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Alcoa Primed for Aluminum Surge. Alcoa, the
third largest producer of aluminum in the world,
may be about to benefit from rebounding production
and pricing for aluminum this year. The metal
averaged $1,420 per metric ton for spot delivery
on the London Metal Exchange in January 2009,
touched a high of $2,342.75 in January this
year and is currently trading at $2,105 per
ton. After declining 14% during 2009, world
aluminum production is likely to increase by
5% during 2010 to 38.5 million metric tons,
according to forecasts by the Australian Bureau
of Agriculture and Resource Economics (ABARE).
A number of smelters that reduced output or
shut down earlier are likely to restart or increase
production during the year in response to the
expected 8% increase in consumption. Furthermore,
ABARE forecasts an 18% increase in aluminum
prices during 2010.
Trade Business News February 2010
Walmart
Sustainability Packaging Expo: zero
tolerance for greenwash
Preparing to exhibit for the
fifth consecutive year at Walmart’s
annual Sustainability Packaging
Expo, packaging suppliers have become
increasingly savvy in conveying
their green messages.
That’s according to Robert Parvis,
Sam’s Club manager of House Brands
Packaging, who spoke with GreenerPackage.com,
along with Ronald Sasine, senior
director of Packaging, Private Brands
for Walmart Stores, about the retailer’s
upcoming event, scheduled for April
6-7 at the John Q. Hammons Convention
Center, in Bentonville, AR.
“Their message is becoming more
and more focused,” Parvis says.
“One of the things we are really
pushing is clear communication,
especially around anything related
to sustainability claims.”
Sasine agrees, “The packaging suppliers
are learning the language of Walmart,
and they are learning to engage
and discuss packaging with Walmart
buyers and merchants in a way that,
in those early years, was much more
difficult for them.”
(more...)
Packaging News February
2010
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Oil prices continued to rise today as a refinery
strike in France and worries over Iran's nuclear
program suggested petroleum supplies may tighten
in the future. Benchmark crude added 32 cents
to $79.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. Oil prices have increased more than
11 percent in the past two weeks.
Business News February 2010
Natural gas prices tumbled nearly 3 percent
today after the government said supplies are
still higher than average despite a rash of
snowstorms that blanketed the East Coast during
the past few weeks. Natural gas lost 13.5 cents
to $5.251 per 1,000 cubic feet. Natural gas
is used to produce LLDPE Stretch Film Resin
in the U.S. Crude oil for March delivery added
$1 at $78.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
Trade Reports February 2010
U.S. equities,
commodities and the dollar advanced
as U.S. economic and earnings reports
boosted optimism that the recovery
from the recession will be sustained.
( more...)
Business News February 2010
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Speculation heats up aluminium Prices. Aluminium
used to be something that made aeroplanes and
drinks cans. Now it is a financial instrument.
Between 75 and 90 per cent of the world's physical
aluminium stocks are tied up in financial arbitrage
deals exploiting the difference between the
spot and forward price, according to several
industry insiders. In November Klaus Kleinfeld,
chief executive of Alcoa, described the stocks
tied up in financial deals as "almost all".
Aluminium is the most extreme example of how
some industrial metals are strengthening their
role as "hard asset" investments in the aftermath
of the financial crisis. But in the process
they have become less tethered to basic industrial
demand, raising concerns that today's prices
are unsustainable and susceptible to unprecedented
volatility. In aluminium, physical stock levels
on the London Metal Exchange have quadruped
in the past 18 months to about 4.5m tonnes.
That amount, enough to build approximately 68,000
Boeing 747s, implies gross oversupply, especially
as the pick-up in manufacturing remains slow
in developed economies. Yet prices keep rising.
Trade News February 2010
Energy Price
Forecasts The Energy
Information Administration recently
issued the following price forecasts
for various energy products in 2010:
|
Natural gas |
$4.62/mcf |
Gasoline |
$2.83/gallon |
|
Coal |
$2.03/MMBtu |
Crude oil |
$77/barrel |
|
Diesel fuel |
$2.96/gallon |
Heating oil |
$2.77/gallon |
|
Novelis hikes North American foil. Novelis Inc.
has hiked prices for aluminum package foil and
household foil stock in North America by 5 cents
per pound for gauges 0.00057 inch and above
and 10 cents per pound for smaller gauges effective
with all new orders placed on or after Feb 9
and shipments on or after March 1.
Trade News February 2010
Leading
indicators point to sustained recovery
for 2010 The US economic
recovery will extend into next year
as manufacturing expands and the
pace of firings abates, reports
indicated yesterday. ( more...)
International Business Perspective
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23% Increase in world aluminum glut Source:
World Bureau of Metal Statistics. WHAT IT MEANS: Global
primary aluminum market surplus for January
through October 2009 was 1,418,000 metric tons,
which compares with a surplus of 1,155,000 registered
in the same ten months of 2008.
Trade News
THE STAYING
POWER OF GREEN The
resurgence of the environmental
movement has caused an upswing in
the demand for environmentally friendly
packaging, according to a new report
from the Foodservice Packaging Institute.
( more...)
( See HYBRiD80
Stretch Films )
Packaging Business News
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Power cuts take sheen off aluminum producers.
Aluminum prices are on the rise as the government
moves to reduce overcapacity in the sector and
conserve energy in the midst of several cold
spells hitting China this year. With a quarter
of the nation's aluminum production coming from
Henan province, output slowed after December's
bout of cold weather created electricity shortages.
By order of the government, producers were forced
to reduce capacity to save electricity desperately
needed to heat homes.
International Trade News
Aluminum Corp. of China shares fell today after
the company warned it expects to announce a
loss for 2009, largely because excess industry
capacity and pressure on metal prices in the
first half of last year. The Chinese aluminum
producer, also known as Chalco, said efforts
to cut losses in the face of "grim market conditions"
and a gradual economic recovery in the second
half of the year cushioned the "momentum of
loss."
Business News Reports
Branding
is Everything You work hard
to create a unique image for your
company - an aura that encourages
confidence - a high level of name
awareness that is remembered and
brings your customers back for more.
Now you can reinforce that image
with ... Private Label. See examples
( more...)
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Oil hovers over $80. Crude oil prices advanced
for a fifth straight session and rose slightly
today, hovering just over $80 a barrel, but
gains were tempered by a stronger dollar. Price
rose 7.7% a barrel on concerns over strikes
at French refineries and a report that showed
a dip in U.S. inflation. NATURAL GAS DROPPED
TO 4.893 /BTU.
Business News Reports February 2010
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