AUTOMOTIVE/OEM
Buying Energy
BUYLINES
Computers, Business Systems and Office Products
CPI Edition
CPI EDITION
CPI Edition
CPI EDITION
CPI Edition
CPI EDITION
CPI Edition
CPI EDITION
CPI Edition
Electronics
ELECTRONICS PURCHASING
Electronics Purchasing
ELECTRONICS PURCHASING
Electronics Purchasing
ELECTRONICS PURCHASING
| HOTLINE - Don't get too excited about oil prices and supplies
- Be prepared for more pressure on prices for corrugated boxes and fiber cans and drums
- ...On the other hand, the worst of the pulp price escalation appears to be passed
- Look for gold and silver prices to continue their slide for a few more months
- Mark your calendar for National Manufacturing Week (March 16-19)
- Keep an eye on National Labor Relations Board
- Scratch the boost in postal rates that was supposed to go into effect this May
- Take your time in accepting recently announced 10% boost in freight rates on goods moving from Asia to U.S. via ocean shipping cartel, Transpacific Stabilization Agreement
- Meanwhile, on the world scene, look for oversupply of ocean container space to disappear after 1999
- How does the design-procurement connection work in your company
- Keep an eye on inorganic chemical demand
- Don't be surprised to see many recently announced polypropylene expansions cut back or scratched altogether over the next year or so
- For tips on how some of best and brightest purchasing pros attack supplier quality, be sure to get your own copy of
- Count on a scaled-down product-liability law coming out of Congress in the next few months.
- Expect to buy more DRAMs in modules.
- Need to learn the latest trends in semiconductors and electronic commerce
ECONOMY - Economic risk factor du jour is what most refer to as "the Asian turmoil," or "the Asian crisis."
- Most analysts, it seems, think the Fed will remain "on hold" at least through first-half 1998.
- For the first time in this economic cycle, policy survey panelists (9%)
- Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose five points in November
- Thirty-six percent of business executives believe the U.S. will avoid recession until after the turn of the millennium
Markets - North American tire production will rise at a 1.6% annual rate
- Demand for building control systems was softer than expected in 1997
- Capable of using high-grade zinc?
- United States Gypsum will invest $90 million
- Motorola will spend $1.1 billion to more than double microchip capacity
- Lucent Technologies plans to spend $350 million
- Dow Chemical and Sentinel Products are forming
- Bethlehem Steel, the nation's second largest steelmaker, is trying to buy rival Lukens
- Builders are confident about future demand for new homes
- Machine tool sales totaled $6.87 billion through October
- Ticona plans to boost capacity for Celstran long-fiber reinforced thermoplastics
- The number of motor vehicles in use worldwide will grow from 625 million today to 1 billion
Prices - A bearish picture is developing for world lead prices due to expected growth in mine production
- Timken and Quanex Tube Group are leading a 4% boost in seamless mechanical tubing product prices
- Hoeganaes Corp. has proposed 4% price increases
- Market analysts predict further price turmoil for dynamic random access memory (DRAM)
- Cobalt prices will slide below $10/lb in coming years
- A proposed $20/ton April list-price increase on steel plate virtually guarantees that spot tags will rise twice as much
- Benchmark London Metal Exchange (LME) cash nickel will move from
- Producers are trying for price hikes on retail bags, grocery sacks, and multiwall shipping sacks
- Hewlett-Packard cut prices on its line of business PC workstations
- Abitibi-Consolidated plans an 8% newsprint price hike for April
INFORMEX '98
INFORMEX 98
INSIDE PURCHASING
Job Scene
METALS
Metals
MRO/DISTRIBUTION
ON THE INTERNET
PRODUCTS
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
PURCHASING SOFTWARE NEWS
Quality
QUALITY METALS
RECYCLING RESOURCES
STRATEGIES
SUPPLY INSIGHTS
Transportation
|
