US Manufacturing Expands at Slowest Pace in 2 Years

Posted on August 5, 2011 by admin

US Manufacturing Expands at Slowest Pace in 2 YearsManufacturers in the U.S. had their weakest growth in two years last month, as new orders shrank for the first time since the recession officially ended, according to a survey of the nation’s supply executives.

Activity at manufacturing firms in the United States was flat in July, falling to its lowest reading in two years, according to the Institute of Supply Management (ISM). The ISM’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell from 55.3 in June to 50.9 last month. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

“Manufacturing posted very strong growth from January to April, but the pace of growth has decelerated markedly since that time and appears to have nearly flattened out by July,” according to Daniel J. Meckstroth, chief economist for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI. “Some of the late spring and early summer doldrums were caused by supply chain issues related to getting automotive and semiconductor imports from Japan, and transportation delays due to spring flooding in the Midwest. But the underlying problem is that the economy is growing very slowly.”

Last month’s PMI was the lowest reading since June 2009, one month after the recession officially ended.

The ISM report showed new orders contracted for the first time since June 2009, falling to 49.2 from 51.6. Of the 18 manufacturing industries tracked by ISM, half reported decreases in new orders last month.

Production and employment showed continued growth in July, but at slower rates than in June. Production growth slowed to 52.3 from 54.5 in July, while ISM’s employment index registered 53.5 last month, 6.4 points below June’s index but nonetheless indicating growth.

“Businesses have cut back on orders and employment because they are just not seeing the demand that they expected,” John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC, told Bloomberg News. “The economy is just not picking up momentum in the second half.”

Concerns over demand likely spurred businesses to slow down on stockpiling, and inventories contracted after expanding in June. The inventories index registered 49.3 in July, 4.8 points below the 54.1 figure reported in June.

Prices paid by manufacturers also grew more slowly in July, dropping 9 points in July to 59. This marked the 25th consecutive month the prices index has registered above 50.

“In the last three months combined, the Prices Index has declined by 26.5 percentage points, dropping from 85.5 percent in April to 59 percent in July,” Holcomb said.

However, exports and imports both grew faster, and several executives surveyed by the ISM noted that export demand remained “strong.” ISM’s index of new export orders registered 54 in July, up slightly from 53.5 in June and marking the 25th consecutive month of growth in the index. Imports of materials by manufacturers registered 53.5, 2.5 points higher than the corresponding figure reported in June. This is the 23rd consecutive month of growth in imports.

Analysts had pinned the slowdown on temporary factors, but signs of a significant pickup are proving elusive.

The Financial Times reports that while many companies continued to report strong results in the second quarter, there are growing indications of a global industrial slowdown. Analysts described the second half of 2011 as a mixed bag, with some manufacturers continuing to see strong sales while others are hampered by slowing orders. Consumer demand could remain weak, while companies relying on industrial demand may be in a better position.

“Although the ISM report is gloomy, we expect manufacturing activity to improve,” Meckstroth wrote. “Motor vehicle production schedules are increasing as parts are more available and inventories remain low. In addition, business equipment spending has been, and is expected to remain, relatively strong. Profits are high and firms are willing to invest to upgrade their operations to take advantage of accelerated depreciation.”

McKenzie is one of the the leading distributors of Quincy compressed air equipment and parts in the United States.

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Defining “American Made”

Posted on August 3, 2011 by admin

Defining American Made“Buy American” is back on the agenda in Washington. Yet buying American-made products has become an ambiguous, complicated challenge.

“Today, steel, cement, automobile and machinery companies – including air compressors – exist in a borderless world. Mexican cement companies own U.S. plants,” the Americas Society and Council of the Americas.

For example, automobiles ‘manufactured’ in the U.S. have crossed borders numerous times during their assembly. Today in terms of ownership, production and inputs, we are too intertwined to define what is U.S. and what is other.

“Once you put down the flags and shut off all the television ads with their Heartland, apple-pie America imagery, the truth of the car business is that it transcends national boundaries,” the Wall Street Journal recently noted. “A car or truck sold by a ‘Detroit’ automaker such as General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. or Chrysler Group could be less American — as defined by the government’s standards for ‘domestic content’ — than a car sold by Toyota, Honda or Nissan — all of which have substantial assembly and components operations in the U.S.”

Economists Thomas H. Klier and James M. Rubenstein indicate that, as of the year prior, about 25 percent of automobile parts used in the U.S. were imported, and approximately another 25 percent were produced by U.S.-based operations of foreign parts makers.

Among the 58 models with NHTSA ratings of 75 percent or higher, foreign-based automakers produce only eight. Detroit automakers, on the other hand, produce a mere 24 of the 140 models with domestic content ratings of 10 percent or less.

