Titanium mill product prices are easing, and buyers think there will be more declines later this year. Spot prices for aircraft-grade are down 10-15% from last summer, due primarily to anticipated cutbacks in Boeing's airliner programs. Boeing is reducing its production schedules for commercial airliners by 20-25% starting in February.

"We are starting to see some more softness" in titanium tags, says a buyer at a large service center chain. The spot price of benchmark titanium 6-4 ingot has slipped below $7/lb (from almost $8/lb last summer). "I have seen leadtimes on ingot as short as six weeks," says another buyer, noting that early in 2001 leadtimes had moved out to more than 40 weeks.

Prices on titanium 6-4 bar have weakened to $1.50/lb from $2.50, and leadtimes on rolled bar have dropped to about eight weeks from 26 weeks last summer. Large-diameter forged bar deliveries are 12-15 weeks compared to 46 weeks earlier.

Contrasted with long products, flat-rolled aerospace grades are showing only a 3-5% price slide. Buyers say sheet and plate didn't see the big price increases logged by ingot, billet and bars in 2000 and first half 2001. However, industrial-grade sheet and plate also showed a 7% fourth-quarter price slide last year, according to Purchasing's monthly survey.