By | 2008-03-08 00:00:00
As China's export volume of fasteners dramatically increased, resistance against export also increased. Many people are worried that significant drop of China's fasteners in 2007 will lead to greater pressure on the domestic market. In fact, such worries are unnecessary. 1. After long-term development, China has established the world's largest fastener production system with all species and high quality. China's fasteners are both good and cheap; as a result, they have strong overall competitiveness. Known as the world's largest "world factory"-- fastener production base, it will certainly have a large trade volume of fastener export to mach its size. In the coming two to three years, China's fastener exports are expected to exceed 2.5 billion US dollars. 2. In recent years, as the transfer of fastener production capacity relatively reduces in western developed countries, the growth of world economy relies greater on a China's fastener industry. Thus, China's fattener export will continue to develop in spite of long-exciting trade frictions against China's fasteners as it is difficult to find the alternative sources entirely for fasteners provided by present China market. Clearly, China has become a big export country of fasteners, which is mainly due to world¡¯s industry restructuring and division in the context of globalization. It is the inevitable long-term trend. Of course, in the last two years, there were also some problems that can not be overlooked in the course of export fasteners. Some confusion in export order (mainly reflected in excessive growth of export volume, over-centralized export time and export destinations, low price and low production of the high added-value) will lead to some unnecessary frictions and it will be bad for the sustainable and healthy development of fastener export trade. Therefore, under the present fastener export situation and new changes, it is necessary to establish the import and export of fasteners monitoring and early-warning system, grasping the situation, identifying problems, and putting forward feasible suggestions for relative departments to provide evidence for scientific decisions. With this warning and full research, according to changing trade situation, relative department can effect macro guidance on export volume, product construction, time of China's fasteners by means of tariffs, rate quotas and others.
By | 2008-03-08 00:00:00
From "exporting by opportunities" to "strategic exports," the Chinese fasteners started to enter a new exportation times. July 2007 may be an epoch-making watershed to China fasteners, the product export tax rebate rate decreased from 13% to 5%.With the advantage of large-scale, some powerful enterprises in fasteners industry will continue increase export volume on the basis of expanding the domestic market, and thus will expand the gap between themselves and their competitors, and China's fasteners exports will also take the way from low level, scattered state and disordered competition, to a new times of brand competition.
By | 2008-03-08 00:00:00
It may be useful at this stage to take account of the practical use of standardization for fasteners. Who wants the standards and who uses them ? Part of the answer can be found by looking into the working groups, which develop the standards. In the first place, the manufacturers of fasteners carry out the standardization work in ISO/TC 2. Only a few experts from the user or stockholder side (dealer/distributor in supplies for manufacturers) participate in the work. Within the wide range of users, it is the automotive industry, which plays the leading role in defining the requirements, and the manufacturers are well aware of what the automotive industry (but also other industries) expects from standardization. This is the reason why the standardization of fasteners works satisfactorily, although the users are mostly under-represented. Under these circumstances, it is not astonishing that most proposals for new ISO standards or for revisions of existing standards are pushed by the automotive industry or are made at least in consideration of the requirements of this industry. For the rest one could say: "What is good for the automotive industry is good for other branches as well." The automotive companies are global players and show, therefore, a particular interest in ISO standards. If we look at countries in which national standards have been replaced by ISO standards, we find that the conversion to products according to ISO standards takes place in a most consequent way in the automotive industry. This is, unfortunately, not always the case for other branches of industry, for three main reasons: 1. The conversion from existing national standards to ISO standards forces the user to incur enormous organizational and logistical expense, since fasteners are used in thousands of places and may require constructional changes. 2. The products according to the ISO standards are not always available, at least not at a reasonable price, and the individual users do not have sufficient economic "weight" to influence the market. 3. Many users of fasteners are not aware of the existence of the new standards. They still ask for the products manufactured according to former standards (in general national standards), since they are not informed of the fact that ISO standards have replaced the national standards. The experience gained during the last few years shows that the process of conversion to products according to ISO standards will take a long time. Nevertheless, the results of systematic reviews of ISO standards prove that we are on the right path. The overwhelming majority of member countries approve the ISO standards, which we have developed, and only in very few cases has the withdrawal of ISO standards due to insufficient relevance for the market been required.