Are Jobs Driving the Difference?

A 2006 study by a group established by Big Three retirees in Washington, estimated the number of jobs each automaker’s domestic parts purchases supported. Level Field found that domestic manufacturers’ share of total automaker jobs in 2006 was 76 percent, and that every 1,000 vehicles sold by the Detroit Three in the U.S. supported more than twice as many jobs as 1,000 vehicles sold by foreign nameplates.

Detroit automakers directly employed 239,341 people in the U.S. at the end of 2007. At the same time, foreign producers employed about 113,000 U.S. employees.

Foreign car manufacturers generate billions of dollars in jobs, not to mention community infrastructure, in the U.S., but there is a difference between Detroit’s economic footprint and that of its foreign rivals.

Level Field has said that investment in research, design, engineering and management is what’s driving the difference in jobs.

Now, as proponents argue that the “buy American” purchasing restrictions in the economic stimulus package are essential — to ensure that the billions spent by the U.S. government to revive the economy and boost employment actually go to U.S. companies — and as critics respond — saying the restrictions would only delay crucial work and impose onerous layers of bureaucracy on what is already likely to be a cumbersome contracting process — it’s worth noting that similar measures have been adopted or considered in Argentina, China, Indonesia, Ecuador, India, Russia and Vietnam.

Most manufacturers today look at the world as a contiguous global world. Because of that, it’s just a hugely different world from what we’ve seen in the past, and decisions are made now on global rules instead of just domestic rules.

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Match the Supply & Demand in Your Compressed Air System

Posted on June 28, 2011 by admin

Distribution PipingCompressed air is a very high cost component in the production of goods and services at a plant. As such, improving the efficiency of an existing system offers a large savings opportunity. To realize the potential, the system dynamics must be understood and the supply from the compressors must always match the real system demands.

Production processes get their energy from the air stored at higher pressure in the piping distribution system. The air compressors simply replenish the air that is consumed.

The energy input in compressing the air is supplied to the connecting pipes for delivery to the various demands throughout the facility. The energy extracted from the system to perform the required tasks actually comes from air already stored in the pipes.

The inefficiencies of a plant air system are affected as much by how the air escapes the system as by how it is generated in the compressor room. Matching the supply with the demand at an optimal level requires that both generation and storage issues be addressed.

Every air system reaches a balance between the air compressor’s supply into the system and the downstream demands that use the air. The energy input from compressing the air equals the energy used plus the system’s inefficiencies. Any more or less energy goes into or is released from storage. Every time there is a change to either side of the equation the system rebalances at a new point.

Taking proactive, positive measures to control the balance point ensures the system always operates at its optimum energy level. There are two major sources of energy to draw from to accomplish this.

  1. Air stored at an elevated pressure in a fixed volume vessel
  2. Reserve rotating energy of off loaded operating air compressor motors

Air Storage: Volume alone does not equal storage. In order to replenish or release the energy of the stored air, the fixed volume must realize a change in pressure.

Pressure/Flow Control: The resultant pressure fluctuations from bringing compressors on and off line and the impact of short duration surge demands throughout the plant air system forces the system to continuously seek a rebalance point. The addition of the properly sized air storage receiver mitigates the magnitude and rate of change in system pressure but does not by itself eliminate it. System pressure must still be raised high enough to compensate for the cyclical profile. To stabilize delivered air pressure, the air release out of the receiver must be controlled.

A Pressure/Flow Controller installed downstream of the properly-sized air storage receiver(s) and upstream of the main piping header leaving the compressor room is designed for this task. It senses the pressure at its outlet and modulates the flow control valve(s) accordingly to control the air flow from the receiver to hold the pressure constant.

Reserve Rotating Horsepower: Significant reserve energy is available from air compressor motors that are running but not fully loaded. In combination with the Pressure/Flow Controller and air storage receiver, this reserve energy can be applied in a proactive manner to maintain an optimal balance point. As the receiver pressure changes, the trim compressor loads and unloads accordingly.

Running a partially loaded fixed speed compressor is inefficient and can be costly. Storage, therefore, is typically sized to allow unneeded compressors to time out and shut down. Ideally, all operating compressors run at full load with only one compressor trimming at any given time. Substantial air storage must be applied to cover any peaks so a shut down compressor doesn’t have to restart.

With both the supply and demand profile under control, any steps taken to reduce air consumption will positively translate back to the compressors and reduce the input energy. Leak repairs, regulating use points, and the application of high efficiency blow off devices are some additional cost effective measures to take.

