Material Impacts on the Precision Machining Industry - August 2010
Prices are up substantially over their price a year ago--all up by double-digit percentages with the exception of Coke. Nickel is on a tear (up 170%), and both upside and downside risk are present when considering raw materials purchases and long-term pricing on the products that we produce. While U.S. Steel production in June was up 65% over a year ago, Chinese steel mill exports to the world increased 320% from June 2009 to June 2010. Washington promised “change,” but continues to do nothing.
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The prices of all raw materials that we track rose as follows over the past year:
Aluminum: Up 23% from July 2009
Brass: Up 28% from July 2009
Copper: Up 17% from July 2009
Nickel: Up 70% from July 2009
Stainless: Up 37% from July 2009
Steel, Busheling: Up 51% from July 2009
China Coke: Up 3% from July 2009
They may not call it inflation…YET. But all of the crucial raw materials we track are up double- and triple-digit percentages. In addition to the fundamentals in our local markets, there are global issues that add more risk and, thus, price variability to our industry’s raw materials. The issue of knowing where to find material remains just as important as price in the current market.
Read the complete August 2010 Material Impacts Report (PDF format) here.
