Cooling Coffee Prices Hit a 3½-Year Low

Arabica coffee prices settled at a 3½-year low on expectations of an onslaught of beans from top grower Brazil.

Coffee for July delivery on the ICE Futures U.S. exchange fell 2.8 cents, or 2.2%, to $1.2725 a pound on Friday, the lowest settlement for the most actively traded contract since Oct. 1, 2009. While prices have been falling for much of the year as global supplies have exceeded demand, the latest leg of the drop comes as farmers in Brazil are harvesting new coffee beans even as they haven’t finished selling last season’s supplies.

Brazil, which accounts for about one-third of the world’s coffee supply, is expected to produce 48.6 million 60-kilogram bags of arabica beans this season, a record for an “off-year” crop. Brazil traditionally has harvested its coffee on a two-year cycle, with the “on year” producing a larger crop, followed by a smaller crop in the “off year.”

via Cooling Coffee Prices Hit a 3½-Year Low – WSJ.com.

US lumber futures fall most in 18 months as exports plunge

U.S. lumber futures fell nearly 2 percent on Friday, capping their deepest streak of losses in 1-1/2 years as a resurgence in the domestic housing market was overshadowed by plunging wood exports from the U.S. West Coast.

CME lumber for July delivery on Friday settled $5.80 lower at $297.40 per tbf, the lowest price since Oct. 24,  and dipping below the threshold of $300 per thousand board feet for the first time since October.

Prices have declined more than 25 percent since notching an eight-year high of $400.80 per tbf in February.

via US lumber futures fall most in 18 months as exports plunge | Reuters.

Don’t Sweat the Details – It’s the Direction that Counts

Years ago, while working for Green Giant, I phoned our steel can sales rep to ask for a 4% reduction. We had information suggesting steel prices had fallen 8%.
He certainly wasn’t very happy and, as expected, argued against any decrease.

“Are you saying you’re still purchasing steel at the same price as before?” I asked. “That would be surprising.”

“Um… no, of course not”, he said, “but look – let me get back to you.”

To learn more, follow the Negotiating Nugget on Propurchaser.

Plant Tours Worth every Minute

The struggle to find “good fit” suppliers never ends. And finding the right suppliers has never been more important than right now. The global recession has put many companies’ very survival at stake.
How do you make sure – really sure – that your supplier is capable of going the distance providing you with the price, quality and service that your company and your customers demand?

Well, you could take the sales rep’s word for it. But we strongly suggest you see for yourself.

Simple as it sounds, an actual tour is the best way to gather reliable information about your supplier‘s all-important cost drivers, quality commitment and service culture.

It may seem like an inconvenience or a time-waster. But that plant tour will reveal so much about that supplier that it’s almost a crime not to go see. You really can’t do it from your office or even on the Internet. What is required is an old fashion, non-virtual plant tour…… You still gotta go look!

What follows is some lengthy, but worthwhile, advice on taking plant tours so that you get the insight and information you need to judge your suppliers’ capabilities and competitiveness.
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Rebar Set for Weekly Decline as Iron Ore Falls to Five-Month Low

Steel reinforcement-bar futures headed for a weekly loss as the price of iron ore, the main ingredient in steelmaking, fell to the lowest in five months. Rebar for delivery in October on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell as much as 0.6 percent to 3,529 ($575) a metric ton and was at 3,531 at 10:15 a.m. local time.

Futures have declined 3 percent this week, the most since the week ended April 19.

Ore with 62 percent iron content at the port of Tianjin fell 1.1 percent to $125 a dry ton yesterday, according to The Steel Index Ltd. “The view that iron ore prices will continue to decline is becoming more convincing, which leads to expectations for lower steel-products prices in the second half of 2013,” Zhang Lei, analyst at Nanhua Futures Co., said by phone from Shenyang today.

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Surging Chinese Steel Exports Put Pressure on World Prices

A surge in Chinese steel production and a flood of exports are pressuring world-wide steel prices despite Beijing’s efforts to rein in the steel industry, in the latest example of the global impact of China‘s massive industrial overcapacity.

Global steel prices have fallen 3.5% since February to an average of $710 a ton, according to MEPS steel consultancy. While China hasn’t been shipping much more directly to the U.S., much of its material is destined for the world’s largest economy via trans-shipments through Japan, South Korea, Singapore or Malaysia.

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The U.S. Natural Gas Story in 15 Charts

The story of U.S. natural gas gets referenced a lot but you may not know whats going on. Here are 15 charts that tell the story of the U.S. natural gas market which has been completely changed by the rise of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

In the past few years, new technologies and cheaper costs allowed producers to access gas trapped in parts of the U.S. previously considered unreachable.

Read the rest of The U.S. Natural Gas Story in 15 Charts » » »

Baosteel cuts steel products prices in China

Baosteel, the nation’s largest listed steelmaker has cut the prices of its main steel products by about three percent for the first time in the nine months, Shanghai Securities News reported.

According to the factory policy for June bookings issued by Baosteel on Thursday, hot rolled steel plate is down 180 yuan ($29) per ton, while the price of cold rolled steel plate is down 150 yuan per ton, and the prices of most mid-thick products have been decreased by 200 yuan per ton. The price of mid-thick boat deck, however, stays the same.

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Historical Nickel Price Tumbling, Takes Monthly Stainless Index Down

The Stainless MMI® took a rather large blow in May, falling 6 points from 91 to 85, primarily on the back of falling nickel prices, falling 304 prices in China as well as 304 China scrap prices.

A nickel glut has forced down the price by nearly about 50 percent since 2011, according to a recent Reuters report.

via Historical Nickel Price Tumbling, Takes Monthly Stainless Index Down | MetalMiner

Disease Threatens Florida’s Citrus Industry

Florida’s citrus industry is grappling with the most serious threat in its history: a bacterial disease with no cure that has infected all 32 of the state’s citrus-growing counties. Although the disease, citrus greening, was first spotted in Florida in 2005, this year’s losses from it are by far the most extensive.

While the bacteria, which causes fruit to turn bitter and drop from the trees when still unripe, affects all citrus fruits, it has been most devastating to oranges, the largest crop. So many have been affected that the United States Department of Agriculture has downgraded its crop estimates five months in a row, an extraordinary move, analysts said.

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