News 

                                                                                                                                                           by Kevin Palmstein

The world of trade has gone through significant changes in the last 24 months. Not only have companies endured a protracted recession in the United States and Europe, but the entire world has felt the reduction in demand from the world’s legacy economies. While China and other Asian countries’ GDPs continue to grow, the lack of a strong recovery in the West will continue to forestall worldwide growth.  When analyzing the fastener industry, or any other market sector, one must take an expansive view of the entire supply chain and stake holders.

The fastener industry is dependent on many other industries to be a healthy market sector. Demand side considerations include the states of the housing market, the manufacturing sector, and companies producing durable goods. Supply side factors are important to know and understand what the final costs that fastener companies can expect, including steel and copper prices, transportation costs, and shipping capacity. These industries need to be examined and understood to get a full picture of what will happen to the fastener industry in the next year.

In this article, we will examine the factors that face the supply side of the fastener industry in the United States. In addition, we will look at the current state of imports and exports for the United States. Finally, we will take a look at potential trends that will be seen in the next 12 months.

                                   The complete article will be published in FW126 in Jan. 2011...