Thursday, March 31, 2005
Hamond Lead Times for April 2005
Well! What a difference a month makes!
For the moment, at least, steel lead times have shrunk dramatically. I actually am getting as little as 3 working days delivery on some grades and types of steel! A month ago this was a distant daydream.
And steel prices have stopped rising. In some parts of the world, they even dropped a bit. Didn't happen to us here, at least not for the small quantities of material we buy, but it's a good sign if it's happening elsewhere in the marketplace.
Predictors of the world steel market are saying this is a momentary pause, like a rest break climing a mountain. Prices, they say, will continue to climb at a more moderate rate for the next half a year or so, but after that, they will plateau. Prices a year from now will be lower than they are today, but only by a little bit.
Well, I don't have a crystal ball, only a steel one, more like a big ball bearing.
What I see reflected in it's shiny surface is a temporary advantage in the marketplace. I can actually get steel quickly, for the first time in a year, and there's a good chance that the price won't change between quote and order time.
I also have free machine time on my smaller machines (the larger ones not so much).
What this means to my customers is that I can actually promise 2-3 week lead time on small parts that need no post-processing. Add another week if they need heat treating or plating. Larger parts, you'll need to actually call our salesman John to get the details, because we have the big machines mostly booked up until June.
So if you've been holding off on placing an order because of price uncertainty, now's the time to place that order. There may not be another time like this for another 3/4 of a year or more!
Parts in stock in support of an existing blanket purchase order can, as always, be shipped with only minimal delays.
Our design department is relatively free now to start new designs.
As always, you can consult our salesman John for more detailed information.
For the moment, at least, steel lead times have shrunk dramatically. I actually am getting as little as 3 working days delivery on some grades and types of steel! A month ago this was a distant daydream.
And steel prices have stopped rising. In some parts of the world, they even dropped a bit. Didn't happen to us here, at least not for the small quantities of material we buy, but it's a good sign if it's happening elsewhere in the marketplace.
Predictors of the world steel market are saying this is a momentary pause, like a rest break climing a mountain. Prices, they say, will continue to climb at a more moderate rate for the next half a year or so, but after that, they will plateau. Prices a year from now will be lower than they are today, but only by a little bit.
Well, I don't have a crystal ball, only a steel one, more like a big ball bearing.
What I see reflected in it's shiny surface is a temporary advantage in the marketplace. I can actually get steel quickly, for the first time in a year, and there's a good chance that the price won't change between quote and order time.
I also have free machine time on my smaller machines (the larger ones not so much).
What this means to my customers is that I can actually promise 2-3 week lead time on small parts that need no post-processing. Add another week if they need heat treating or plating. Larger parts, you'll need to actually call our salesman John to get the details, because we have the big machines mostly booked up until June.
So if you've been holding off on placing an order because of price uncertainty, now's the time to place that order. There may not be another time like this for another 3/4 of a year or more!
Parts in stock in support of an existing blanket purchase order can, as always, be shipped with only minimal delays.
Our design department is relatively free now to start new designs.
As always, you can consult our salesman John for more detailed information.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Hamond Lead Times for March 2005
Current re-order times for parts not in stock are running 3-5 weeks for all our machines. The backlog on the bigger machines reported in January has been reduced to normal size.
Raw material supply remains volatile. But recently, we've been experiencing improved lead times and prices seem to have stopped rising.
Our suppliers tell us that prices could still rise again, though, so now might be as good a time as any to give us that large purchase order you've been holding back on, or at least a letter of authorization to purchase raw materials. I don't see steel prices going down any time soon, and I fully expect this lull, where steel lead times are low, to evaporate at any time.
Parts in stock in support of an existing blanket purchase order can, as always, be shipped with only minimal delays.
Our design department is relatively free now to start new designs.
As always, you can consult our salesman John for more detailed information.
Michael Wagner
Raw material supply remains volatile. But recently, we've been experiencing improved lead times and prices seem to have stopped rising.
Our suppliers tell us that prices could still rise again, though, so now might be as good a time as any to give us that large purchase order you've been holding back on, or at least a letter of authorization to purchase raw materials. I don't see steel prices going down any time soon, and I fully expect this lull, where steel lead times are low, to evaporate at any time.
Parts in stock in support of an existing blanket purchase order can, as always, be shipped with only minimal delays.
Our design department is relatively free now to start new designs.
As always, you can consult our salesman John for more detailed information.
Michael Wagner
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