e will know soon enough how deep the recession of 2020 will plunge, but judging sheerly by jobless claims in the first few weeks of lockdown, it will be historic. There is a silver lining, and that is the sense of community—coming to the aid of our neighbors.

Steelmaker SSAB Americas has prioritized production of steel designated for use in local, state or federal-level COVID-19 disaster relief programs or projects. The company implemented a new order designation, Relief Effort Priority (REP), for customer orders of steel destined for disaster relief. REP-designated orders are inserted immediately into the production cycle with expedited finishing, shipping and logistics.

new laser cutting machine is a huge investment. When making the leap, it’s easy to be attracted to the highest wattage laser, thinking its cutting capabilities assuredly increase productivity and reduce operating costs. But when laser-cut parts are piling up because the bending or welding department isn’t set up to match cutting volume, how efficiently is that faster-cutting laser fitting into the overall process?

Dustin Diehl, laser division product manager at Amada America Inc., says that it’s human nature to want the most powerful machine—the bigger-is-better mindset. But, “the whole picture is the overall investment. Can you get by with less wattage? There is a lot more to your actual cost per part.”

“First, evaluate what your goals are,” adds Jason Hillenbrand, Amada’s general manager for blanking and automation. “Often, customers think they want the most power, but it’s really about throughput—how many parts you can get through the entire process within a given period of time.”

he impact of COVID-19 on industrial activity “has been immense,” Paul Williams, head of aluminum at CRU Analysis said in a March 27 report. And that could not be more true than within the automotive supply chain, which wraps around the world and includes metals production, stocking and distribution, forming, and stamping.

Because the pandemic was still escalating as of that date, CRU forecast a global economic recession in 2020. “Uncertainty about the end game has fueled financial market volatility and prompted unprecedented government support,” Williams writes.

“Aluminum demand has collapsed across many markets and countries. For example, the automotive industry is a sector that will see a severe contraction in 2020 output that will significantly impact aluminum demand.”

In Europe, many assembly operations are idled, and production is expected to fall by around 15 percent in 2020, although any such projection “has a high degree of uncertainty given the current crisis.” CRU expects North American vehicle output to drop 10 percent. Aluminum producers announced curtailments downstream in response to the weakening demand.

he operating rig count in the United States and Canada, as of April 9, was 637 units, down 41.5 percent from that of April 12, 2019. Publicly traded energy majors and their suppliers were pulling their previously issued first-quarter financial guidance during the second week of April.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose during that same week, compared to a week earlier, then plunged into negative territory. Boom and bust cycles in the oil patch are nothing new. Steel suppliers can recall the 1973 oil embargo, growth in the 1980s followed by a recession, a boom in the ’90s followed by the tragedy of 9/11, the growth of fracking and horizontal drilling opening up American reserves, then the Great Recession. Now there is a price war between OPEC and Russia.

Such cycles are not for the faint of heart, but the smart money traditionally invests even during periods of falling demand. Many hope that the current downturn in economic activity as a result of the global pandemic will be short lived and V-shaped.

ver the past 50 years, the U.S. industrial sector has seen a lot of heartache, with permanent factory closures and layoffs and machinery moved offshore or just scrapped. It’s heartwarming when you find a manufacturer that was most certainly bound for the dustbin of history but clawed its way back to relevance.

Skana Aluminum Co., an aluminum mill on the western shore of Lake Michigan, began life as the Aluminum Goods Manufacturing Co., which established the Mirro cookware product line in 1917. It was sold in 1983 to Newell/Rubbermaid and was shuttered in 2000.

When in 2009, the rolling mill assets became available, Thomas Testwuide Sr. and four friends came to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, to see what could be done to purchase, revitalize and operate the mill. The doors reopened in April 2010, and by early July, Skana Aluminum cast its first aluminum slab. Two years later, Skana acquired the assets of Scott Aluminum in Clarksburg, West Virginia, which included a cold mill and slitting capacity. Today, Skana Aluminum employs approximately 225 people across its two plants.

partingshot

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