Dear Sir or Madame-
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In this September 1, 2010 Publication:
US Expected To Find China Illegally Subsidized Aluminum
Plummeting Home Sales, Durable Goods Data Add To Double Dip Fears
Register for NADCA's Arc Flash Seminar!
Reduce Cycle Time and Increase Output with no Capital Investment
NADCA Government Affairs Activity
Reduce Cycle Times
US Expected To Find China Illegally Subsidized Aluminum
The Wall Street Journal
(8/30, A6, Matthews, subscription
required) reports the US Commerce Department is likely to find that $550 million in
imported Chinese aluminum was illegally subsidized by Beijing, sources said. The
decision could lead to higher import duties as early as next week. The White House is
concerned about the effect of Chinese exports on the US trade deficit. Canada and
Australia have already claimed that China's exports have hurt their economies, and
Canada has already levied anti-dumping duties on Chinese aluminum.
Plummeting Home Sales, Durable Goods Data Add To Double Dip Fears
Media coverage of new economic numbers released yesterday continued to take an ominous
tone, with a number of reports and analyses raising the specter of a double-dip
recession. In contrast to the day before, however, news volume was markedly lower.
Only one network, for example, remarked on the economic news – and it did so in a
20-second story. NBC Nightly News reported, "More disappointing numbers from the
housing market. New home sales slumped in July, down almost 12.5%, to the lowest level
since they started keeping track of those numbers back in 1963."
The AP reports, "It's starting to feel like another recession.
Businesses are ordering fewer goods. Home sales are the slowest in decades. Jobs are
scarce, and unemployment claims are rising." And "perhaps most worrisome,
manufacturing activity, which had been one of the economy's few bright spots, is
faltering."
AFP reports, "In another indication of a faltering economy, the
department said orders for big-ticket items in the United States rose only slightly in
July -- much lower than expected and signaling a slowdown in business spending on
capital equipment." The New York Times similarly reports, "Even the manufacturing sector,
once considered a strong point, appeared to struggle."
"Sales of new homes," the Washington Post reports, "dropped to
their lowest level since the government started tracking the numbers more than four
decades ago, offering an ominous sign for the direction of the already fragile housing
market." Under the headline "New Home Sales Fall To Record Low," the Los Angeles Times says the housing market "tanked after the
expiration this spring of a tax break for home buyers who were already facing a
stagnant job market."
Register for NADCA's Arc Flash Seminar!
Registration for NADCA's Arc Flash Seminar is now open. The seminar will be held September 30 at NADCA
Headquarters in Wheeling, IL. Topics include Arch Flash & OSHA, The OSHA Bottom Line for Electrical Work, and
Addressing Arc Flash Hazards without Breaking the Bank. To register or for more information, click here.
Reduce Cycle Time and Increase Output with no Capital Investment
A process that makes bimetallic tooling has recently been perfected. In this process,
a thin layer (.125”) of steel is sprayed, forming the face of the tooling. Then, the
cavity is backfilled with a high-strength copper alloy completing the tool. This
results in a tool with the die life of steel but the cooling rate of copper. A variety
of applications have been developed including shot blocks, chill blocks, cavities and
cavity inserts. The first shot block has recently gone into production. Data from the
production run has shown a 70°F reduction in temperature on the surface of the shot
block. The die cast company has reduced cycle time by 5% and anticipates a further
reduction of an additional 5% or more.
To read more of this article, click here to view this month's issue of Die Casting Engineer.
NADCA Government Affairs Activity
We are pleased to provide NADCA with a summary of our government affairs activities
for the month of July. The House and Senate are on now on recess until September 14.
When the Senate returns in September, it will resume work on the Small Business Jobs
Act. In addition to the lending fund, the bill also includes an extension of bonus
depreciation, allowing companies to write off assets more quickly. In 2008, Congress
created a 50-percent depreciation bonus to encourage businesses to purchase new
capital equipment; this expired at the end of 2009. If the Senate is successful in
passing the bill, the House and Senate then must reconcile the differences between
their versions of the legislation.
To view the rest of this summary, click here.
Reduce Cycle Times
NADCA has added two new e-tools! NADCA’s Reverse Engineering Tool assists in
identifying reverse engineering technologies in order to reduce lead time. In
addition, NADCA’s Productivity Improvements Tool assists in suggesting alternative
technologies to use that aid in reducing cycle times.
To take advantage of these fantastic tools visit:
Reverse Engineering Tool
Productivity Improvements Tool