By | 2008-03-08 00:00:00
According to the latest custom statistical data of CDMIA, the deficit of Chinese mould imports and exports in the first half of the year was $352,000,000, realizing the decrease in the deficit again. This situation not only shows Chinese mould export has a bright prospect but also shows that the imports and exports structure of mould is going to be reasonable. In the first half of this year, Chinese mould imports and exports amount to $1,542,000,000, increased by 4.83% comparing to last year. The total exports amount to $595,000,000, increased by 25.7%; the total imports amount to $947,000,000, decreased by 5.11%. Plastic and rubber moulds have the highest percentage of the imports and exports moulds, takes up 53.34% and 71.33% separately. The development speed of plastic and rubber moulds imports and exports is faster than the whole level of moulds industry, the imports percentage of plastic and rubber moulds increased by 3.6% than that of last year, the exports percentage increased by 3.41%. www.chinafastener.com
By | 2008-03-08 00:00:00
cc ISTA's committee, comprising some of the world's leading steel trading organizations as well as members from further down the distribution chain, asserts that any implied impact on European steel producers is likely to be outweighed by the likely consequences for the European consuming industry. Mr Tony Ward president of International Steel Trade Association speaking on behalf of the membership committee said that "There is no evidence to suggest that, despite increased quantities of Chinese exports to the EU27, domestic producers have suffered any injury. On the contrary, the market continues to be firm and producers, already announcing quarter after quarter of increased profitability, continue to announce further price increases. Also, talk of tonnage is always misleading. Chinese exports to the EU tend to be in commodity grades whereas EU exports to Chinese are in higher more expensive grades. The balance is not as distorted as mere tonnage comparison would suggest. Mr Ward said that "EU manufacturing needs to be competitive in the international market place and can only achieve this by being able to source its feedstock at internationally competitive prices. Failure to be able to source competitively will help make manufactured products uncompetitive too and have a far greater effect on EU employment prospects. You only have to look at the response of US manufacturers to the imposition of another trade defense instrument (201 Safeguards) to see the wider effect of knee-jerk reactions to a perceived threat which is not properly substantiated. The way forward is surely to engage the Chinese and others in meaningful dialogue to try and resolve such issues in a reasonable way. To do this, all stakeholders need to be involved in the process including, traders, importers, distributors and end users" Mr Ian Sherwin chairman of ISTA believes that "Any attempt by the EC to block imports by imposing ill-considered anti-dumping measures would offer little benefit to European steel producers but would quickly damage downstream industry across the continent." Mr Sherwin added that "It should be noted that all anti dumping complaints on steel are initiated by producers. These same producers, however, only account for some 35% of all deliveries to consuming industries in the EU27. The vast majority of deliveries are through distributors and their views should carry at least the same weight as EUROFER's views when the Commission weighs up the arguments." ISTA's members represent the entire steel distribution chain, including retail stockholders, who deal with a wide range of steel consumers spanning all industries.