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Air Compressor Equipment for Vapor Recovery

Posted on June 14, 2011 by admin

Quincy QR25Compressor packages can be specifically designed to capture natural gas emissions with high levels of hydrogen sulfide from oilfield stock tanks. This type compression system is called a Vapor Recovery Unit (VRU).

Oil Flooded Screw Compressors
The oil flooded screw compressor is the most versatile technical solution for either dry or wet gas compression applications. The oil flooded screw compressor gives the operator the flexibility to adapt to rising discharge pressure requirements whenever they are encountered. Rotary screw compressors are very cost effective in handling high volumes of gas in field gathering and vapor recovery services.

With a general range of volumes from approximately 15 mscfd to 2 mmscfd and differential pressures up to 350 psig for single stage models, the oil flooded screw compressor has proven itself time and again to be an excellent choice for virtually any low to medium pressure application.

The rotary screw compressor design employs two helical rotors that intermesh. Oil is injected into the low pressure end of the rotors. Gas also enters the compressor at the low pressure end. The oil and gas mix travels down the length of the rotors where it is compressed. In this particular compressor design the oil is both the cooling medium and the compression medium.

Typical applications include vapor recovery, wellhead compression, medium pressure gas boosting, landfill gas recovery and casing head pressure reduction.

Quincy Line of Reciprocating Compressors
The Quincy line of reciprocating compressors offer the most cost-effective solutions for dry gas applications moving up to 550 mscfd at pressure up to 500 psi. The automatic bypass allows precise, consistent back pressure to be maintained on the well and reduces downtime and maintenance. The automated liquid transfer system dramatically reduces pumper workload and automated restart minimizes pumper callout.

Rotary Vane Compressors
Rotary vane compressors have been utilized for over 50 years in low-pressure compression applications. The relatively simple design of rotary vane compressors offer comparatively low initial cost and ongoing maintenance when compared to other compressors utilized in low pressure gas management.

Rotary vane compressors are excellent in relatively high volume/relatively low pressure differential applications. Volumes from approximately 20 mscfd to 2.5 mscfd are obtainable at differential discharge pressures up to 60 psig for single stage models.

These positive displacement machines utilize a slotted, eccentrically mounted rotor. Blades, or vanes, ride in and out of the slots and slide out due to centrifugal force. The vane contacts the inside of the cylinder wall. As the rotor turns, the gas is swept into an ever decreasing space, thereby affecting compression. This simple design allows for years of trouble-free service and makes rotary vane compressors a very attractive option for low pressure services.

Typical applications include vapor recovery, wellhead compression, medium pressure gas boosting, landfill gas recovery, and casing head pressure reduction.

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What is an Air Booster & where is it Applied?

Posted on June 8, 2011 by admin

What is an Air Booster and Where is it AppliedAir boosters take pre-compressed air from an existing plant air system or from a low-pressure compressor and increase it to the required higher pressure. An oil free air booster is a specially designed reciprocating compressor that accepts elevated inlet pressures, usually below 150 psig, and boosts that pressure up as far as 1500 psig.

When & where is it applied?
When plant pressure isn’t enough, an air booster is often the best solution. Standard compressed air systems in industrial facilities are typically designed for pressures of 80 to 130 psig. When higher pressures are required it is very effective to use a portion of your plant air and apply an air booster to obtain the desired higher pressure.

Other methods of acquiring higher pressure air such as stand-alone air compressors, air amplifiers and increasing the pressure of the entire plant are more costly and less efficient. It simply takes more power to start from a standstill, while an air booster gets a running start because it receives pre-compressed air.

How does it work?
Think of an air booster as a second or third stage to your existing air compressor. An air booster connects into your plant air system via a receiver tank, piping and discharge tank. These tanks are used to dampen pulsation created by the reciprocating movement of the booster and provide a small amount of storage capacity.

Our angle cut design allows for flexing of the ring end to seal the gap better than butt cut designs, while retaining its strength vs. step cut designs. In smaller cylinders where gap leakage becomes significant, we use a 2-piece ‘L’ style design that removes the end gap by using an inner and outer ring for sealing.

Why choose an Air Booster?
Cost – When combined with your plant air, an air booster pays for itself in short order. Because an air booster starts with an elevated inlet pressure, you are using a smaller machine to meet your requirements.

Air boosters use less horsepower and still provide higher pressures. It takes more power to begin compression from ambient air. For example: when you are compressing ambient air from 0 psig to 600 psig the compression ratio is 41.8:1; however, when compressing air from 100 psig to 600 psig the compression ratio is only 5.4:1. A smaller compression ratio equates to smaller equipment, which makes your system less expensive to purchase, install, operate and maintain.

Bottom Line: When your plant air pressure isn’t enough, an air booster is the most efficient and cost effective choice for worry-free and oil-free continuous duty high pressure air.

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