Aluminum in Game of Precision. Golfers want everything to be perfect during their game. One wrong equipment and their game is ruined. Golf is a game of precision so everything that will be used should also pass this requirement. Manufacturers …
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U.S. Claims China Guilty of Dumping
BEIJING (AP) – China criticized Washington for imposing anti-dumping duties on Chinese-made steel pipes and launched a probe Friday of imported U.S. autos, adding to trade tensions two weeks before President Barack Obama visits Beijing.
The latest moves ratchet up disputes over market access for goods from poultry and tires to Hollywood movies. But Beijing and Washington are confining the conflicts to diplomatic channels, apparently hoping to avert a trade war that could damage wide-ranging cooperation on issues such as the global economic crisis, North Korea and climate change.
The Commerce Ministry criticized the U.S. decision Thursday to raise tariffs on Chinese pipes as protectionist. It said the move violated World Trade Organization principles and commitments by Washington and other Group of 20 major economies to avoid protectionism amid the global economic crisis.
“China resolutely opposes use of such protectionist practices, and will take measures to protect the interests of domestic industry,” ministry spokesman Yao Jian said in a statement on the ministry’s Web site.
The U.S. Commerce Department said it concluded Chinese producers were dumping pipes used by the oil and gas industry and would impose duties of up to 99 percent.
Yi Xiaozhun, a deputy commerce minister, said the case was the biggest anti-dumping action yet against China by market value and affected exports worth $3.2 billion a year.
Also Friday, Beijing announced it was launching an anti-dumping investigation of imported U.S. autos. It said it was acting on a complaint by Chinese automakers but gave no details of the alleged American misconduct. The case could result in higher tariffs on U.S. autos if Chinese investigators conclude American automakers received improper subsidies or sold below fair-market price.
Beijing warned Washington at trade talks last month of the impending probe, a possible diplomatic gesture to reduce the political impact of Friday’s announcement.
Meanwhile, the Chinese steel industry group said Friday major steel mills have asked the Commerce Ministry to launch an anti-dumping investigation of U.S.- and European-made hot rolled and stainless steel. It said the steel was being sold at improperly low prices and “caused injury to the Chinese market.”
The U.S. Embassy in Beijing had no immediate comment about China’s actions Friday.
The disputes come as Obama is due to arrive Nov. 15 on his first president visit to Beijing. Both governments have repeatedly stressed the importance of stable relations and senior leaders have avoided public comments about the trade disputes.
Beijing and Washington are especially eager to avoid irritants that might derail relations as they work together with other major governments to try to pull the global economy out of its worst downturn since the 1930s.
Both governments have stuck to the dispute-resolution process laid out in WTO agreements.
In August, Beijing backed down in a dispute over auto parts and altered its import tariffs after it lost an appeal of a WTO case brought by the United States, Europe and Canada that said it treated foreign suppliers unfairly.
On Wednesday, the United States joined Europe and Mexico in asking the WTO to investigate Chinese curbs on exports of bauxite and other industrial raw materials. Beijing says it must rein in mining to protect the environment, but Washington and others say the curbs improperly give Chinese companies favorable access to some materials.
Yi, the commerce minister, repeated Chinese complaints that Washington treats China as a non-market economy. He called that status a Cold War relic and said Beijing hopes it is soon repealed.
“The ‘market economy status’ is the core of this case. An important reason why the U.S. verdict is so unfavorable to us is that it used double standards rather than the WTO standard that commonly applied by other countries,” Yi said. “That’s why our companies are treated unfairly and unequally. China is very dissatisfied.”
Source: AP Business Writer, Joe McDonald. November 2009, Manufacturing.net
Posted in Business
Tagged American Business, auto parts, automotive, Business, Manufacturing
1 Comment
Be safe with US aluminum hardware handles
Be safe with US aluminum hardware handles. The most abused part of any closure device is the handle which is why many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have turned to using aluminum hardware handles in their products. If strengthening ribs are incorporated to the aluminum handle wares, these type of handles can be stronger than steel. Cost is another consideration favoring aluminum which is cheaper than steel. Aluminum hardware handles are likewise lighter than their costlier steel-fabricated counterparts.
An aluminum die cast company as supplier of handles has also the advantage of faster production as die casting is not as time-consuming and as labor-intensive as welding several handle pieces together. Neither drilling nor welding is required because the die casting process already produces a net shape, enabling production from hundreds to thousands of pieces daily. Decorative designs could easily be added to the mold and the aluminum hardware handles could be either anodized or powder-coated without any complication in the production.
The optimum advantages offered by aluminum handles could be enjoyed particularly if these are the products of a North American aluminum die casting company. The die casters of North America enjoy the reputation of being among the finest in the world. This is the reason why many OEMs have begun to return their die casting orders to these companies after experiencing some serious problems with the quality of materials sourced from overseas. One sad tale comes from a restaurant kitchen equipment manufacturer who sued its Taiwanese supplier of the refrigerators’ door handles which pulled off the units. Solving the problem required replacement of the whole door because the handles were designed to be irreplaceable. Thankfully, such critical components as aluminum hardware handles could be more efficiently sourced from any reputable American die casting company.
