Saturday, February 25, 2012

Good News or....Bad?

Hi All!  I just read this article on Metal Center News and I thought it was very thought provoking.  We shall see what happens in the coming months!

Copper, Brass Shipments Climbing
Copper and brass shipments continued to rally in March. Total shipments were up about 13.6 percent from February 2010 and 14.3 percent over March 2009, according to the Copper and Brass Servicenter Association, Overland Park, Kansas. This trend is in line with what the manufacturing and metals markets are experiencing overall, CBSA reports.

Total copper shipments rose slightly to just under 10 million pounds. Alloy shipments also rose sharply during the month, from just over 12 million to more than 14 million pounds.
Inventory levels also continued to rise. More than half of reporting service centers indicated their inventories were on the rise during the month, while only about 10 percent reported declining inventory levels during March.

An unexpected change in March was the number of companies reporting they still had employees on short-time or lay off. The number increased from 26 percent in February to 31 percent in March for service centers, and from 17 percent to 50 percent for suppliers. Association officials say this is a number they will continue watch closely in the coming months to determine if it’s an anomaly or indicative of something else.

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