http://www.manufacturethis.org/2008/04/28/of-jobs-and-indiana/ Just another WordPress weblog Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:15:30 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1.2 http://www.manufacturethis.org/2008/04/28/of-jobs-and-indiana/#comment-22745 Randy Strader Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:02:56 +0000 http://www.manufacturethis.org/2008/04/28/of-jobs-and-indiana/#comment-22745 Understanding the primaries and the debates are the focal point, what can we do to ease the impact of China’s unscrupulous behavior? In a little over a half a year the political circus will be over and we still will not have an answer. My industry is greatly impacted by the globalization of the steel market, because we make semi-finished steel products. The issues being driven by the Chinese policies are a piece of the pie and need to be addressed. I would like to know if anyone has an answer of what my company and I can do to increase the pressure on addressing these issues. Are there other groups, along with AAM, that we can participate in? Is there anything other then speaking to walls in congress? The second issue is within our borders. The steel companies are recording above average performances on revenues due to the unprecedented amount of price increases this year. Americans are very good at adapting to what is thrown at them, but we are not good at looking at the impact to everyone as a whole. These price hikes are putting the manufacturers, using steel products, in a bind. We have to increase prices to the point that we are no longer competitive with overseas competitors. The large steel producers have rammed the prices down our throat, with little or no delivery performance. Through it all we are being told to “grin and bear it”. Does anyone know of any way to address this? The manufacturing companies, within the United States, need the big brothers to play nice so that we may all survive. This would benefit everyone and will pay large dividends in the end. There are opportunities for semi-finished product producers and finished product producers to gain on the global market. The only way we may be competitive is if the steel mills hold prices and give us that chance. By working together we can increase our sales, which will correlate in increased sales to the mills. Eventually the little guys are going to drown and mill sales will go down creating much less demand within the United States. A little patience is needed for the steel manufacturers to gain ground globally. Any help or direction to this matter would be greatly appreciated. Understanding the primaries and the debates are the focal point, what can we do to ease the impact of China’s unscrupulous behavior? In a little over a half a year the political circus will be over and we still will not have an answer. My industry is greatly impacted by the globalization of the steel market, because we make semi-finished steel products. The issues being driven by the Chinese policies are a piece of the pie and need to be addressed. I would like to know if anyone has an answer of what my company and I can do to increase the pressure on addressing these issues. Are there other groups, along with AAM, that we can participate in? Is there anything other then speaking to walls in congress?
The second issue is within our borders. The steel companies are recording above average performances on revenues due to the unprecedented amount of price increases this year. Americans are very good at adapting to what is thrown at them, but we are not good at looking at the impact to everyone as a whole. These price hikes are putting the manufacturers, using steel products, in a bind. We have to increase prices to the point that we are no longer competitive with overseas competitors. The large steel producers have rammed the prices down our throat, with little or no delivery performance. Through it all we are being told to “grin and bear it”. Does anyone know of any way to address this? The manufacturing companies, within the United States, need the big brothers to play nice so that we may all survive. This would benefit everyone and will pay large dividends in the end. There are opportunities for semi-finished product producers and finished product producers to gain on the global market. The only way we may be competitive is if the steel mills hold prices and give us that chance. By working together we can increase our sales, which will correlate in increased sales to the mills. Eventually the little guys are going to drown and mill sales will go down creating much less demand within the United States. A little patience is needed for the steel manufacturers to gain ground globally. Any help or direction to this matter would be greatly appreciated.

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