Professional Purchasers' Blog

China first carbon market kicks off in Shenzhen

Pascal Blanc — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:11:49 +0000

The city of Shenzhen became yesterday the first region in China to introduce a mandatory emissions trading scheme (ETS).”It is a clear indication that they are serious about reducing emissions and bringing down pollution levels.” The new markets are set to regulate 800 million to 1 billion tons of emissions by 2015 in the world’s [...]

Use Peer Pressure to Drive Down Costs

Rod Sherkin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:30:54 +0000

Driving down costs by ‘coaxing’ voluntary behavior change. Anyone who survived the social pressure cooker of high school knows about the power of peer pressure. For purchasing professionals trying to drive down cost, the good news is that peer pressure can have the same impact in corporate corridors as it did in the blackboard jungle. [...]

Record glut for rubber

Pascal Blanc — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:51:15 +0000

Rubber fell 21 percent to 238.9 yen on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange this year and is now 55 percent below the record 535.7 yen reached in February 2011. Lower prices should reduce costs for Bridgestone Corp., Michelin & Cie. and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the biggest tiremakers. The surplus will expand 57 percent to 490,000 [...]

Shale gas and oil global reserves

Pascal Blanc — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:15:02 +0000

The world gas and oil shale reserves are a lot larger than expected two years ago, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Africa‘s potential exceeds that of North America. Shale gas buried underground is estimated to increase recoverable gas in the world by 50%. Shale oil would allow oil reserves to expand by 10%. The [...]

US ethylene trading at standstill after explosion at Louisiana chemical plant

Rod Sherkin — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:10:33 +0000

Bids for June material were climbing, seen on the HoustonMercantile Exchange as high as 57 cents/lb Mont Belvieu-Williams basis, up from 53-cent/lb levels earlier in the day. Spot ethylene was last assessed Wednesday at 52.75-53.25 cents/lb FD USG. The US spot ethylene market was at a standstill Thursday on news of an explosion and fire [...]

Negotiate knowing what you SHOULD be paying

Rod Sherkin — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 00:00:37 +0000

In a Perfect World Imagine the negotiating edge you would have if you knew—and could demonstrate—what you SHOULD be paying for the products you buy, especially when suppliers come to you with sad tales about price increases they just can’t hold off any longer because of global commodity price rises. This is not wishful thinking. [...]

Wheat faces a bearish summer 2013

Pascal Blanc — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:26:16 +0000

Inventories of all wheat varieties as of June 1, 2014, will total 659 million bushels, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said today in a report. That’s more than the 655 million projected by analysts in a Bloomberg survey and less than the 670 million the government forecast in May. U.S. output will drop this year [...]

Hotels Come Together on Carbon Footprint

Tom Bowers — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:30:19 +0000

An interesting development from the hotel and hospitality industry as some big players join forces to standardize a carbon footprint methodology. As 80% of Fortune 500 companies now participate in the Carbon Disclosure Project, we are likely to see more moves in this direction as sectors try to find ways to measure comparative performance within [...]

How important is a Green Supply-Chain in North America?

Tom Bowers — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:45:31 +0000

We certainly hear a lot about the importance of reducing the amount of carbon our species is releasing into the atmosphere. But we don’t hear much about what this really means to our profession: in other words, how important is a ‘green’ Supply-Chain in North America? To answer this question we recently sent out a [...]

MEPS Global Composite Steel Index Prices Drops to 38-Month Low

Rod Sherkin — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 11:16:55 +0000

Steel prices across the globe continued trending downwards in May. Selling figures declined in twenty four of the twenty eight nations in which MEPS conducts research. In the remaining four countries, transaction values were stable. Excess steel supply and poor demand are expected to continue to exert negative pressure on prices in the short term. Moreover, [...]