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Manufacturing Consumption up 17.8% in September
U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $153.55 million for September , according to AMTDA, the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association, and AMT — The Association For Manufacturing Technology.
This total was up 17.8% from August but down 69.3% from the total of $500.57 million reported for September 2008.
With a year-to-date total of $1,199.93 million, 2009 is down 67.8% compared with 2008.
“The slight improvement in September orders indicates that we are in synch with the increases seen in the other monthly indicators such as durable goods sales, the PMI, and steel production,” said Peter Borden, AMTDA President. “The factory capacity utilization number still remains in the 65-70% range, however, and until this number returns to 75-80%, our rate of growth will be slow and sporadic.”
Breaking down the data into regions, the Northeast region was 50.8% higher than August’s $24.25 million but down 54.1% when compared with September a year ago. The year-to-date total of $237.20 million was 56.0% less than the comparable figure in 2008.
The Southern region totalled $13.50 million, down 42.8% compared with August’s $23.61 million and down 83.7% when compared with September a year ago. The $165.84 million year-to-date total was 71.0% less than the 2008 total at the same time.
In the Midwest region consumption in September rose to $45.51 million, 33.8% higher than August’s $34.01 million but down 69.3% when compared with September 2008. With a year-to-date total of $334.88 million, 2009 was down 73.0% when compared with 2008 at the same time.
And the central region reported $33.98 million, 8.5% more than the $31.33 million tally for August but off 75.7% when compared with September a year ago. The $293.57 million year-to-date total was down 68.7% when compared with the same period in 2008.
In the Western region consumption was up 39.7% to $23.99 million from August’s $17.17 million but 51.8% below the September 2008 total. At $168.43 million, 2009 year-to-date was off 61.4% when compared with last year at the same time.
Source: Industry Week
Die Casting Aluminum Lighting Fixtures
Die Casting Aluminum Lighting Fixtures. In any house, building and other man made structure that is covered or in the dark, it will need artificial lighting so that it becomes hospitable and safe. Both outdoor and indoor lighting is essential in any place where people reside because people rely on light to get things done. For those which don’t receive any natural lighting, Aluminum Lighting Fixtures are the solution to this problem. Most, if not all housing and buildings make use of this feature and aluminum is a great choice for this because it is light in weight so that it can easily be installed or replaced and at the same time, it is durable so it will last longer.
Of course, Aluminum Lighting Fixtures should be made in vast quantities at a time because structures, especially buildings, would require a lot of these artificial lighting equipments. To achieve this, the best method in creating lighting fixtures is with die casting. This process can turn the aluminum into the finished product in no time as the metal is melted and using molds and castings, can be structured into the proper shapes and sizes.
When it comes to Aluminum Lighting Fixtures, die casting is the cheapest, most reliable way to achieve high quality results. And since this method makes use of the same mold, the resulting products are always consistent when it comes to the dimensions and the quality. Fast and efficient, die casting has become very popular not only with making Aluminum Lighting Fixtures, but with other parts as well.
GM Automotive Reneges Opel Automotive Deal
Thursday, November 5, 2009
By Joe Brown
Without full details or even a reasonable explanation from General Motors Automotive, many people are scratching their heads as to why the all-but-signed deal to sell their subsidiary, Opel to parts-maker Magna, fell through.
Was it driven by the report that came out today stating October was the carmaker’s best year over year in a long time? I hope not. Regardless of the dynamics of the decision, I think this will go down as a key lesson in future business textbooks and case studies about the dangers of mixing Wall Street with Capitol Hill.
At this moment, our friends in Germany fall somewhere between annoyed and completely miffed. The thought–at least according to German workers–is that GM will likely make more cuts than Opel would have. Further, officials orchestrated a “bridge loan” to ensure Opel’s solvency while a buyer was found which they thought was finalized when Magna’s aspirations to become an even bigger player than it already was.
My concern lies with the solid relationship America had fostered with Germany may be strained slightly. The U.S. government is now the majority owner of GM (although they immediately issued a statement attempting to wash their hands of having any input in the decision) and their close ally is Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel.
The Chancellor and her cabinet had strongly supported and worked feverishly on doing whatever it took to make this deal happen. Now, her office felt completely blindsided by this and I bet only stronger and more critical comments will be out from them in the coming days. One official from Merkel’s office stated that she is considering a call to President Obama to voice her displeasure.
“After many promises and months of negotiations, GM has left workers out in the cold. This attitude from General Motors shows the ugly face of turbo capitalism. It is completely unacceptable,” according to the Chancellor’s deputy leader, Juergen Ruettgers.
True to the old adage, you can’t please them all; the US finds itself smack in the middle of a situation they probably didn’t realize before becoming a majority shareholder of a giant company. Even Russia–strong supporters of the Opel-Magna deal–released a statement from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s office calling the decision, “absolutely astonishing.”
I worry that it may be difficult for our government to save face despite the best public relations money can buy stating they had no influence on this decision (which I do believe) yet they are technically the majority owner of the company. When’s the last time you heard of a group with a controlling interest (51 %+) in an organization not have any influence on a decision of this magnitude? It just doesn’t happen and is quite the conundrum.
Now, GM execs are scrambling to update a new restructuring plan for Opel and Vauxhall.
