subcon scene materials supply
Aluminium
In common with the correction seen in other
commodities, the traded value of Aluminium fell
below $2500 entering the third quarter of 2007
but recovered by mid-November to a spot price
above $2600. Mills supplying standard 6082
products reported the market as ‘softer’ than
earlier in the year; however, producers of the
harder alloys (7075, 2014) remained busy. This,
along with FMA2011 and especially the Green
Alloy 6026, is the area of greatest concern as
extended lead-times have become commonplace.
Sterling was strong for most of 2007 and this
helped where raw materials are traded in US
dollars. Notwithstanding cuts in interest rates,
sterling is expected to remain strong short-term.
Capacity remains tight for hard alloys and this
appears to be the case looking towards the first
quarter of 2008. In November SAPA announced
the closure of its aluminium extrusion mill and
foundry in Banbury. This used to be a large
volume soft alloy producer, employing 300
people, but to-day is classed as a high cost
producer when compared against other mills
within the SAPA group.
A comprehensive range of materials from
quality sources is available. Lead-time for standard
6082 extrusions is 4 weeks. Large bar and heavy
extrusion and plate in 6082, 2014, 7075 is 12 weeks.
Brass rod
The Brass Basis price slipped to a recent low of
£3950/tonne in November ; at that time copper
cash was down to $6825.5/tonne and zinc at
$2506 (in September they stood at $7580 and
www.btma.org
Raw material supply, in terms of price and availability, is critical for subcontract
engineering companies. At the recent BTMA AGM the Technical Members
representing the material sector reflected on trends at the turn of the year.
Price & delivery
$3070 respectively). This depreciation is blamed
on uncertainty in the financial markets, which
in turn is placing restrictions upon credit and
therefore producing a lower demand, especially
in the USA and Europe. Demand in Europe and
the UK appears subdued with larger end users
and distributors reporting lower than expected
activity levels on brass products - evidently a little
more than the traditional year end destocking.
Lead times are currently excellent with most
machining or stamping rod above 10mm
diameter offered inside two weeks.
Steel
Companies supplying the oilfield, energy,
aerospace or construction markets report a
buoyant 2007, although this may be tempered
back if exporting to dollar trading countries due
to the weakness of the dollar. Otherwise,
particularly where off-the-shelf, commodity
products are required, the picture is mixed.
Companies who have manoeuvred themselves
into niche markets have generally been quite
busy; others are finding life very competitive and
are not enjoying a regular and steady demand.
Commodity type products are still readily
available ex-stock or on short lead times and nontreated
specials can usually be sourced in around
8/12 weeks or even sooner, but these are
increasingly likely to be subject to higher
minimum quantities. New orders on mills for
hardened and tempered materials need to be
placed on 12-20 week lead times, which makes
forecasting very tricky - so any projected forward
usages from customers can be most helpful.
BTMA launches training scheme for members
THE skills shortage is a significant issue for BTMA members, most being SMEs with limited resources to run their own training schemes. Traditional
apprenticeship schemes have largely disappeared and the range of college courses available fall short of the needs of parts manufacturers that are running
modern machinery.
The BTMA has therefore launched the first in a series of short courses to address the needs of member companies. The courses are organised and run by
technical members within the BTMA whose interests cover CNC machine tools, cutting tools, CAD/CAM, materials & lubricants and production software.
Designed and developed by the members, for the members, this structured training program consists of a series of short inexpensive courses that can be
taken at a pace to suit the member company and the aptitude of the trainee.
Starting with a one-day intensive tooling course the trainee progresses to a 4 day CNC Setter/ Operating Basic Course which is designed to introduce the
skills required to program and operate a 2/3 axis CNC lathe. Subsequent courses will be offered to intermediate and advanced levels.
The BTMA believes that the high demand for training will make the scheme a significant benefit of membership and enhance the appeal of the Association
to companies wishing to join. Companies whose core activity is the repetition manufacture of precision turned parts and/or machined components within the
United Kingdom, generally with at least 50% of its turnover being in respect of products manufactured for and supplied to its customers on a sub-contract
basis are eligible for membership. www.btma.org
68 MWP january 2008
Steels coming from mills that are serving
buoyant markets or those that are on long lead
times have mainly held or even increased their
base prices during the year, whilst items that are
readily available for replacement have been more
challenging. Alloy surcharges, which (on alloy
steels as opposed to stainless) change quarterly,
saw molybdenum and chrome increase for Q4,
whilst nickel bearing steels, which have been
quite volatile this year, saw a downward
correction.The latest forecast on nickel is for it to
start rising again, but more gradually.
Stainless steel
Demand for stainless steel long products remains
steady at a good level and confidence in relative
price stability appears to have returned. Demand
remains particularly high for martensitic and
duplex grades, used extensively in the oil
exploration and extraction industries. Generally,
however, there are no serious concerns about
availability. Stocks are at a good level and forward
lead times are around 3 months.
The nickel price has settled around the
$32000/tonne mark which would suggest a
small increase (around 6p/kg) in the prices of
austenitic grades going into December and
beyond. The price of molybdenum has stabilised
at around $74000/tonne after hitting a high of
$77000 in March. The volatile element is now
Chrome, the price of which has almost doubled
since the beginning of 2007, leading to higher
surcharges on ferritic grades than we have been
used to seeing. The increase in the surcharge on
a 430 material has been 9p/kg since May.
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