By | 2008-03-08 00:00:00
It is estimated that the macro economy of China will be on fast track in the coming 3 to 5 years. During that course, the pace of growth will keep going. Experience teaches us that when evaluating the health conditions of fastener industry, we should not only focus on output, speed or profits, but also judge whether it follows the market law as well. The boom in previous years of China fastener market created miracles one after another. However, the overspeed development can but appear for a short period. It could be even described as the elevated development compared with the past few years. The sustainable development of an industry does not depend on our zeal and hope, as we still face lots of difficulties; we even come across crisis. As the experts said, the explosive growth of China fastener industry happened under a specific period and conditions. When the market turns to be rational, China fastener industry will keep stable development for a longer period. It is estimated that the macro economy of China will be on fast track in the coming 3 to 5 years. During that course, the pace of growth will keep going. Experience teaches us that when evaluating the health conditions of fastener industry, we should not only focus on output, speed or profits, but also judge whether it follows the market law as well. China fastener industry has taken up more and more percentage in the international market share. It is anticipated that the world produces as many as 14 million tons of fasteners, 30% of which are from China mainland. Along with the trends of worldwide industrial division and manufacturing transition, the output of China fasteners will keep growing. However, great risks are always hidden behind the high-speed growth. Therefore, when realizing the market rules, we should be in a peaceful mind. Since 2006, multinational fastener enterprises have entered Chinese market one after another. On the one hand, statistics show that the number of such companies reaches 250, which brings in opportunities and challenges to China fastener industry. On the other hand, foreign companies only have eyes on the low cost of China manufacturing, but the price advantage of enterprises seems to be weaker and weaker. In the past few years, many fastener enterprises regarded bargain as the tool to expand fastener market. Unfortunately, price reduction had lost its former power. The increase in price of raw materials such as steel, fuel, etc causes the sharp growth of fastener production cost. Fastener manufacturers are up against the cost pressure. China fastener industry is stepping into the complete shuffle period. Though good as the opportunities are, the obstacles in system of China fastener industry seem to be incompatible with them. Although we have four production bases??Wenzhou, Ningbo, Haiyan and Yongnian, they are scattered and have few large-scale enterprises or influential groups. Moreover, there is seldom cooperation among enterprises. All of these are caused by management system, finance system, examination and approval system, etc. Fundamentally speaking, the production mode is the result of the transition from planned economy to social market economy. Fastener enterprises should notice these conditions in the fierce competition??high quality, low cost, short validity, variety and differentiation. At present, we have no fastener industrial groups in strict sense. Although we have four production bases, it takes time to reach the scale in real sense. Industrial group is the outcome of being strong and big that covers the achievement of scale benefit, lean production, module technology. It is an inevitable trend for our fastener industry.
By | 2008-03-08 00:00:00
At a forum last year in South Korea, Bruce Sun, chairman of the Taiwan Industrial Fastener Institute (TIFI) attempted to convince his counterpart from mainland China to end the bloodletting competition between the fastener industries of the two sides. His appeal was unsuccessful, making him cautious about the outlook of the fastener business in Taiwan. The mainland dethroned Taiwan as the world`s No.1 industrial-fastener supplier in 2005, when its low-priced exports surged ahead of Taiwan`s 1.25 million metric tons. Exports account for over 80% of Taiwan`s fastener production, while China sells only around 40% of its output in the segment abroad. Sun, whose institute represents nearly 500 of around 2,000 Taiwanese fastener manufacturers, said he tried very hard to persuade the mainland Chinese representatives not to dump their products in international market. "They simply shrugged and said the problem is beyond their ability to fix because the mainland producers can access a huge supply of domestically made steel at essentially low production cost," Sun laments. The mainland`s fastener manufacturers sell their products at an average price of US$1.1 per kilogram in international markets, compared with Taiwan`s US$1.96-1.97 per kilogram. Japan`s products average US$3.8 while South Korean manufacturers set their products at US$2.4-2.5. Moving On Up Conceding China the cost advantage, Sun suggests that Taiwan fastener makers turn their focus to high-performance products. "It will take some time for China to catch up with us because most of their products are low-end types," he says. The Taiwan industry has begun upgrading products in many ways. Sun`s association is working with China Steel