Buyer optimism is down, but prices remain low
By Staff -- Purchasing, 4/8/1999
While a majority of buyers still project business to be better in six months, the figure fell ten points from last month--down to 51%. And 10% of metals buyers surveyed expect business to be worse in six months--a seven-point rise.This decline in enthusiasm is not due solely to prices. Although steel and aluminum price declines seem to be slowing, most buyers are still seeing low-priced metals. Forty-five percent of aluminum buyers report lower price tags than last month, an eight-point decline. For steel, 42% of buyers report lower prices. That's also down by eight. Copper and brass tags buck the trend, with 32% reporting lower prices--a seven-point gain over last month. Few buyers are seeing higher prices--only 8% of steel buyers and 7% of aluminum buyers say tags went up compared to last month.
Availability also continues to be good, although the number of buyers reporting tight conditions is up from last month. Twelve percent say metals from mills are in tight supply--that's a 12-point rise. Five percent say metals are tight from distributors--a five-point rise. In each case, sixty percent of buyers surveyed report metals availability as normal.
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