Marco Specialty Steel February 2012 Newsletter
Product spotlight:
Woven and Welded Wire Cloth & Diamond Mesh
For wire mesh cloth or diamond mesh cloth, Marco Specialty Steel is the leading supplier and “In Stock” distributor of wire cloth, welded mesh, space cloth, filter cloth and related products. Our centrally located warehouses maintain a wide range of wire cloth products in a variety of material grades, styles, and meshes. We import wire cloth from the finest mills in the world, and our weaving facilities can custom weave most any mesh, in any alloy you may require.
Our wire cloth and welded mesh inventory is constantly evolving and expanding everyday to meet the changing needs of our customers around the country, and around the world. If required, many specifications are available as domestically produced and meet the “Buy American Recovery Act” provisions, or as DFAR compliant (DFAR Clause 252.225-7014.) Contact one of our experienced sales staff to discuss how we can work together to meet your specific needs.
Your choice of wire sizes may range from 1" diameter down to wire sizes finer than human hair. Mesh opening sizes range from 4" and larger down to one micron (.00003937 inch). The type of weave (plain, intercrimped, twill) is frequently dictated by the wire diameter or the opening size desired, or by a combination of these factors, types and materials to suit virtually any requirement. Since wire cloth is produced in such varying combinations of wire diameter and opening size, its use has been widely accepted throughout the industry. It is extremely versatile in application. Whether you're sizing, separating, sifting, filtering or protecting, wire cloth will do the job.
We offer wire cloth and welded mesh in full rolls, cut to size pieces, slitting, circle cutting, blanking, and stamping. If you have custom or fabricated parts, just use the handy “Have a Question- File attachment” feature to upload your drawings directly form this page.
Industry news:
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
U.S. Steel (NYSE:X): Most leverage to rising steel prices/attractive cost position—Buy
Goldman Sachs is upgrading U.S. Steel Group
(NYSE:X) to Buy from Neutral with a 6-month price target of $75 (prev. $61)
representing upside of $28%.
Firm notes they believe that rising steel prices and increasingly positive
leading indicators of demand are pointing to a steel industry that should see
its earnings markedly improve in near to medium terms. With a high leverage to
steel prices and demand, and one of the best cost positions on the raw
materials, they see potentially significant upside to US Steel’s share
price.
Goldman believes that markets’ concerns about recent dip in scrap prices are
over done. The domestic steel prices should get strong support from rising
global steel cost curve, which in turn should push global steel prices further
up. We see companies with vertical integration into raw materials as the best
investment option in this environment. US Steel, thus fits the best among our
coverage. Additionally, its high fixed cost structure (or high leverage to
rising utilization rate) puts it in an advantage as steel demand and thus the
utilization rate are expected to continue to rise in coming months. They
estimate US Steel’s utilization rate to rise to 85% in 2011 from 76% in 2010.
US Steel’s earnings have suffered and the company has struggled to generate
profits as the utilization rate has remained below optimal level. As both
prices and production rates are rising, its favorable cost structure on raw
materials provide it relatively better opportunity than its peers to generate
strong earnings.
US Steel’s iron ore costs in the US is less than $65 per tonne (vs. current
global spot price of $191 per tonne) and its 2011 coking coal contract price is
set at about $200 per tonne (vs. current global spot price of $312 per tonne).
These favorable input costs imply that as utilization rate rise and fixed costs
are spread over higher tonnage, X should have one of the highest leverage to improving
conditions.
But scrap price is falling, shouldn’t steel follow
An obvious risk in this scenario is the scrap price. In recent months, it was
rising scrap prices that heralded in the current round of price increases. This
was exacerbated by a seasonal uptick in demand. Once the weather improves and
scrap flow into the yards increases, scrap prices usually fall. That said, the
firm believes that the market is missing the point that although raw material
prices have been the primary source of rising steel pries, demand (both real
and apparent) has also strengthened and thus they see less risk from a modest
dip in scrap prices, at least in the near term
- Goldman still expects the 1Q2011 loss at $0.61 for X due to the lag in
contract prices as compared to the spot prices but consider this as a timing
issue.
The same contracts will help US Steel sustain earnings beyond 1Q. Goldman now
expects higher shipment volume (an increase of 13% year over year vs. 9%
earlier) with estimate of the utilization rate of 85% (up from 82% earlier) for
US Steel’s Domestic Flat Rolled division. This should help offset some of the
fixed costs per ton. They are also lowering their coking coal cost for US Steel
to $185 per ton from $200 they had estimated earlier. This is in line with the
guidance provided by the company in its 4Q conference call. As such
Goldman's 2011 estimates have moved up to $3.50 from $2.50.
They are also raising their 2012 and 2013 estimates on higher than expected utilization rate and hence higher shipment volume, particularly for its Flat Rolled Division.
Interesting stuff:
The Super Bowl is the biggest sporting event in the United States, and each year it continues to get bigger, in scope, size, price and just about everything else.
This year represents the 46th year the champion of the AFC will meet the champion of the NFC in what we now know as the Super Bowl. Here is a rundown of facts about Super Bowl XLVI and the games that have come before.
Super Bowl Sunday ranks among the biggest drinking nights of the year along with New Year's Eve, St. Patrick's Day and Thanksgiving Eve.
The biggest Super Bowl ad spenders since 2002 have been General Motors ($83 million), PepsiCo ($174 million) and Anheuser-Busch ($239 million).
According to the National Chicken Council, Americans will inhale 1.25 billion wings on Super Bowl Sunday.
Hass Avocado says that Americans will eat 71.4 million avocados on Super Bowl Sunday.
