Steel Scrap Prices Are Still Climbing

U.S. scrap metal prices are moving upward $30 - $50 per ton in April over March 2010 and have been growing for six months in a row. James Coulas of Weldbend said, "Scrap metal is a driving force in the welding fitting and flange market because of the percentage of steel used."

Coulas also noted an announced $200 a ton increase in seamless pipe from a Japanese company effective April 1st, and U.S. mills are expected to follow in the next few months.

These and many more insights about PVF pricing are revealed in the latest "Market Condition & Activity Bulletin" compiled under the auspices of the ASA Industrial Piping Division and published on the website of Piping & Equipment, Inc.

HD Supply Lost $514 Million In '09
HD Supply reported sales for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2010 were $7.4 billion, down 24% from a year ago. The company recorded a loss of $514 million, compared to the prior year loss of $1.3 billion. Read more about the company's travails in this recent Atlanta Business News article.

OCTG Antidumping Duties Imposed On China
As expected, the Commerce Department imposed penalties of up to 99% on some $2.7 billion worth of oil field pipe imports from China. It is one of the largest ever dumping decisions against Chinese goods.  Tianjin Pipe received a final dumping rate of 29.94%, as did 37 other Chinese respondents. All other Chinese exporters are subject to the final dumping rate of 99%. The U.S. International Trade Commission could still strike down the anti-dumping duties if it decides domestic producers have not been harmed by the lower-priced Chinese products. That vote is scheduled for May 10. The panel has already found injury in the countervailing duty portion of the case.

Wholesaler Sales Finally Turn Up
A quarterly survey of business conditions by the North Central Wholesalers Association showed member sales rising a median 3.3% in March. Sales performance among the 32 wholesalers responding ranged from an increase of 38% to a decline of - 19.7%. Sales for the group declined overall in the 1st quarter by a median 1.91%, though March's performance was the first sign of an uptick in a long time.

Cameron Restructures
Cameron has completed a major restructuring of its Valves and Measurement (V&M) group, resulting in the formation of a new division, Flow Management Solutions (FMS), and combines two existing divisions, Engineered Valves and Process Valves, into one (EPV). The EPV division provides a broad portfolio of critical service valves used in oil and gas production, processing, and refining, and leverages technology and common processes across the market segments. The Distributed Valves Division and the Measurement Systems Division remain unchanged as separate divisions within V&M. Separately, the company named Eleanor Ryan-Jones as vice president, marketing for the V&M group. She had been serving as director of marketing for the Measurement Systems division.

Raritan Nears 6 Grand For Babies
Raritan Pipe & Supply reported raising more than $5,000 and expecting to reach its goal of $6,000 for the "March for Babies" charity walk on April 25. The event is sponsored by the March of Dimes.

New Materials Head At Marmon/Keystone
Marmon/Keystone announced that Vernon Donaldson has been promoted to manager of material requirements planning at the company's corporate office, replacing Robert Jordan, who is retiring as of April 23. Donaldson has been with the company since 1998 and most recently served as a buyer at the corporate office.

Piping System Course Created
Engineered Software has added a new course titled, "Piping System Assessment and Optimization," based on the recently approved ASME standard "Energy Assessment for Pumping Systems Standard" (ASME EA-2-2009). The three-day course teaches attendees how to evaluate energy consumption within piping systems. The course awards 2.4 continuing educational credits or 24 professional development hours upon completion. The first course will be held on April 27-29, 2010 in Lacey, WA. For registration and further information, visit www.eng-software.com, call 800-786-8545 or email register@eng-software.com.

supplyFORCE Gains GSA Contract
supplyFORCE , a network of independent MRO distributors, has been awarded a 5-year General Services Administration (GSA) 51V contract from the federal government.  The supplyFORCE contract gives federal customers the opportunity to purchase more than 30,000 products from 110 distributor members of supplyFORCE for their electrical, industrial, safety, PVF, plumbing and HVAC MRO needs.

