Thursday, April 27, 2006
North American Steel Prices Firm Up Despite Import Threat
MEPS STEEL NEWS
increased foreign competition does not appear to be damaging US domestic mills’ ability to raise their selling prices.
As MEPS has regularly reported, North America has the world’s highest steel prices for most products. And the premiums are far from negligible [...]
Service centre inventories – in terms of months’ supply on hand – fell to a two-year low in March.
increased foreign competition does not appear to be damaging US domestic mills’ ability to raise their selling prices.
As MEPS has regularly reported, North America has the world’s highest steel prices for most products. And the premiums are far from negligible [...]
Service centre inventories – in terms of months’ supply on hand – fell to a two-year low in March.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Hamond Lead Times for end of April 2006 and beyond
For the next month, we have extremely limited machine availability on our machines. Starting in June, we have scattered time slots still open on each of our machines, but one of our large machines is now close to fully booked until the end of August.
As always, you can consult our sales manager John for more detailed information. Call him at 416-998-0212 or email him at john.sheehy@hamond.com.
Copper prices continue to rise ... I'm sure you're as tired of hearing that as I am of writing it. Copper prices are double what they were only a year ago. You can see charts and graphs in our Stamping Out A Living blog and see some speculation about when we might find relief.
This growth in Copper base metal price has effected all Copper derivitive alloys, including Brass and Beryllium Copper.
There is an assumption floating about that commodity traders, who have no use for the metal and no intention of taking delivery of any, are bidding up the cost of copper for pure speculative reasons. That may be, and that may account for part of the rise, but a larger, underlying problem is that growth in electronics, in communications, in cars and, in the devloping countries, basic housing, is driving consumption of copper faster than it can be mined. To some extent, copper consumption will go down for electronics and communications as broadband fiber and wireless technologies get more extensively deployed. But nothing conducts and distributes power like copper. So electrical wiring for new housing and power distribution lines to supply new developments are going to beat all other uses hands down. And I don't see that stopping any time soon.
It's worth pointing out that an expensive marketplace for copper (and related alloys, like brass) makes slide forming all the more attractive. Unlike some other stamping disciplines, slide forming does not use a carrier strip, and so waste material is minimized.
As always, you can consult our sales manager John for more detailed information. Call him at 416-998-0212 or email him at john.sheehy@hamond.com.
Copper prices continue to rise ... I'm sure you're as tired of hearing that as I am of writing it. Copper prices are double what they were only a year ago. You can see charts and graphs in our Stamping Out A Living blog and see some speculation about when we might find relief.
This growth in Copper base metal price has effected all Copper derivitive alloys, including Brass and Beryllium Copper.
There is an assumption floating about that commodity traders, who have no use for the metal and no intention of taking delivery of any, are bidding up the cost of copper for pure speculative reasons. That may be, and that may account for part of the rise, but a larger, underlying problem is that growth in electronics, in communications, in cars and, in the devloping countries, basic housing, is driving consumption of copper faster than it can be mined. To some extent, copper consumption will go down for electronics and communications as broadband fiber and wireless technologies get more extensively deployed. But nothing conducts and distributes power like copper. So electrical wiring for new housing and power distribution lines to supply new developments are going to beat all other uses hands down. And I don't see that stopping any time soon.
It's worth pointing out that an expensive marketplace for copper (and related alloys, like brass) makes slide forming all the more attractive. Unlike some other stamping disciplines, slide forming does not use a carrier strip, and so waste material is minimized.
New Spot Staining Facility Developed at Hamond Industries
Hamond has recently, in response to a customer requirement, developed the ability to spot stain a metal part.
A quick drying metal stain can be applied selectively to a particular area of a metal part to mark it. The stain dries quickly enough that it doesn't significantly impare our high production rate.
Such a mark could be used for lot control or other purposes where a limited number of colours is acceptable. Blue and Red are the common colours used, but we can also do orange, green, yellow, black and purple.
If this facility interests you, please contact our sales manager John Sheehy for more information.
A quick drying metal stain can be applied selectively to a particular area of a metal part to mark it. The stain dries quickly enough that it doesn't significantly impare our high production rate.
Such a mark could be used for lot control or other purposes where a limited number of colours is acceptable. Blue and Red are the common colours used, but we can also do orange, green, yellow, black and purple.
If this facility interests you, please contact our sales manager John Sheehy for more information.
This BLOG brought to you by
Hamond Industries Ltd - the Slide Forming Specialists
