Supply Chain

• 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.

• Ford to add third shift at Kansas City plant May 06, 2013

  Ford Motor Co. plans to hire more than 2,000 workers and add a third shift at its assembly plant in Kansas City, Mo., in order to support demand for its F-150 pickup and produce a new line of commercial vehicles.

• Drew Industries targets third-party buyers, eyes steel alternatives May 06, 2013

  Drew Industries Inc. is increasingly selling aluminum extrusions to third parties as well as looking to offer aluminum alternatives to steel parts, an executive said.

• Nissan to open 3d Mexican plant by year-end May 06, 2013

  Nissan North America Inc. says it is making rapid progress on the construction of its third manufacturing plant in Mexico.

• Mexican distributors in ‘price war’: Conadiac May 06, 2013

  Excess supply and low demand are the two main issues affecting the profitability of Mexican steel distributors, a key industry figure told AMM sister publication Steel First.

• Shale gas driving power prices down: Alcoa May 06, 2013

  The shale oil and gas boom in the United States is helping to reduce electricity costs and give big power consumers, such as aluminum smelters, more clout in rate negotiations, according to Alcoa Inc. chairman and chief executive officer Klaus Kleinfeld.

• GM prepares to add shifts as it ramps up truck production May 06, 2013

  North America continues to be a growth market for General Motors Co., chairman and chief executive officer Daniel F. Akerson said during the automaker’s first-quarter earnings conference call.

• Downstream growth paying off: Olympic May 06, 2013

  Metals service center operator Olympic Steel Inc. continues to grow its capacity and move further into downstream processing in spite of a slow-growing economy and tepid steel demand, executives said.

• Russel targets energy opportunities May 06, 2013

  Service center operator Russel Metals Inc.’s foray into the energy business has intensified since the Mississauga, Ontario-based company’s acquisition of Apex Distribution Inc. in November, giving its leaders a better view of what’s happening in the oil patch.

• MRC Global expects pickup in 2d qtr. May 03, 2013

  MRC Global Inc. expects activity in the midstream market to pick up during the second quarter after the company saw a first-quarter slowdown due to colder winter weather.