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Encore Wire, a major producer of building wire in USA, reported that shipment volumes by metal weight contracted by 4% y-o-y in Q2 2012, mainly attributed to the continuing recession in the US construction industry. The company said that its performance by shipment volume should be measured against changes in the spread between the price of wire sold and the cost of raw materials. This metric decreased by 10.1% y-o-y in Q2. Encore further added that the drop in volumes was related to attempts to lead or maintain pricing levels, while not accepting some lower margin orders.

It was reported that US State authorities have signed an agreement with China headquartered Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Group Inc. for the construction of a new copper tube plant in Wilcox County, Alabama. Development of the facility will involve an investment of US$100M, however, the production capacity of the operation is not yet known. This follows September news that the company had not broken ground at its proposed US$100M, 45,000t/y copper pipe and tube project in neighbouring Clarke County, Alabama. The delay was attributed to a larger than originally anticipated site requirement, leading to the development of new plans to relocate the facility. Production will supply the US heating, ventilation, refrigeration and air conditioning sector.

Superior Essex Energy Inc., the US based energy cablemaking division of Superior Essex Inc., began commercial production of its new suite of low voltage energy cables. The new products include 300V and 600V instrumentation cables and 600V control cables for industrial, utility power or station control circuits. The company is manufacturing its new offering out of its Tarboro, NC facility which represents Superior Essex Inc.'s first North American production facility for low voltage energy cables. Superior Essex Energy Inc. has plans to expand its portfolio to supply the Commercial, Industrial and Energy markets.

Revere Copper Products Inc., which is based in Rome, N.Y., will increase its fabrication charge on all copper and copper alloy products by an average of 10%, effective as of 1st March. Revere said that the rise in costs related to supply, energy and health-care were attributable for the price hike. It also added that the new revenue will ensure that the company can reinvest in key process centers to improve its quality, service and reliability.

Aurubis AG's Buffalo, N.Y. copper fabricating business unit (formerly owned by Luvata) announced an increase to the fabrication charges on its rolled product shipments, effective from 1st March. While the exact charge will vary by product, the average fabrication price will rise by 10%. The company has cited the long term rise in supply, maintenance, energy and health-care costs as reasons for the change.

The US Department of Commerce concluded that a revocation of the antidumping duty order on brass sheet and strip from Germany would likely lead to a recurrence or continuation of dumping. This follows a 5-year review that was initiated on 1st March 2011. An essential aspect of the results was the calculation of the weighted-average percentage margins for German exporters, which it measured to be 3.81% for Wieland-Werke AG and 7.30% for all others.

Following announcements from Aurubis and Revere about planned rises in their US fabrication charges, Olin Brass Corp. and Hussey Copper Corp. have also unveiled their plans to increase fabrication conversion prices. Olin Brass Corp. intends to increase charges by 5¢/lb on all alloy orders shipped from 1st March. Hussey Copper Corp. will increase charges by up to 10% on its copper products, including sheet, strip, bar and plate on shipments from 1st March. Olin Brass attributed the rise in its prices to escalating inflationary costs related to supplies, maintenance, energy and healthcare. Hussey stated that the charge increases were essential for ensuring continued investment in its equipment, products and people.

General Cable reported a rise in sales volume by metal weight of 2% q-o-q (+5% y-o-y) in Q2 2012 due to demand in France and the Mediterranean as well as stable demand in most ROW and North American businesses. Bright spots for demand included: ongoing grid investment and the resultant demand for medium voltage cables in France; stronger demand from telephone and electric utility businesses in North America; improving domestic conditions following the Q3/4 2011 severe flooding in Thailand; and strong mining activity in Chile.

Encore Wire Corporation, a leading copper cable-maker for the building sector, has submitted plans to build a 202,000-square-foot facility in McKinney, TX to house aluminium wire production lines. The plans include the employment of 100 staff and the value of the project, which is reported to be $25M. Of Encore Wire's total cable production, it is estimated that 5% of sales revenue are from cable containing aluminium conductor.