Corp. (CSC), currently Taiwan`s No.1 steelmaker, to develop high-end alloy and high-carbon steel for fasteners. CSC, Sun notes, has promised to increase output of high-carbon rods and high-end alloy rods to 13% of its total output capacity from current 10% to meet the demand of the island`s fastener industry. The government-backed Metal Industries Research & Development Center (MIRDC) is also helping Sun`s industry develop mold tooling, materials, and processing methodologies for making high-end fasteners. Also, the organization is working with other government-backed institutions to jointly build up certification capability. In addition, five fastener-related product suppliers including Sun`s company, fastener-equipment supplier Chun Yu Works & Co., Ltd., have entered into alliance to develop fasteners for aircrafts. The five manufacturers have won certifications on their aircraft-use fasteners and joined the supply chain of a military offset program between Taiwan and the United States. Sun points out that the aircraft-fastener alliance will collectively tap overseas markets and begin with markets outside the United States and Europe. "Mainland China will be our first market before winning orders from the States and Europe," he says. Many Taiwanese manufacturers have diversified into fasteners for cars. The mainland, Sun cautions, has an advantage over Taiwan in the car fastener market, although Taiwan still has the quality edge. "The mainland`s car market is much bigger than ours, offering fastener manufacturers there a good environment to grow. Besides, foreign carmakers have helped foster the mainland`s car industry by opening joint ventures there," the chairman says. The mainland`s sedan-car market, he adds, has grown at the rate of one million vehicles in each of the past few years. Even South Korea, Sun adds, is ahead of Taiwan in developing car-used fasteners, thanks to its bigger auto market. "South Korea now exports cars while Taiwan`s car industry remains an infant under the government`s long-time protection policy," he says. Korea, according to Sun, has emerged as another formidable competitor to Taiwan in the world fastener market with its more aggressive exports in recent times. "At the 2006 Las Vegas hardware show, South Korean manufacturers occupied 20 of the 500 booths, far outnumbering Taiwan`s showing," he recalls. Although most Taiwanese suppliers of car fasteners are qualified, Sun worries that they face a number of hurdles. "Foreign carmakers hope Taiwanese suppliers can open warehouses near them, but established fastener suppliers in their countries tend to make it difficult for newcomers to get a foothold," Sun says. However, his company has opened a production base in the U.S. Opportunity in China While China poses a severe threat to Taiwan in the world fastener market, it also represents a lucrative market. According to Sun, around 500 to 600 Taiwanese fastener manufacturers have opened manufacturing facilities in the mainland to tap the growing domestic demand there. "There is vast demand in China for fasteners due to the booming housing, car, and commodity markets there. Taiwanese transplant factories initially moved to China to reduce costs, but now market factors are the main driving forces," Sun says. Sun expects that Taiwan`s production of high-end fasteners will increase sharply over the next few years from the current 10% of the industry`s total output. The shift upmarket, he notes, has prompted many domestic equipment suppliers to develop more efficient machines. "Currently, machines doing five-stage punches with five molds are now the most common models supplied by local equipment suppliers. Chun Yu even supplies machines doing seven-stage punches with seven molds," Sun says, adding that machines with higher mold numbers can produce higher precision fasteners. Quality improvement has also stimulated demand for mold-tooling software, Sun says. "When domestic fastener manufacturers still made low-end products several years ago, they counted on molds built by veteran workers. Now, they use software to calculate required elements," Sun notes. All of these improvements, Sun concludes, are helping Taiwanese manufacturers to move to higher ground ahead of the rising tide of mainland competition.
By | 2008-03-08 00:00:00
SHANGHAI: China said Friday it regretted European steelmaker calls this week for the European Union to take anti-dumping action against imports from the Asian giant. "We express regrets over the appeals by the European Confederation of Iron and Steel Industries and will pay close attention to development of these two cases," the commerce ministry said in a statement on its website. The EU steel industry association, Eurofer, said Monday it had filed two dumping complaints with the European Commission targeting cold-rolled, stainless flat steel and galvanised steel products from China. South Korea and Taiwan were also named as dumpers of cold-rolled, stainless flat steel. The EU steel industry group also said that a third complaint would be lodged next week against Chinese-made wire rods and a fourth targeting heavy plates was in the works. European steelmakers accuse the three Asian makers of flooding their markets with product sold at below manufacturing cost, which is called dumping. The Chinese ministry said it hoped the European Commission would handle the case with due caution and "refrain from anti-dumping action."
