Business
China impacts raw materials market
Raw-materials junkies can appreciate the impact that China has on prices for the ingredients used to make steel and other metals. For those who can’t, consider this data, courtesy of the International Iron and Steel Institute.
In 1994, China produced 91.5 million metric tons of steel, slightly more than the 88.9 million metric tons that U.S. steelmakers produced and less than 13 percent of global production. Fifteen years later, China produced 567.8 million metric tons of steel, about 10 times more than U.S. producers and nearly 47 percent of global production.
Consider China’s need for nickel, used to make the stainless steel found in cars, appliances and other everyday items. In 1995, China consumed about 4 percent of the nickel sold each year, according to Roskill Information Services, a London-based metals and minerals watcher. China’s demand has grown an average of 25 percent annually over the last decade, and now accounts for nearly 30 percent of world nickel consumption.
Given China’s healthy and growing appetite, what kind of leverage do you think it has when negotiating prices for iron ore, scrap, coal and other steelmaking ingredients?
“(The Chinese) have a big influence on raw-materials prices all around the world,” said Jeff Mindlin of the Pittsburgh-based Mindlin Fund.
China’s ascendency to the third-largest economy in the world has profound implications for pricing, said James Burnham, Ph.D., who teaches business at Duquesne University.
“China’s rate of growth, whether it’s consumer-driven or export-driven, will continue to be a major factor in world commodity markets,” Burnham said.
Say you’re a U.S. electric utility looking for thermal coal for your power plant or a U.S. steelmaker seeking the metallurgical coal used to make coke, which fuels blast furnaces. Chances are your supplier has noticed that markets around the globe are growing faster than the mature U.S. economy and has at least investigated doing business there.
Consol Energy has.
The company announced an Asian initiative in December, saying it will sell coal through a partner that has offices in Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo and Singapore. Since then, Consol has sold nearly a half-million tons to Asian customers.
The initiative “has meaningful implications for Consol’s earnings in 2010 and beyond,” president and CEO J. Brett Harvey said.
North America has significant sources of high-quality metallurgical coal that are lacking in other parts of the world, said James Moss of First River Consulting, a Pittsburgh metals industry consulting firm.
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Commonwealth Court has supported the findings in an unemployment compensation case, and the conclusion that a former employee of a local company was not entitled to benefits.
Bruce R. Taylor was fired May 8, 2009, from G.W. Becker Inc., Hermitage, after a lathe he was moving from a truck to the company’s Grove City plant fell off a forklift and was destroyed.
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The Shenango Valley Mall in Hermitage is under new management.
Chicago-based Urban Retail Properties LLC has been awarded the contract for management and leasing services effective immediately, according to a news release issued Tuesday.
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FNB Corp. had a “solid” second quarter, the Hermitage-based financial company’s president and chief executive officer said Monday.
“I’ve very pleased with the quarter. We made 16 cents (per share),” Stephen J. Gurgovits said. “It just turned out to be a very good quarter.”
Loans and deposits are up and expenses are stable, he said.
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Grant to pay for land study
Penn-Northwest Economic Development Corp. has received a $129,360 planning grant to perform a market analysis of the 218 acres Mercer County owns at Interstate 80 and Route 19 in East Lackawannock Township, said Douglas Thomas, chairman of Penn-Northwest’s sites committee.
A study will be performed to determine the site’s best use, the possible positioning of buildings, what kinds of buildings would be appropriate and how utilities can be extended onto the site, Thomas said Wednesday.
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Planning begins now for future business incubator
Although construction has only just begun to build a technology center in Hermitage’s LindenPointe technical business park, it’s not too soon to plan the mission and function of the business incubator side of the center.
Debra Steiner, executive director of the Gannon Small Business Development Center, Erie, told Penn-Northwest Development Corp.’s board Wednesday that incubators function much like parents do with children.
“You need someone who will make day-in and day-out contact with the tenants,” she said.
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Company files patent suit over truck fender design
Jones Performance Products Inc. of West Middlesex has filed a federal design patent infringement suit against a competitor over a truck fender.
Jones, of 1 Jones Way, said it received a patent for an “ornamental arc design” fender for installation of some models of big rigs in 2007, and sells it to customers and distributors.
Bad Ass Parts of Louisville, Ky., ripped off the design and has been selling its own version, according to the lawsuit filed last month in U.S. District Court, Pittsburgh. -
Rep says tech training key
Historically, American manufacturers have paved the way in technological and scientific advances.
But over the years foreign producers have eaten away at what used to be a distinct American advantage. U.S. Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper said she wants the government to bankroll scientific advances to help American producers get back on track.
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Aqua plan helps some pay their water bill
Aqua Pennsylvania Inc. is reminding customers that its Helping Hand assistance program is available to low-income families who find it difficult to pay their water bills.
The Helping Hand program offers customers a payment plan to pay down arrears and ensure their water isn’t turned off; an opportunity for customers who make payments on time to earn a monthly credit toward their arrears; and a conservation kit to help customers curb usage and therefore, reduce their bills.
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Local bankers getting steady refinancing business
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‘Heartbeat of Clarion’ to stop
CLARION, Pa. (AP) — There’s a hum here, soft yet ever-present.
The noise is drowned out during the din of the day, but late at night the sound of the Owens-Illinois glass plant reverberates through this town of 6,000 people.
Mayor Andrea Estadt calls it the “heartbeat of Clarion,” an enunciation from a plant that has been a centerpiece of community employment and pride for 105 years.
But when the glass plant closes July 1, Estadt said, it’ll be silent here.
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Court: No benefits to worker who damaged equipment