College marching bands provided the halftime entertainment for the first five Super Bowls.
Shania Twain and the Black Eyed Peas are the only artists to perform at a Super Bowl and a Canadian Football League Grey Cup.
A record $88,000 will be paid out to the players on the winning team with the loser's share also a record at $44,000. The price had remained flat the prior two years at $83,000 and $42,000. In 1990, the shares were $36,000 and $18,000. In 1980, they were $18,000 and $9,000. And from the first Super Bowl in 1967 to 1977, the shares were always $15,000 and $7,500.
Jerry Rice holds the record for most career Super Bowl points with 48 spread across four Super Bowls with San Francisco and Oakland.
The longest field goal in Super Bowl history was a 57-yarder kicked by Buffalo's Steve Christie in 1994 against Dallas, although the Bills are more famously remembered in the Super Bowl for another field goal attempt.
In one of the most unbreakable Super Bowl records, Oakland's Rich Gannon tossed a record five interceptions in 2003 against Tampa Bay in the Super Bowl.
On the flip side of that, Oakland defensive back Rod Martin holds the Super Bowl record for most interceptions in a Super Bowl with three in 1981 against Philadelphia.
The most points scored in a Super Bowl were San Francisco's 55 in 1990 against Denver. The fewest were Miami's three in 1972 against Dallas.
Super Bowl XXVII in 1993 featured an unheard of 12 fumbles combined between Buffalo (eight fumbles) and Dallas (four fumbles).
The next three Super Bowls will be held in New Orleans (2013); East Rutherford, New Jersey (2014) and Glendale, Arizona (2015).
Currently, the Miami area and New Orleans are tied for hosting the most Super Bowls with 10 each. Next season will mark New Orleans' 11th time hosting the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl XLVI marks the fourth stadium in the northern United States to host a Super Bowl. The others were Detroit's Pontiac Silverdome (XVI in 1982), Minnesota's Metrodome (XXVI in 1992) and Detroit's Ford Field (XL in 2006).
The Vince Lombardi trophy stands 20-and-three-quarter inches tall, weighs 6.7 pounds and is valued at more than $25,000.
Through 45 Super Bowls, 3,512,727 people have attended the games. The largest crowd was Super Bowl XIV, which drew 103,985 people to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., to watch the Steelers beat the Rams, 31-19. Super Bowl XLV in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas fell just shy of the attendance record (103,219).
The smallest crowd to see a Super Bowl was the 61,946 who turned out to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for Super Bowl I.
Here are some Super Bowl ad costs through the years: 2012 ($3.5 million), 2000 ($2.2 million), 1990 ($700,000), 1980 ($222,000), 1970 ($78,000). Super Bowl I in 1967 had 30-second commercials which cost $42,000.
The last defender to win Super Bowl MVP was Tampa Bay free safety Dexter Jackson in 2003.
Last season 46 percent of televisions in the United States were tuned into the Super Bowl. Of the televisions that were on at the time of the game, 68 percent tuned into the game.
The highest share for a Super Bowl, the percentage of televisions that were on and tuned into the Super Bowl, was set in 1976 with a 78 share to watch the Steelers play the Cowboys in Super Bowl X. That game was televised by CBS.
Super Bowl I was televised by both NBC and CBS. The NBC telecast garnered an 18.5 rating while the CBS telecast received a 22.6 rating.
A record 111,010,000 viewers tuned into Super Bowl XLV to edge Super Bowl XLIV (106,476,000), Super Bowl XLIII (98,732,000), XLII (97,448,000) and XXX (94,076,000).
The longest tenured New York Giants are defensive end Osi Umenyiora and offensive tackle David Diehl. Umenyiora was a second-round pick and Diehl was a fifth-round pick in 2003.
The longest-tenured New England Patriot is running back Kevin Faulk, who has been with the team since 1999 when he was drafted in the second round. Tom Brady was drafted in the sixth round the next season.
Trades are rare in the NFL, but some of the key players who will be involved in Super Bowl XLVI were acquired via trade. The Patriots sent a second and seventh-round draft pick to Miami in 2007 for Wes Welker while the New York Giants pulled off a draft-day trade in 2004 with San Diego for Eli Manning.
The fastest Super Bowl touchdown to start a game was set in 2007 when Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown in 14 seconds.
Tickets to Super Bowl I cost between $6 and $12.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys have both been to a record eight Super Bowls. The Steelers have won the most Super Bowls with six.
The only current NFL franchises to never go to a Super Bowl are Cleveland, Detroit, Jacksonville and Houston.
The Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills are both 0-4 in the Super Bowl.
The San Francisco 49ers are the only team to appear in multiple Super Bowls without losing any; they are 5-0.
Super Bowl XLVI marks the fifth Super Bowl rematch. The Cowboys and Steelers have met in three Super Bowls (X, XIII and XXX). The Dolphins and Redskins met in Super Bowl VII and XVII. The Bengals and 49ers played in Super Bowls XVI and XXIII. And the Bills and Cowboys played in back-to-back Super Bowls (XXVII and XXVIII).
What is the seating capacity for the Super Bowl? Lucas Oil Stadium holds 63,000 people
What time does the Super Bowl start? The Super Bowl is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
How many countries will the Super Bowl air in? The Super Bowl will be distributed to more than 185 countries and broadcast in 30 different languages.
How much does a Super Bowl ad cost? A 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl will cost a record $3.5 million in 2012.
How much does a Super Bowl ticket cost? For the second consecutive season the face value of Super Bowl tickets is between $600 and $1,200.
Sources: NFL.com and Associated Press
