Supply Chain

• Denso starts up Iowa plant to serve agriculture, construction May 10, 2013

  Automotive supplier Denso Corp. has opened a thermal assembly plant and warehouse facility in Urbandale, Iowa, to supply the construction, agriculture and electric power industries.

• Petrobras to double oil, gas production by 2020: Foster May 10, 2013

  Petróleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) plans to double its oil and gas output by 2020 and become a significant exporter of oil, its top executive said.

• Timet boosts PCC but press woes persist May 09, 2013

  Precision Castparts Corp. (PCC) saw a 23.2-percent jump in net income in its fiscal fourth-quarter 2013 thanks to the contribution of its new Titanium Metals Corp. (Timet) unit, even as PCC continues to deal with problems at a key forging press.

• Freeport reiterates support for PXP buy, won’t lift offer May 09, 2013

  Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. remains committed to its proposed acquisition of Plains Exploration & Production Co.’s (PXP’s) oil and gas assets under previously agreed terms.

• Canada has backup plans for XL: official May 09, 2013

  Canada’s Northwest Territories has alternative proposals for getting Alberta crude to world markets if TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline does not get approval, a top government official said at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston.

• Alaska governor backs LNG exports; Mississippi unsure May 09, 2013

  Alaska supports the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG), its governor said at the recent Offshore Technology Conference in Houston.

• Low steel coil prices a challenge: Hannah May 09, 2013

  The early months of 2013 are proving significantly more challenging for steel distributors, Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. chairman and chief executive officer David H. Hannah said.

• Inquiries on conflict minerals rise May 09, 2013

  Regulations on the sourcing of tantalum, tin and tungsten are creating legal headaches in the U.S. manufacturing supply chain, according to panelists at the recent MetalMiner-sponsored Conflict Minerals Edge conference in Chicago.

• Import reliance said harming defense May 09, 2013

  Several congressmen and a retired U.S. Army brigadier general are calling on the federal government to reduce its dependence on foreign-sourced raw materials used in defense equipment.

• Ducommun stock hit by earnings miss May 08, 2013

  Ducommun Inc.’s first-quarter results fell below Wall Street expectations despite a 55.1-percent rise in earnings, sending its stock price plummeting this week.

• Construction, auto production outlook upbeat at AISTech May 08, 2013

  Nonresidential construction could return to pre-recession levels within the next few years, with U.S. light vehicle output hitting 17 million units annually by 2018, panelists said May 8 at the Association for Iron and Steel Technology’s AISTech 2013 conference.

• Toyota sees net income more than double May 08, 2013

  Toyota Motor Corp.’s net income for the year ended March 31 more than doubled to 962.1 billion yen ($9.7 billion) on revenues that rose 18.7 percent to 22 trillion yen ($222.3 billion) and vehicle sales that rose 20.7 percent to 8.9 million.

• Natural gas fueling US steel growth May 08, 2013

  Access to affordable natural gas will help ensure that U.S. steelmakers remain competitive in a global environment, with some domestic companies having already capitalized on its benefits, according to a number of industry executives.

• Marmon/Keystone opens Nashville distribution hub May 08, 2013

  Marmon/Keystone LLC has opened a service center near Nashville, Tenn., to distribute aluminum and stainless pipe and tube, cold-drawn seamless, cold-rolled electric-weld, drawn-over-mandrel (DOM) and hot-rolled seamless steel tubing.

• Mexico’s car production, exports rise in April May 08, 2013

  Mexico’s vehicle output increased by 15.6 percent year on year in April to 238,766 units, according to national automotive association Amia.

• Subaru of Indiana to boost auto production May 08, 2013

  Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. plans to invest between $400 million and $450 million to expand its Lafayette, Ind., campus, Indiana Economic Development Corp. and the company said in a joint statement.

• Construction index logs 4th consecutive increase in April May 08, 2013

  An improving outlook for commercial projects helped push a benchmark construction planning index up 5.2 percent month on month in April, the measure’s fourth consecutive monthly increase.

• Otto Fuchs eyes aluminum drill pipe market May 08, 2013

  German forging, extrusion and ring rolling company Otto Fuchs KG is partnering with TPS Technitube Röhrenwerke GmbH (TPS) to enter the aluminum drill pipe market.

• Employment in metals mixed in April May 08, 2013

  Employment in primary metals and the fabricated metals sector took different paths in April, with producers logging a dip while fabricators registered a gain.

• Steel buyers right-size inventories: ISM survey May 07, 2013

  Steel buyers faced softened demand, excess supply, short lead times and weak pricing in April, an industry survey shows.

• Heyco Metals promotes Mandle, Barry May 07, 2013

  Reading, Pa.-based Heyco Metals Inc. has promoted David Mandle to executive vice president and William Barry to vice president of sales and marketing.

• Spirit AeroSystems reviewing major plane programs May 07, 2013

  Aerospace contractor Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. has launched reviews of its major programs as it looks to resolve cost problems.

• Superior to break ground on new aluminum wheel plant May 07, 2013

  Superior Industries International Inc. plans an official groundbreaking for its new aluminum wheel plant in Chihuahua, Mexico, on May 15.

• Secrist to replace Calvert as president of Brown-Strauss May 07, 2013

  Ryan Secrist has been named president of Aurora, Colo.-based structural steel distributor Brown-Strauss Steel, succeeding Mike Calvert, who is retiring at the end of June.