thefabricator.comYour Complete Online Metal Fabricating SourceMetal formers see little change in business conditions in next three months- June 25, 2008 According to the June 2008 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report, metal forming companies do not anticipate improvement in business conditions in the next three months. Conducted monthly, the report is an economic indicator for manufacturing, sampling 143 metal forming companies in the United States and Canada. When asked what the trend in general economic activity will be during the next three months, metal formers expect conditions to dip slightly. Just 12...http://www.thefabricator.com/news/Breaking_News.cfm?NewsID=2326 Labor market expected to remain soft in July- June 24, 2008 The SHRMRutgers Leading Indicators of National Employment&174 (LINE&174) survey of the manufacturing and private service-providing sectors, which make up more than 90 percent of the U.S. private sector employment, indicates that similar to last month, the labor market in July 2008 will remain soft and much weaker than it was a year ago. Employment expectations for July are down sharply in both the manufacturing and the service sectors. Within the manufacturing sector, the employme... Read...http://www.thefabricator.com/news/Breaking_News.cfm?NewsID=2325 Nucor names vice president, general manager of new iron-making facility- June 19, 2008 Nucor Corp. has named John C. Farris as vice president and general manager of its new iron-making facility. Farris joined the company in 1992 and has been a vice president since 2006. He has been general manager of the company's bar mill in Marion, Ohio, since 2005. Previously Farris worked as a manager at Nucor's bar mill in Jewett, Texas. Nucor previously announced its application for a permit to build a state- of-the-art iron-making facility in St. James Parish, La. The project's site is...http://www.thefabricator.com/news/Breaking_News.cfm?NewsID=2324 Survey shows U.S. manufacturers foresee domestic expansion- June 19, 2008 North American manufacturers consider the United States the most desirable country for expansion over the next three years, according to a survey released today by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), The Manufacturing Institute, the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME), and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. The largest number of North American companies (44 percent) say they intend to expand production in the U.S. over the next three years. And 57 percent of U.S. manufacturers say...http://www.thefabricator.com/news/Breaking_News.cfm?NewsID=2320 Nucor to acquire Ambassador Steel- June 12, 2008 Nucor Corp. announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Harris Steel, Inc., has signed a purchase agreement to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Ambassador Steel Corp., based in Auburn, Indiana, for a cash purchase price of approximately $185,000,000. The transaction also will include the shares of Ambassador's affiliate, Delta Erecting, Inc. Completion of the acquisition is contingent upon receipt of regulatory approvals, satisfactory completion of due...http://www.thefabricator.com/news/Breaking_News.cfm?NewsID=2298 HRB price increases continue- June 11, 2008 SteelBenchmarker&153; reported that the U.S. HRB spot price for June 9 rose 0.7 percent to $1,166 per ton, FOB the mill, for the fifteenth consecutive rise totaling $589. The Western European HRB price rose 2.9 percent to $1,119 per ton, ex-works, for the ninth consecutive time totaling $439 (on a Euro basis, it rose 4.6 percent). The world export HRB price rose 2.4 percent to $1,076 per ton, FOB the port of export for the thirteenth consecutive rise totaling $495. The Chinese ... Read morehttp://www.thefabricator.com/news/Breaking_News.cfm?NewsID=2297 Dynamic speakers to headline FABTECH Intl. & AWS Welding Show- June 9, 2008 Two dynamic keynote speakers&8212; an American inventor, entrepreneur, and tireless advocate for science and technology, and a global expert from Caterpillar&8212; highlight the FABTECH&174; International & AWS Welding Show, taking place Oct. 6-8 in Las Vegas. Jim Waters, vice president of the Caterpillar Production System at Caterpillar, will discuss Embracing the Challenges of Manufacturing in a Global Economy on Oct. 6. Waters' presentation will focus on how the world ... Read morehttp://www.thefabricator.com/news/Breaking_News.cfm?NewsID=2296 AK Steel announces July surcharges for electrical and stainless steels- June 4, 2008 AK Steel has advised its customers that an $820 per ton surcharge will be added to invoices for electrical steel products shipped in July 2008. July surcharges for the companys stainless steel products can be found on its Web site. The company said that because of continued increases in raw material costs, it will add a new surcharge for copper, effective with shipments on June 29, 2008. The surcharges are based on reported prices for raw materials and energy used to manufacture the pr... ...http://www.thefabricator.com/news/Breaking_News.cfm?NewsID=2294 GM to close plants, possibly drop Hummer- June 3, 2008 General Motors CEO Rick Waggoner announced before today's annual meeting in Delaware that GM is closing its plants in Oshawa, Ontario; Moraine, Ohio; Janesville, Wis.; and Toluca, Mexico. He also said the Hummer brand may be discontinued. The GM board has approved production of a new small Chevrolet car at its Lordstown, Ohio, plant in mid-2010 and the Chevy Volt electric vehicle in Detroit. The closings and production announcements are a response to slumping sales of pickups and SUVs pr... .http://www.thefabricator.com/news/Breaking_News.cfm?NewsID=2293 |