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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Cogito Ergo Sum who wrote (3163)	3/30/2004 8:25:42 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

Steel prices pinching US office furniture industry The following post from Steve who works at Steelcase ==================================================== Steelcase Inc. (SCS), the world's top office furniture maker, is in such a quandary. On Monday the company posted a fourth-quarter loss and forecast lower first-quarter earnings, citing higher steel costs as a major factor. ---------------- On March 1, Leggett & Platt Inc. (LEG) raised its steel prices by 8.5 percent to commercial furniture customers, including Herman Miller Inc. (MLHR), Hon Industries Inc. (HNI) and Steelcase, according to Leggett & Platt Spokesman Dave DeSonier. money.excite.com Comments from Herman Miller: Herman Miller in its third-quarter earnings report on March 17 said steel costs next quarter could rise by more than $1.5 million and $5 million for the year, said Chief Financial Officer Beth Nickels. "If we didn't have contracts in place over the next year, this could have cost us around $20 million in increased costs," Nickels said during a third-quarter earnings conference call in mid-March. From the Steelcase quarterly: Looking ahead, the company said it expects a first-quarter after-tax loss of between 9 cents and 14 cents per share, which includes restructuring charges of $3 million to $6 million and a $2 million to $3 million impact of rising steel prices. money.excite.com Steve ================================================== Mish note Steve posted on my board that Steelcase upped prices by 1% from a year ago. Pricing pressure? Where is it? How much is steel up since then? Note: some products do not have that much steel, but prices on 100% steel cabinets also only went up by 1% Mish