Dear Sir or Madame-
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In this May 5, 2010 Publication:
Auto Sales Up Over Last Year, Down Since Last Month
Eighteen States Won't Administer Federal
High-Risk Pools
April's Manufacturing Index Shows Fastest Pace
Of Expansion In Nearly Six Years
Manufacturing Matters – Participate in
the Annual Shipment Census
OEM LEADS - Ready for Corporate Members
Casting Quality Improvement using a Dynamic
Gating System in the Pressure Die Casting Process
Auto Sales Up Over Last Year, Down Since Last Month
The Detroit News (5/4, Snell, Priddle) reports, "Automakers reported mixed sales results for April,
further evidence of just how tenuous the recovery remains." While the "overall industry sales totaled 982,131 cars
and trucks last month," or "a 19.8 percent increase over last April's depressed total," the number also amounts to
"a 7.9 percent decline over March's big gains." The Detroit Free Press (5/4, Snavely), however, casts the results as "more evidence that the US
economy is recovering," even if there were "a little shy of some expectations."
The New York Times
(5/4, B3, Bunkley) reports, "While sales were notably higher than a year ago, analysts were expecting an
industrywide increase of about 22 percent."
Eighteen States Won't Administer Federal High-Risk Pools
Washington Post reports eighteen states "have said they will not administer a stopgap program to
provide insurance coverage to people whose preexisting conditions have left them uninsured, forcing the federal
government to do the work." These "states' decisions increase the challenge the government faces as it sets out to
translate the far-reaching health-care legislation into action, and they hint at the complexities to come."
Politico notes the "first major
decision for the states under the new health care law -- on establishing high risk insurance pools -- has come and
gone with the decisions so far made mostly along party lines." In fact, only seven states with Republican governors
agreed to participate in the federal high-risk pool. Politico says that "the results show just how divisive the
health reform plan still is." Nevertheless, HHS spokeswoman Jenny Backus "said the department was pleased with the
results from the states."
April's Manufacturing Index Shows Fastest Pace Of Expansion In Nearly Six Years
The
AP (5/4) reports the US Manufacturing sector expanded at the fastest
pace in almost six years in April "as factories continue to lead the economy's rebound." The Institute for Supply
Management announced Monday "its manufacturing index rose to 60.4 last month from 59.6 in March. It's the ninth
straight month of growth. A level above 50 indicates expansion." This represents the fastest pace of growth since
June 2004, when the index was at 60.5. The reading also outpaced a poll by Thomson Reuters, which "expected a lower
reading of 60." Norbert Ore, chair of the ISM's manufacturing survey, said, "We don't have any reason to believe
this won't continue." Miller Tabak analyst Dan Greenhaus suggests "that the economy could grow 3 percent or more in
the second quarter." ISM also noted its employment index, "which measures employers' willingness to hire," reached
58.5 in April, its highest level since January 2005.
The Wall Street Journal (5/4, A8, Murray, subscription required) reports April's expansion was
broad, as 17 out of 18 industries surveyed experienced growth. Other positive details include the index for new
orders was up 4.2 points to 65.7, showing companies are ordering new products rather than restocking inventories
that were reduced during the recession. General Electric also announced it will add 220 manufacturing jobs in
Michigan in its aviation factories, with senior VP Charlene Begley announcing, "We're seeing better orders across
the board so we have lots of reason to be more optimistic." These jobs come as a larger commitment of bringing 1,300
jobs to Michigan over the next give years.
Reuters (5/3) added consumer spending and construction spending also rose during March.
Furthermore, the Commerce Department's income report stated the spending adjusted for inflation increased 0.5% in
March, following a similar gain in February.
Manufacturing Matters – Participate in the Annual Shipment Census
NADCA developed a system of tracking annual shipment pounds of die castings. NADCA annually collects the same data
yearly to allow us to provide valuable information to you and our politicians. This is an annual industry census
recording shipment trends from year to year. The Department of Commerce stopped collecting this data a few years
ago.
This census is for North American Die Casters only. To enter your company's data, please visit www.diecasting.org/shipments/all by May 31st.
OEM LEADS - Ready for Corporate Members
This is your monthly reminder to corporate members. Leads generated during February can now be accessed by logging
in to myNADCA. Click here to login.
Not sure of your login? Click here to get your login resent. Want to export your leads? Click on "Lead Report Data
Export" and search ALL the leads by categories such as state, company type, metal. Results can be viewed online or
exported to an Excel document. If you need further assistance accessing the leads, please contact NADCA President,
Daniel Twarog at twarog@diecasting.org or (847) 808-3162.
Casting Quality Improvement using a Dynamic Gating System in the Pressure Die Casting Process
High pressure die casting (HPDC) is a process where molten metal is injected into a die cavity through a runner and
gate system under high pressure, usually greater than 800 bar. During injection, the metal experiences a highly
turbulent flow as it enters the cavity through the reduced cross-sectional area of the gates. This can lead to
excessive porosity defects forming in the casting and result in casting rejection. In a conventional die design,
gate depths are typically <1.5 mm for casting magnesium and zinc alloys and 1-3 mm for aluminum alloys in order to
generate metal atomization during cavity fill. Die casters have been using narrow stationary gates since the
inception of HPDC about 160 years ago. In the work contained in this article, an innovative approach to the concept
of varying the area of a gate during casting has been taken. To read more about this approach and its results, click here.
