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Link to November 2007 .pdf
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Newsletter / November 2007 |
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I remember when I was young buying a transistor radio (the iPod of our day) that was made in Japan. After a short while it stopped working and I was told, “What did you expect? It was made in Japan.” So I suppose China today is the Japan of yesterday and as we all know, the Japanese eventually figured out how to make things right. And so will the Chinese.
It is important to realize that China is not the U.S. with cheaper labor and less restrictive laws. It is a product of its own history - a history very different from our own. We live in a nation of laws (and a surplus of attorneys) while much of the world does not. We have developed and legislated business ethics, which by the way, are violated every day. But we do have a system to deal with
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such violations. As with Chinese products, we have recalls on American made products all the time. Ford recently recalled 3.6 million cars for faulty speed control devices that could cause fires, bringing their total for that defect-over the past 12 years - to about 19 million cars. So we are not so squeaky clean ourselves.
Recently, there has been a backlash from Chinese products that are dangerous and of shoddy quality. There have been recalls of toys, pet food, toothpaste, seafood, window blinds and bicycles among other things. As many domestic manufacturers sped to China in search of low cost sources, quality assurance appears to have taken a back seat.
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Steel
Imports of specialized structural pipe and tubing steel from China have soared from nothing two years ago to 102,000 metric tons in the first six months of this year (according to the AISI). China now provides about 25 percent of the U.S. supply of this high strength steel, making it the second largest source behind Canada. (U.S. steel mills provide about 16 percent.) This is a somewhat scary proposition. A few months ago, steel service centers began testing steel tubing randomly and found the certification of material to be erroneous making it subject to failure. This could have huge consequences in the construction marketplace. Many of the 800-plus Chinese steelmakers are small fabricators who have no idea what quality is
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about. As a result, steel service centers have been busy quarantining their inventories and trying to “unload” steel tubing that does not have adequate certification. Be careful not to buy such inventories unknowingly. Imports of high strength steel products from China are likely to plummet as a result of these concerns. You can be confident that Paragon Steel is not a provider of such secondary products.
The term ‘Caveat Emptor’ meaning, let the buyer beware is a Latin phrase, not a Chinese one, but it makes sense to consider the meaning when sourcing in a country that we do not fully understand or control.
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Thanksgiving Message
Above everything else, we understand the value of competition. We understand the many options that you, the customer, have when you make your buying choices. It is for that reason that we offer our thanks for the opportunity to serve you. If business were easy, everyone would be successful. After nineteen years of dedication and support from our loyal group of customers and suppliers, we feel blessed to still be in business today. There are many companies
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that we have seen come and go. If there is anything that you believe would make Paragon Steel a better supplier or a better company, we encourage you to write us directly.
Jim Stavis
jstavis@paragonsteel.com
Doug Carpenter
dcarpenter@paragonsteel.com
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Quote of the Month
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"The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis'. One brush stroke stands for danger, the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger – but recognize the opportunity."
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| – John F. Kennedy |
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