The high for any one company was 35 percent and the low was 1 percent. An increase in orders for 2001 is expected from China, Mexico, Western Europe and Korea. The cost of metal is a good indicator of the health of economy. Nickel is used in a variety of different applications including nickel-chrome heating elements. Stainless steel is also used widely as a furnace lining material and also for muffles and baffles.
Copper is used heavily for electrical applications.
The price of aluminum very directly affects the level of economic activity in the nonferrous industry. The market for industrial heating equipment continues to be strong as is indicated by most all of the indicators below. The most notable change in the last quarter is a relatively rare increase in the price of stainless steel. Industry experts say that these increases are not demand driven, but are the result of profit margin adjustments made by leading stainless suppliers. This index is compiled monthly by the National Association of Purchasing Management, P.O. Box 22160, Tempe, AZ, 85285-2160.