The Tube & Pipe Journal - September 2009

THE PULSE comprises data from selected industries pertinent to the majority of TPJ-The Tube & Pipe Journal’s subscribers. This information is intended to provide an overview of industry fundamentals for tube and pipe producers and fabricators. It is not specific to any particular industry.

The fuels and power index includes several fuels and electricity. The metals index comprises a multitude of alloys and includes steel and iron. Because of the volatility of steel and iron, these categories also are broken out separately. These graphs do not show specific prices but rather price indexes—they reflect an agglomeration of prices set at 100 in 1982.

The trade balance covers tube and pipe products listed in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) Sections 73 (iron and steel) and 76 (aluminum).

The industry employment total comprises employment figures for four industries among TPJ subscribers: primary metal producers, including tube producers ( 9. 8 percent of TPJ subscribers); fabricators ( 30. 9 percent of TPJ subscribers); machinery manufacturers ( 20. 2 percent of TPJ subscribers); and transportation equipment manufacturers ( 9. 8 percent of TPJ subscribers).

Data is provided by U.S. government agencies, including the U.S. International Trade Commission ( www.usitc.gov), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics ( www.bls.gov). NAICS codes reported in The Pulse are 331 (primary metal manufacturing), 332 ( fabricated metal product manufacturing), 333 (machinery manufacturing), and 336 ( transportation equipment manufacturing).