PURCHASING HOTLINE

News and analysis for purchasing/supply chain management professionals

By -- Purchasing, 3/8/2001

Business conditions edged higher in January and early February, buyers report. The diffusion index rose from 40 in December to 43 in late January. A 43 still indicates the economy is contracting, but at a lower rate than it was in the past few months of 2000. Another encouraging sign is that buyers are slightly more optimistic. Forty-one percent said they were optimistic about the next six months, up from 35% in December.

Buyers are buoyed by a few encouraging economic signs. Auto sales were stronger than expected and are off only 10% from last year's record pace. Additionally, there was a surge in new job creation in January-about 268,000 new jobs were created. Pundits had predicted only 83,000 new jobs. Endorsement of a tax cut by Fed Chief Greenspan also contributed to new optimism.

Get your road map to the e-procurement landscape. PURCHASING Magazine has just published the first ever E-Census. It's a 200-page buyers' guide to suppliers of e-procurement software and a listing of where to buy different products on the Web. Detailed functionality tables indicate just who offers what. To get a copy send $79.95 plus $5 for shipping and handling to E-Census, PURCHASING Magazine, P.O. Box 497, New Town Branch, Boston MA 02456. Or call (617) 558-4348 and use a credit card.

Check out new Web site for epoxy resins. Dow Chemical Co. recently launched its e-epoxy.com, an electronic marketplace designed exclusively for online trading of epoxy resins and related products. According to Dow, the site is being set up as a low-cost procurement channel of epoxy resin materials, and is not intended to compete with other e-commerce initiatives in which the company is involved.

Want a heads-up on major supply chain issues? Subscribe to Supply Alert, a free e-mail service of tightly written stories dug up by PURCHASING Magazine's award-winning editorial staff. What are the new sourcing initiatives at Microsoft or General Motors? What's the latest word on component and materials' supplies and pricing? You'll get an early report through e-mail. Go to www.purchasing.com and click on the red "Supply Alert" button to subscribe.

Keep an eye on backdoor price increases. FMC Corp. instituted an energy surcharge of 36¢/lb on all grades of hydrogen peroxide for March to June. After June the surcharge will be adjusted quarterly based on the price of natural gas until prices return to $2.25/mbtu. The surcharge is on top of a 4¢off-list increase announced Jan. 15.

Expect better news on freight surcharges. Diesel prices are sliding, putting pressure on truckers to end surcharges in new contracts.

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