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Stainless Production Plummets 27%, But Recovery Seen
Stainless and heat-resisting crude steel production (in '000 metric tons)
|
Region |
First Half Year |
+/-%
Y-o-Y |
Quarter |
+/-%
Q-o-Q |
|
2008 |
2009 |
1/2009 |
2/2009 |
|
Western Europe/Africa |
4,865 |
2,894 |
-40.5 |
1,314 |
1,580 |
20.3 |
|
Eastern Europe |
194 |
100 |
-48.6 |
50 |
50 |
0.4 |
|
The Americas |
1,394 |
829 |
-40.6 |
410 |
418 |
1.9 |
|
Asia (excluding China) |
4,484 |
2,959 |
-34.0 |
1,289 |
1,670 |
29.6 |
|
China |
3,861 |
4,067 |
5.3 |
1,769 |
2,298 |
29.9 |
|
Total world |
14,798 |
10,848 |
-26.7 |
4,832 |
6,017 |
24.5 | Source: International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF)
Preliminary figures released by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) show that global stainless steel crude steel production decreased in the first half of 2009 by 26.7% compared to the same period of 2008. All major regions showed lower production volumes in the first half of 2009. Only China reported increased production during the period.
Comparing the first and second quarters of 2009 indicates that a significant recovery in stainless steel production may have begun. All regions, except Eastern Europe and the Americas, strongly increased production in the second quarter. In Asia and China the increase was almost 30% above the first quarter. Western Europe/Africa reported a 20% increase in the same period.
A comparison of the market share of each of the main stainless steel grades shows there has been a recovery in the market-share of austenitic steels (300 series) compared to the levels of 2008. The market-share of ferritic grades has fallen, mainly due to the global decline in automotive production, typically a strong market for 400 grades. The market share of chromium-manganese steels (200 series) has increased a little, largely due to an improved domestic market in China. |
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ITC Investigates China Seamless Pipe
On October 7th, the U.S. Iternational Trade Commission
announced its decision to initiate antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on imports of seamless pipe from the People's Republic of China. The products covered by these investigations include seamless carbon and alloy steel standard, line, and pressure pipes less than or equal to 16 in. in outside diameter, used in a variety of industrial piping systems. The investigation is in response to a petition launched by steel producers U.S. Steel, V&M Star and TMK IPSCO, who allege dumping margins of more than 98%. From 2006 to 2008, imports of seamless pipe from China increased by 131.52% by volume and were valued at an estimated $382 million in 2008. The ITC is scheduled
to make its preliminary injury determination on or about November 2.
MEPS: Oversupply Likely To Halt Stainless Price Rises
The latest forecast from the British metals research firm MEPS cites an excess of output by stainless steel producers in the fourth quarter of 2009 without a corresponding increase in underlying demand. Consequently, they predict a halt to a recent trend toward rising prices.
White Paper Addresses PAC Piping
Metalfab, Inc.
is offering a new white paper on design and use of powdered activated carbon (PAC) systems for control of mercury emissions from coal fired power plants. The new paper provides detailed information on proper system design, including piping, essential for storage, flow and metering of powdered activated carbon -- which can present challenging flow problems in storage silos and equipment. For a free copy and more information, call toll free: 1-800-764-2999, Fax: 973-764-0272, e-mail: sales@metalfabinc.com or visit
www.metalfabinc.com.
Cash Offered For Old Irrigation Pumps
ITT Flowtronex
announced that effective September 30, 2009, it is offering a 10% factory-direct cash rebate for the replacement of old and inefficient irrigation pump systems. For a limited time, the new "Cash for Pumpers" program will allow customers to replace pump equipment that has been in service for 15 years or more with a new Flowtronex Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) Silent Storm™ packaged pump system.
Mueller Creates Industrial Website
Mueller Industries, Inc. Industrial Products Division announces a new website (www.muellerindustriesipd.com). The website will provide an overview of products, processes, and capabilities.
The Industrial Products Division produces brass and copper alloy rod, bar, and shapes; aluminum and brass forgings; aluminum impact extrusions; and custom machined components.
** SPAM ALERT **
We are informed that a spam email has circulated in recent days peddling sexual enhancement pharmaceuticals and representing itself as emanating from BNP Media Co., our parent company. Please be assured BNP Media is not a participant in this scam. Our IT staff is doing everything possible to address the problem. We appreciate your understanding.
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| AEC Store Corner
 Leaders' Guide: Essentials of Profitable Inside Sales in Distribution on CD Rom $189.00
Present a first-rate Essentials course in-house and save dozens of hours of preparation time with this CD-ROM-based course Leader's Guide. Everything you need to successfully lead participants in your company through the Essentials of Profitable Inside Sales in Distribution© course and prepare for the exam in on this CD-ROM.
Contents include:
-Instructions
-General hints for success
-FAQs
-Exercises
-PowerPoint Presentation with notes
Follow this link to purchase this item. Call Stephanie at 248-244-1275 to order by phone!
Visit AECstore.com to view all of our products for Plumbing and PFV Pros. |
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Tech Tip #32 by Gregg Marshall
To help you make the most of the Digital Age.
Quick On-line Surveys
A lot of business decisions are made on what people think their customers want. A lot of those business decisions are flat out wrong.
Why not ask your customers (or a set of prospects) what they think? You could do a customer service satisfaction survey. Or you could poll them on how they see their business during the coming quarter(s). Or you could ask them how they feel about a new product.
The easiest way to get this information is to use an on-line survey tool. They are easy to set up and give you your results as an Excel spreadsheet you can analyze any way you want.
The two most common on-line survey tools are SurveyMonkey (http://www.surveymonkey.com) and
Zoomerang (http://www.zoomerang.com/).
Both have a free option, the most significant limitation being 100 responses per survey. And both have paid options, which remove the response limits and allow you to customize the look and feel of the survey.
Doing surveys is easy, designing great questions is harder. But even a survey with marginal questions is better than no feedback at all.
Are you using surveys? Take this survey.
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, October 7, these were some of the "Most E-mailed" articles from the Supply House Times website.
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Outokumpu's New Grades
 Outokumpu
has developed several new proprietary grades of stainless steel fittings to address corrosion issues. Many of these grades fall under the classification of austenitic-ferritics, also referred to as duplex stainless steels, which offer good resistance to local and uniform corrosion. Fittings are available in two lean duplex grades LDX 2101 and Outokumpu 2304; one duplex grade 2205 Code Plus Two; and one superduplex grade Outokumpu 2507. |
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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.
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