Buyers see prices flattening
By Staff -- Purchasing, 11/2/2000
MOST BUYERS SAW FLAT PRICES THIS MONTH, according to Purchasing's monthly business survey. Data for October shows that more than half of respondents (56%) say prices remained the same in October. Last month, about the same percentage (55%) of buyers said they saw prices increase.
About half of buyers think that business conditions will improve in the next six months. A little more than a third of buyers say conditions will remain the same and about 13% say business conditions will worsen, according to our data.
And like last month, most buyers say that material availability is normal (about 71% this month, compared to 73% in September). About 26% of buyers say that supplies are currently tight, and only 1% of buyers think general material supplies are loose.
Most buyers say that their physical inventory levels remain the same (56%). About 38% say they are building inventory, while only 6% say they are reducing their inventory levels.
Biggest buying problems:
For buyers, this month's biggest buying problems include "limited competition due to supplier consolidations," "putting new technologies into practice," and price volatility. Other problems focused on suppliers' leadtimes and on-time delivery, especially for specialty products and resins.
Items in short supply:
Items in short supply include polycarbonate, caustic soda (diaphragm grade), ABS and other resins, and natural gas. Other products buyers say are tight include molded gaskets, stainless steel tanks, belts and specialty glass.
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