 |
 |
|
Click for Issue April 2007 December 2006 August 2006 April 2006 December 2005 August 2005 April 2005 December 2004 August 2004 April 2004 |
President's Report 
We have now completed the first quarter of 2004 and the anticipated improvements in the market have not materialized. While there appears to be more projects for bidding, prices are still extremely low, with fabricators and detailers struggling to stay alive. The booming economy in China has resulted in the Chinese buying as much steel scrap as they can find world-wide to fuel their burgeoning economy. This has brought about severe shortages in North America, and an escalation in prices for steel shapes. The improvements we expected in the steel industry have been thwarted due to the premium prices for steel. We don’t expect any significant improvement in the industry this year. Fabricators and detailers are hurting, and we can expect more downsizing and bankruptcies before 2004 is over. Even good customers are becoming slow payers, with many looking for excuses to generate back-charges and avoid paying extras. I can’t stress enough the importance of producing a quality product and providing our fabricator clients with accurate detail drawings on schedule. We have another tough year ahead of us. I urge all staff to be accountable and to work together to overcome all obstacles in our pursuit to assist our clients to be profitable in their endeavours. |
 |