut production and start negotiations with personnel regarding temporary layoffs for over 2,000 people and reduction of about 250 jobs. This is in addition to 450 job reductions in Sweden announced in December 2008. Said CEO Juha Rantanen: "The past weeks have shown that there is no marked improvement in stainless steel demand. Unfortunately it is now evident that the measures we announced in December are not sufficient in this situation. We regret that these cost-saving actions affect our employees heavily."
Corrosion Materials Expands Warehouse
Corrosion Materials, a distributor of corrosion resistant alloy products, announced the completion of a 40,000 sq. ft. expansion of its Baker, LA warehouse bringing total area dedicated to nickel alloys to 112,000 square feet. |
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Change We Can Believe In
Most business people figured Al Gore was indulging in happy smoke when he went around saying our nation could transition entirely from fossil fuels to renewables within 10 years. Turns out some of his soul mates in the environmental movement, like Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council, think the same thing.
They say it will take around 80 years to make the transition. |
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Tech Tip #17 by Gregg Marshall
To help you make the most of the Digital Age.
I "joke" with the TSA agents looking at the x-ray of my backpack I carry onto planes that it is a walking Radio Shack.
I have the usual electronic travel toys: notebook computer, MP3 player, noise canceling headphones, wireless mouse, cell phone, etc. I also occasionally carry a portable printer and/or a portable scanner.
The problem with all these toys is they all need power. And they all have different power bricks (AC adapters). Plus on long flights, if you are lucky, you can plug your computer and/or MP3 player into the plane's power supply, which of course is a unique plug.
Rather than carry all those bricks and second adapters for airplanes, I use a universal power adapter. There are a number of companies that make these adapters. iGo was an early one (http://www.igo.com/). More recently Kensington has made a small unit (
http://us.kensington.com/html/11168.html). Targus has a large number of notebook accessories, one is a universal adapter (http://www.targus.com/us/powerstore.asp).
All these adapters work the same way. The adapter comes with an AC cord, an empower cord, and a car cigarette lighter-to-empower adapter. They are compatible with any power, either 110 or 220 volt and 50 or 60 Hz. They come with a number of interchangeable tips that let you power different notebook computers. (I've been creative and figured out how to power my portable printer using a similar computer's tip.)
You can also buy a secondary adapter cable that will charge MP3 players or cell phones. Again they use interchangeable tips to adapt for many different devices.
The bottom line on these universal power adapters is the best one for you is the one that has the tips to power the notebook, cell phone and any other electronic toys you might travel with. Let the tip wars begin! Right now iGo (and its OEMs) seems to be winning.
Gregg Marshall, CPMR, CSP, is president of Rep Connection Inc. He can be reached by e-mail at gmarshall@repconnection.com, or visit his LinkedIn profile at
http://www.linkedin.com/in/greggmarshall. |
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What's The Industry Buzzing About?
One way to tell is to visit the website of Supply House Times
. If you scroll to the bottom of the lead page, you will find lists of the "Most E-Mailed" and "Most Popular Articles" (as measured by visitations). This gives a pretty good feel for what industry citizens regard as important.
For example, as of Tuesday, Feb. 24, these were the five "Most E-Mailed" articles accessed at the Supply House Times website and passed along.
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| AEC Store Corner
 Plumber's and Pipe Fitter's Calculations Manual - $39.95
- Packed with charts and tables that allow readers to quickly look up time-saving answers, this handy tool is a ready source of commonly used calculations, formulas, and, best of all, solutions.
In addition to easy-to-find answers, this guide delivers:
- A concise outline of trade mathematics
- Plastic and copper pipe and copper tubing facts and figures
- Standard and handicapped fixture layouts
- Guidelines for sizing water heaters
- Potable water standards
- Equipment weight load standards
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- Relevant electrical factors
For designing and estimating projects, this manual will prove to be invaluable. A great productivity booster, it will assist in delivering prompt, on-target, and even on-the-spot estimates. CLICK HERE for more info.
Visit AECStore.com to view over 800 resources for industry pros! |
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Press Fittings For Stainless & Carbon Steel
Eurotubi Europa is an Italian company that manufactures press fittings in stainless and carbon steel in sizes from 15 to 108 mm for both water and gas installations. |
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Plastic Coating For Industrial Applications
Protecto Liner 1350 is a two-component industrial organic polyurethane that cures to form an elastomeric membrane that is impermeable to water and many aqueous alkaline or acid compositions.
Protecto Liner 1350 can be used in various applications that include cooling towers/chillers; water and wastewater containment; liquid/chemical containment; below grade waterproofing; roofing; decks; bridge cables; bridge decks; pipe lines; electrical wire and cable; industrial equipment coating; concrete surfaces and more. |
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BNP Media
2401 W. Big Beaver Road, Ste. 700
Troy, Michigan, 48084-3333
U.S.A. |
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Contact The Editor
PVF e-News is a twice-monthly newsletter edited by Supply House Times Editor Jim Olsztynski. Contact him with any requests, complaints, compliments or information you think worth reporting in this e-newsletter.
1050 IL Rte. 83, Suite 200
Bensenville, IL 60106
630/694-4006
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