Five Aluminum Products Added to Metals Activity Report
November 18, 2004
Five Aluminum Products Added to Metals Activity Report
CHICAGO, Illinois, November 18, 2004 – U.S. and Canadian shipment and inventory data for five types of aluminum products have been added to the monthly Metals Activity Report (MAR) published by the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI).
Included is data on actual aluminum shipments from metals service centers, in tons, with comparisons to the same month a year ago; shipment information on a year-to-date basis; month-end inventory levels compared with the same month in the previous year, and an estimate of months of supply on hand.
Statistics are provided for all aluminum products, extruded shapes, plate, rod and bar, sheet and coil, and pipe and tube, broken down separately for the U.S. and Canada. Members who report their data for MAR also receive shipment projections for the upcoming three months.
“It has been our goal since we launched the Metals Activity Report in July 2003 to add a full spectrum of aluminum products to the seven categories of carbon, stainless and alloy steels included in the first iteration of the report,” said M. Robert Weidner, III, MSCI’s president and chief executive officer. “We are extremely pleased to now include highly accurate data on aluminum.”
Chris Marti, MSCI vice president for research and technology, said the aluminum data is based on data reported by member companies, with benchmarks for product categories and the industry’s size based on analysis of information from industry and government sources, comparisons with final market demand, monthly historic data from participating companies from January 2001, and industry intelligence provided by a panel of reviewers comprised of MSCI Management Information Committee members with significant aluminum experience.
The aluminum component of MAR supersedes an older report, Aluminum Quick Pulse, a limited shipments and inventory survey that lacked product category detail. “With our new aluminum report, we provide 24 months of real data, seasonal adjustments for members, three-month projections for participating service centers, and category detail,” Marti said.
Michael Petersen, MSCI’s chairman and president of Petersen Aluminum, said publication of MAR with aluminum data fulfills MSCI’s pledge to provide greatly enhanced industry statistics to members who joined MSCI in its 2002 merger with the National Association of Aluminum Distributors. “This data gives us a detailed, accurate, and timely picture of our aluminum markets,” Petersen said. “It is the best resource available in the marketplace.”
Contacts:
Steve Weiner, Readmore Communications, 847-920-9266 or (cell) 846-533-9143 steve@readmorecommunications.com
Jon Kalkwarf, MSCI chief financial officer, 847-485-3000 or (cell) 773-835-6108
About MSCI
Founded in 1907, the Metals Service Center Institute has more than 350 members operating from about 1,200 locations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and elsewhere around the world. Together, MSCI members constitute the largest single group of metals purchasers in North America, amounting each year to more than 75 million tons of steel, aluminum, and other metals, with about 300,000 manufacturers and fabricators as customers. Metals service centers inventory and distribute metals, and provide first-stage fabrication services