Miners upgrade logistics infrastructure to meet demand
With demand and prices for commodities like coal and iron ore high in many global markets, mining firms are working to upgrade their rail infrastructure in an effort to get more material into the market.  Read more>>

Stainless steel flat-roll hikes fail to stick
North American stainless sheet buyers appear to have forced producers to withdraw a 5% base price hike. Buyers tell Purchasing.com that purchases have been so soft that buyers are holding back on orders rather than accept higher prices.  Read more>>

Nymex crude oil futures near $115/barrel
Crude oil prices hit record of $114.68/barrel in morning trading today as new government reports show crude and gasoline supplies fell more than expected last week.  Read more>>

LCD monitor prices increase
There’s good and bad news with liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor prices for computers. The bad news is that prices have started to increase.  Read more>>

Demand rises for image sensors
The worldwide image sensor market will increase by 10% in 2008 to a record high of nearly $7.6 billion up, from about $6.9 billion last year, according researcher IC Insights.
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Spot uranium prices have weakened
The spot-market price has slipped below $70/lb for uranium grade U3O8, according to price-reporting firms TradeTech (citing $69) and Ux Consulting (noting $68).
Read more>>

Linerboard price discounting reported
East Coast paperboard buyers are reporting $30/ton discounting this month off the $555 list price for 42-lb linerboard.  Read more>>
 

MONDAY MIDDAY BUSINESS REPORT 
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Aerospace companies team up to drive LEAN principles into their supply base Cessna Aircraft is looking to achieve competitive advantage through superior supply base management. In this Leaders in Procurement videocast, Don Beverlin, Cessna’s VP of Supply Management discusses the company’s participation in the Supplier Excellence Alliance, an aerospace industry initiative to create a proven process for deploying LEAN principles to improve supplier performance. Click here to view the video.

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Cessna supply management goes global Supply base globalization brings many challenges. In this Leaders in Procurement videocast, Don Beverlin, Cessna’s VP of Supply Management discusses the leading aerospace company’s globalization challenges – from understanding cultural differences, to recruiting in-country talent, to managing legal and regulatory compliance; also, Cessna’s globalization success stories in Poland, Mexico and China.  Click here to view the video.

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PURCHASING'S 2007 SALARY SURVEY
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BLACK BELT NEGOTIATORS
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