Recycled aluminum prices will remain high
Secondary aluminum prices are expected to remain high in 2008 as scrap supplies stay tight, according to several news reports from the recent Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries meeting in Las Vegas.
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Trucking earnings reports punctuated by continued demand weakness
Trucking carriers are reporting continued signs of weak demand ahead as more freight buyers renegotiate their contracts.  Read more>>

Delta CEO: Airfares will go up further this year
Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson says domestic airfares need to be 15-20% higher than they are currently just for airlines to break even with fuel costs at record level.
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Heavy truck orders are not very robust
Heavy truck orders are being pushed out to 2009 as fleet operators start preparing to meet new 2010 emissions regulations, according to a review of bookings tracked by analysts at Bear Stearns using data from A.C.T. Research.  Read more>>

Intel cuts processor prices
Look for more price cuts from Intel. The chip maker has reduced the price of several of its microprocessors as it shifts from 65 nanometer (nm) process technology to 45nm and more price reductions are likely.
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Hard disk drives aren’t dead yet
Worldwide (HDD) unit shipments grew 18.9% to 516 million units in 2007 up from 434 million from the year before, according to researcher iSuppli.
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Copper tube maker sees housing market pickup before year’s end
A major supplier of copper tube and fittings for housing believes that the contraction of the residential construction market is close to the bottom “and will soon commence a gradual, but perhaps fitful, improvement.”  Read more>>
 

Hardwood pulp prices creep higher
Several hardwood pulp producers had trouble getting paper mills to accept all of a $30/metric ton price increase this month, but will continue pushing buyers in May.
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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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