Download Free Pump Systems Info
The Hydraulic Institute and Pump Systems Matter have made available for free four separate-topic Web downloads: The Pump System Improvement Modeling Tool™ (PSIM), a software download; Life Cycle Cost Guide , a 16 page Executive Summary of the detailed and more complete guidebook, Pump Life Cycle Costs: A Guide to LCC Analysis for Pumping Systems; a 15-page Executive Summary of the popular guidebook, Variable Speed Pumping: A Guide to Successful Applications; and an Executive Summary of Optimizing Pumping Systems, A Guide for Improved Energy Efficiency, Reliability & Profitability. Visit www.pumpsystemsmatter.org.

Reconsidering Global Sourcing

A Grant Thornton survey found more respondents than ever relying on global sourcing, but enjoying it less. While 82% engage in outsourcing, with China being the top choice, less than half of the firms surveyed said it produced a positive ROI. Problems include rising labor and shipping costs, long lead times, quality issues and more.

AEC Store Corner 

New to AECStore.com

Pump Characteristics and Applications,
Second Edition // $117.95

This hands-on reference offers a practical introduction to pumps and provides the tools necessary to select, size, operate, and maintain pumps properly. It highlights the interrelationship of pump engineering from system and piping design to installation and startup.  This updated second edition expands on many subjects introduced in the first edition and also provides new in-depth discussion of pump couplings, o-rings, motors, variable frequency drives, pump life-cycle cost, corrosion, and pump minimum flow.

Follow this link for a complete description. or to purchase this item.

Visit AECStore.com to view all of our technical resources, CDs and DVDs.

Tech Tip #45 by Gregg Marshall
To help you make the most of the Digital Age.

Recycling Your Electronics

My daughter works for Whole Foods. As a college-aged person, she has enthusiastically embraced the save-the-world ethos many young people have.  We're now using reusable shopping bags and recycling our plastic, glass and metal.

Technology moves fast. I have been recommending people look at computer purchases like office supplies instead of capital expenditures required by the IRS for 20 years. If you look at your computer as a capital asset you tend to live with outdated technology too long. Given the cost of powerful systems, both desktop and portable, it is easy to justify replacing your system every year or two based solely on productivity improvements.

That leaves you with a dilemma. What do you do with the outdated equipment? The obvious first solution is trickle down. Use your old system to upgrade another employee. Use that employee's system to upgrade another employee, etc. If it is still working, donate it to a school or non-profit.  Just because you've moved on to an upgraded system doesn't mean it isn't more than powerful enough to support word processing and/or Internet surfing.

Or give it to an employee to take home. We did that a lot in my old company. I figured that time spent on a home computer increased employees' working knowledge of computers and made them more productive at work.

If you do give your old system to someone else, remember to securely erase the hard drive first. You don't want sensitive information leaking out. Don't just delete the files, do a full DOD erase with a program like Eraser (http://heidi.ie/eraser/).

If your electronic "junk" isn't working, or is so old that it can't be donated, don't just throw it away.  Most electronics contains toxic materials and valuable metals that need to be reclaimed. Two resources for recycling electronics are: www.myboneyard.com and www.gcycle.org.

Don't just dispose of electronics--find a way to recycle them instead. Planet Earth will thank you.

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.

What's The Industry Buzzing About?

• Why Your Inventory Investment May Be Less Important Than You Think 
• Construction Spending Drops To 2002 Levels 
• Top Products Of 2009

German Piping Software Now Available
Engineered Software Inc. announced a partnership with German software company, F.I.R.S.T. GmbH, to be the North American point of contact for all sales of the CONVAL® engineering calculation software program. This sales partnership aims to bring the CONVAL program into the forefront of the North American markets, and PIPE-FLO® into the European markets. The calculations made by CONVAL's different program modules can be pulled into PIPE-FLO making valve calculations and selection easier, accurate and more specific. The CONVAL program has over 24 valve manufacturers' catalogs and thousands of fluid tables and fluid aliases available in the program and is also multi-lingual. More information on the latest release of the CONVAL program can be found on the ESI website, http://eng-software.com/products/conval/.

Grinnell Stainless Full-Flow Fittings
Tyco Fire Suppression & Building Products announces the release of its GRINNELL Mechanical Products Stainless Steel Full-Flow Fittings . The fittings are comprised of Type 304 or 316 stainless steel and are solution annealed for enhanced corrosion resistance. These fittings are a proven solution for rooms or facilities that require non-corrosive conditions, including pulp and paper plants, chemical food lines, wastewater treatment plants, and pharmaceutical laboratories.