By | 2008-03-08 00:00:00
Expectations are high for the 11th NORTEC Trade Fair for Manufacturing Technology that will be held at the new Hamburg Fair site January 23¨C26, 2008. Both the organizer, Hamburg Messe, and the newly constituted NORTEC advisory board, anticipate that NORTEC 2008 will draw more exhibitors and more visitors than the 2006 edition, when the numbers were about 400 and 15,000, respectively. "Economic conditions have never been better," says Dr. Jörg Mutschler, chairman of the advisory board. "The industry is booming, with strong investment in new plant and machinery. The Eastern enlargement of the EU is opening up new business contacts, with mutual access to new markets. "Hamburg is Germany's major hub for the metalworking industry in Northern and Eastern Europe," Mutschler continues. "Hamburg's new fair site is just the right setting for presentation of manufacturing technologies and production-related services. And there are numerous sunrise industries located in greater Hamburg, such as aerospace, medical engineering, automotive, and shipbuilding companies." NORTEC 2008 will provide a presentation platform for manufacturers and specialist dealers in advanced manufacturing technologies and a meeting point for suppliers and purchasers of parts and components and production-related services. The exhibition is supported by an extensive conference programme, including a Logistics and Procurement Symposium giving buyers and suppliers an opportunity to discuss risk management in the supply chain. A VDMA (German Engineering Federation) Workshop will discuss methods for optimizing production along with the impact of manufacturing, logistics, energy input, and maintenance on overall economic performance. In addition, a Technology Forum will give technically minded young people insights into modern technologies, career profiles, and courses of study. Another new feature is the Innovation Forum, where speakers from a variety of industries will report on advances in optimizing production quality, costs, and time; on robots and production automation in small and medium-sized companies; on the latest in measuring technology; and on laser innovations in cutting, welding, surface treatment, and laser generating. Discussions under the heading of "Efficient Cutting" will focus on making production in Germany profitable through the use of smart tooling and machine tools combined with the appropriate fixtures. The trade associations VDMA, Nordmetall, the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, and the German Association for Materials Management, Procurement, and Logistics will be actively involved in NORTEC 2008, providing information and advice.
By | 2008-03-08 00:00:00
Investment, exports promote industrial growth BEIJING, June 15 -- China's industrial production grew faster in May, thanks to higher investments and exports, adding further pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates to cool down the economy. Industrial production, measured by value aded industry, surge 18.1 percent year-on-year last month after gaining 17.4 percent a month ago, and beating the market forecast of 17 percent. Among the fast growing industries were transport equipment, non-metallic mineral products, smelted and pressed ferrous metals, and electrical machinery and equipment, according to National Bureau of Statistics figures released yesterday. It was the fastest growth since late last year when industrial production grew just below 15 percent, and was fuelled mainly by "fast-paced investment, especially fixed-asset investment, and red-hot exports," said CITIC Securities analyst Chen Jijun. In the first four months of this year, urban fixed asset investment rose 25.5 percent year-on-year, and real estate investment, as its major part, jumped 28.2 percent. It pushed up the market demand for construction-related steel products, cement and non-ferrous metals. The increase in the prices of these products, in turn, drove up production material prices by 4.8 percent year-on-year in January-April, according to National Development and Reform Commission figures released on Wednesday. Merchandise exports rose 30 percent year-on-year in the first four months against just a 19 percent growth in imports, the World Bank said in its latest report. And exports of steel products doubled in the first five months from a year ago period. "The fast industrial production growth will stimulate China's already robust gross domestic product (GDP) because industrial output is the biggest contributor to the GDP," said Qi Xinmei, an economist with the State Information Center. "It also creates difficulties for national energy-saving and environmental protection efforts of the central government because iron and steel, as well as petrochemicals, contributed a lot to industrial output growth," added Qi. To cool down the economy, China will implement a "modest tightening" monetary policy, Premier Wen Jiabao said at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. He said industrial production is growing at a rate that is faster than desired and the trade surplus is too big. China's trade surplus in May soared to $22.45 billion, up 73 percent over the same month last year. Wen said the country would continue to adjust export rebates and tariffs on certain items while further improving policies to boost imports in a bid to address the climbing trade surplus. The much expected interest rate hike as a tightening measure "could come as early as this month if the investment data that will be released tomorrow turns out to be a big surprise," said a note from Citibank (China), which had earlier forecast investment would accelerate to 26 percent in May.
