AWPA's Market Outlook Panel speakers talk about 2003 economy (left to right): Paul Taylor, National Automobile Dealers Association, Bill Strauss, Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, and Marty Payton, Precision Metals Services. The AWPA Annual Meeting in Hollywood, Florida was a welcome event for all attendees -- especially those who were able to avoid the record-breaking East Coast snowstorm! Over 180 AWPA member company representatives, spouses and guests descended on the Florida resort to participate in informative General Sessions, Committee meetings, informal events, and the ever popular sports tournaments held in conjunction with the meeting. This year's General Session featured a Market Outlook panel of experts representing the automotive, construction and stainless sectors. According to economist Paul Taylor from the National Automobile Dealers Association, the automotive market is looking pretty good. Vehicles per household numbers are up; consumer confidence remains stable; and the dollar is now falling in value against the euro. Despite the recession, Americans continue to buy cars -- most likely due to the vast number of incentives being offered by car manufacturers. This trend will continue throughout the year. Vehicle sales in 2002 for crossover utility vehicles jumped substantially from the year before, and should continue on the upward slide. However, sales for large cars, pickups, small cars, mid cars and vans decreased during the same period. Turning next to the construction sector, Bill Strauss from the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, discussed the outlook for 2003. Despite the economic recession, growth in new construction has been quite good, although private construction has done much better than public projects over the past two years. This is in part due to the 30-year low in mortgage rates. Because home values have contributed so significantly to consumers' wealth, home ownership levels rose to historically high levels. This has resulted in consistently increasing housing starts over the last three years. Conversely, nonresidential construction (public and industrial) has experienced a downturn that has been even deeper than the one during the recession in the early 90's. Manufacturing output also fell sharply during this past recession and capacity utilization plummeted to the lowest rates since 1983. As a result, the outlook for public and industrial construction projects is pessimistic. It will take a significant gain in industrial production to bring capacity utilization rates up to a level that will start an increase in construction activity. Marty Payton, from Precision Metals Services, Inc., presented his views of the market outlook for stainless products. Historically, 100,000 tons of stainless rod have been utilized in the US; that level is down to 75,000. Additionally, imports of stainless steel wire rod was down, primarily due to the 201 steel tariffs. However, there are new suppliers now on the scene which should help meet the demand due to the lower levels of rod imports. But, prices for this rod are increasing because of the higher raw materials costs to make the rod. As for the future, it appears that prices will be slightly higher in the near term, unless some unrelated action occurs on such a large scale as to affect our economy as a whole. Marty's advice: take the hedge approach, and try not to invest in the long-term. Buy only what is essential and minimize forward purchases. Bill Strauss returned the next day to present a macro economic picture and expectations for 2003. The economy's growth has been improving since the third quarter of 2001, although inflation had increased slightly during 2002. However, if we remove the volatile food and energy components, "core" inflation has actually been easing over the past year. The unemployment rate rose to 5.9% in the fourth quarter of 2002 (but fell to 5.7% in January) and employment costs increases, which had jumped in early 2000, have moved down as the economic activity slowed. Inventories were also brought down sharply in 2001 and early 2002. With respect to manufacturing, the picture is not too bright. Manufacturing employment growth has been very weak for the past two years, and has been negative since the middle of 2000. Manufacturing output had been declining since June 2000, but has experienced eight consecutive monthly increases at the beginning of 2002. However, manufacturers struggled in the final four months of the year. Manufacturing capacity growth surged in the second half of the 90's, but has fallen to the slowest growth rate since the 1940's. Finally, new orders for capital goods have been pretty flat for most of 2002. As in the past, AWPA attendees also heard from two representatives from rod suppliers. Representing Connecticut Steel Corporation, Fergus Porter, President, talked about his company's wire mill, rod mill, and capital improvements including the installation of a Morgan High Speed Shear. Bernd Neuenkirchen, General Manager, Ferrostaal focused on the ability of wire companies to access rod and what to expect in the future. All association committees held meetings to discuss developments in their individual product sectors and plans for future initiatives. These