At the 7th International Corrosion Solutions Conference (CSC09), 21st to 23rd September, 2009 in Park City, Utah, USA, metallurgists, fabricators, chemical and materials engineers will discuss topics ranging from alloy development and plant engineering to fabrication, failure analysis, and much more. Conference sessions are tailored to chemical processing, oil and gas, material selection, fabrication advances, and other challenging processing environments. The following abstract provides a glimpse of the papers being presented at this year's event

Founded in 2005, LeDi is located in China near Shanghai in Zhejiang province, a hub of transportation, trading and communications. The company has three copper wire production lines with total annual capacity of approximately 36,000 tons. In April 2009, LeDi received a license to import scrap metal directly from foreign countries, making it one of the only copper processing companies in China that is licensed to import scrap copper directly from the USA, thereby decreasing raw materials costs and providing a meaningful competitive advantage.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bay Acquisition Corp. (formerly known as SecureLogic Corp.) (OTCBB: SLGI) ("Bay Acquisition"), announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Zhejiang Ledi Electronic Technology Co., LTD. ("LeDi"), a copper processing enterprise located in China, which produces electrical copper wires in the wire and cable industries. The transaction is structured as an acquisition of LeDi's Samoan-based holding company.

It was reported that Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Group is considering establishing a plant in the US. The three candidate locations are Thomasville, Little Rock and Dallas. Golden Dragon's copper tube products will serve the HVACR industry. This prospect comes further to the antidumping duties on copper tube imports from China and Mexico. Golden Dragon had established a tube factory in Mexico and its shipments to the US have been impacted due to the duties.

The Copper and Brass Servicenter Association reported that shipments of brass mill products amounted to 23.1Mlbs in June 2011, up slightly from 23.0Mlbs on the previous month and down by 6.5% y-o-y. The positive signs of growth that were registered earlier in this year, which peaked during March as shipments reached 25Mlbs, subsequently dropped and levelled off in Q2. Slower growth in June compared with the same month last year is attributed to shipments of brass products falling 12.8Mlbs, down by 12% y-o-y, with the largest drops in shipments occurring within the brass sheet, rod and bar product segments.

It was reported that KPS Capital Partners (KPS), a private equity firm, acquired United Copper Industries (UCI), the building wire and cable manufacturer for an undisclosed sum. UCI has said that capital backing from KPS will enable the company to develop its product line more quickly and enhance its customer service. In addition, it will allow the company to undergo an aggressive consolidation strategy involving the acquisition of companies that have similar product offerings.

The Copper and Brass Servicenter Association reported that shipments of brass mill products amounted to 20.24Mlbs in May 2011, up by 0.4% on the previous month and down 11.3% y-o-y. This comes after a 13% fall in April from 25Mlbs in March, which was the peak that service centers experienced in Q1. Industry sources attributed the flattening in shipment levels in May to a decline in general consumer activity, also indicated by the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index falling from 60.4 to 53.5. In addition, it was reported that US brass mills are expecting lead times to narrow or flatten during Q3. Lead times are currently two to five weeks, having previously lengthened in early Q2. Lead times tend to be longer when consumer and service center demand is weak.

CommScope, Inc. will supply the Bishop Hill Wind Farm in Henry County, Illinois with its GroundSmart(TM) Copper Clad Steel solution, an alternative to solid and stranded copper that is increasingly in demand by utilities for its cost-efficiency and anti-theft characteristics. CommScope will provide 1.7 million feet of GroundSmart copper clad steel grounding wire to the project this year--the largest GroundSmart application to date. The Bishop Hills Wind Farm will include approximately 130 wind turbines. Developers of Bishop Hill said that they see GroundSmart as a simple solution to reducing projects costs without compromising the system's integrity. Copper clad steel is specifically designed to disperse fault currents and lightning strikes at a lower total cost of ownership compared to pure copper.