gatherings prove invaluable for AWPA members who can swap industry news, market information, and general insight. In between meetings, attendees enjoyed the warm weather by playing golf, tennis, fishing, visiting the spa and health-club, and just sitting by the pool. Next year's annual meeting will be held in Los Cabos, Mexico February 8 - 10, 2004, so mark your calendars! AWPA Members Honor ExecIt has been nearly twenty years since Kimberly Korbel joined the AWPA team, and for over a decade she has led the association as Executive Director. Kimberly has seen many changes and faces over the years, and the AWPA leaders decided it was time to honor her dedication and service to the industry. H Woltz (Insteel Industries), AWPA President, Pete Cronin (Industrial Wire Corporation), AWPA Past President, David Libla (Mid-Continent Nail Corporation), AWPA Board member, Doug King (King Steel Corporation), AWPA Founding Board Member, and
Fred Waite, AWPA Counsel, all paid tribute to Kimberly before presenting her with an Appreciation Award and a standing ovation. And the Winners are...AWPA would like to congratulate our "athletes" who won the various sports tournaments held during the Annual Meeting: Tennis Tournament Results1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Golf Tournament ResultsMembers Top Foursome
Walter Robertson Spouses Top Foursome Women's Longest Drive Men's Longest Drive Women's Closest to the Pin Men's Closest to the Pin Fishing:First catch of the day Most fish for the day Largest catch of the day Many thanks to our Sports ChairsJohn Foster Jan Sorige Bill Groom Max Moore Entrepreneurial Spirit Award PresentedThe members and staff of the AWPA would like to congratulate John T. Johnson, President of Mid South Wire who was the honored recipient of the Max Moore Award. This award is presented each year for the individual who shows especially impressive qualities in the areas of Entrepreneurial Spirit, Leadership and Community Service. The old adage of "starting at the bottom" would certainly apply to John T. Johnson, Jr's. tenure at Mid-South Wire Company in Nashville, Tennessee. During his High School and College years, his father helped to initiate the work ethic and energetic spirit that would guide him in the years to come. The late John T. Johnson, Sr. ("Killer") made sure that his son ("John T", as he is known to everyone) learned the wire business from the bottom up. During the early years, his supervisors were continually surprised at his willingness to tackle any job, no matter how large or small. He was motivated to be a success in the eyes of his co-workers and supervisors as much as he was motivated to be a success in the eyes of his father. His attitude was to be looked upon as an employee and colleague who carried his own weight, rather than as "the President's son." After graduation from the University of Alabama, John T moved from the production floor to the Customer Service Department and began developing strong customer relationships. Innovative service and contract ideas increased sales throughout his tenure as General Sales Manager. Upon moving to the administrative side of the business, John T faced some of his most significant challenges. He firmly believed it was in Mid-South's best interest to rejoin the AWPA. Further, he was convinced that Mid-South needed to strengthen its position in the marketplace. As a result, Mid-South made a significant investment in "state-of-the-art" wire processing equipment specifically configured to meet the needs of the company's growing customer base. John T then assumed the position of Vice President and General Manager, during which time he assembled an impressive team of managers to help guide Mid-South through the challenges of the coming years. It is evident, as he builds his team, that he values the same qualities in others that he has within himself -- hard work, experience, and an aggressive "come up through the ranks" attitude. In addition to being an active member of the AWPA, John T is active in a number of charitable and civic endeavors. For example, he serves on the Board of the Nashville 100 Club, an organization that provides assistance to families of law enforcement officers and firemen who lost their lives in the line of duty. He has chaired and served as a member of the Battleground Academy School Board (his high school alma mater), and he and his wife Kerrie have worked diligently with the "Second Harvest Food Bank," in Tennessee. John T also maintains memberships in several other organizations, such as The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and The Alabama Alumni Association. Mid-South Wire Company participates regularly in the support of other educational institutions
such as Tennessee State University and Middle Tennessee State University. Congrats to All NomineesAWPA would like to extend congratulations to all the nominees and to thank their colleagues, peers and friends who took the time to complete their nominations. Doug King Kent Taubensee H. O. Woltz, III We also would like to thank the members of the 2003 Selection Committee:Pat Moore Cheryl Coelho Bob Moffitt John Mueller Bill Groom Kimberly Korbel Click here to see photo highlights of the Annual Meeting!!
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