Market Outlook: Composites in General Aviation

One assumption is that aircraft construction is a boom/bust market. But current order backlogs and resulting ramp-ups in production rates indicate that civil aircraft manufacturers are looking ahead with a great deal of confidence. Expected long-term growth in Asian and other developing economies accounts for a large proportion of the recently placed aircraft orders. As a result, many manufacturers already have backlogs amounting to several years of production for popular models. While some observers argue that the aircraft industry, as a result, has entered a “super cycle” or “a bubble,” investment banking advisor Trevor Bohn takes a slightly different view. A vice president at RSM EquiCo Capital Markets, Bohn said at COMPOSITESWORLD Conferences’ 2008 Composites Industry Investment Forum held in February that he preferred to describe the market as “stronger for longer.” With the growing number of aircraft orders and a resulting build up in aircraft delivery backlogs, the market for composite aerostructures in general aviation has been growing rapidly. According to the General Aviation Manufacturers Assn.’s recently released 2007 year-end statistics, the industry grew 16.5 percent to a record $21.9 billion in aircraft shipments, compared to 2006. Read More.

Focus to shift to raw materials in '08 steel M&A

January 17 - Reuters - Steelmakers could focus their acquisition sights on raw materials in 2008, in a bid to reduce costs which are set to climb on the back of higher iron ore prices, a senior industry expert told Reuters this week.

The steel industry is bracing for a sixth straight year of iron ore price hikes in 2008 as annual contract talks between the mills and top iron ore producers Vale, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have begun.

The expectations in the market point to a 30 percent rise in the price of iron ore, a key raw material used to make steel, while industry sources in Australia have said Vale has offered an increase of 70 percent over current term prices. Read More.

M&A Hiring Shows Life Despite Leery Outlook

September 10 - WSJ - European banks and other financial institutions plan to hire more merger-and-acquisition staff, even though there has been a sharp jump in the percentage that think a bursting loan bubble poses the greatest threat to deals in the next year, according to a survey by IntraLinks M&A Monitor, in association with Financial News.

A poll of 348 banks, corporations, legal firms, and private-equity businesses conducted as the worst of the credit crisis was unfolding this summer found that 84% were seeking to hire staff, marking a sharp increase from 69% in April and 75% a year ago. The optimism was highest in Germany, where more than 90% of respondents said they expected to recruit additional personnel, the study found. Read More.

Field leveling for M&A players

August 30 - TwinCities.com - Not everyone is stressed about the credit crunch. Reid MacDonald might even go so far as to say he's a little excited about it.

The CEO of Minneapolis-based Faribault Foods says he thinks small companies like his that are looking to make acquisitions will benefit from the new credit environment because they'll be better able to compete for deals.

As lenders pull back on financing, the private-equity firms that have been snapping up companies at record prices could be forced to pull back on highly leveraged deals. As they do so, the prices they pay for their acquisitions likely will come down, finance experts say.

That's good news for strategic buyers like Faribault Foods, which has been outbid by private-equity firms on at least a handful of deals in recent years. Read More.

Alternative Energy: Can It Compete?

August 27 - Seeking Alpha - It's no secret that alternative energy is an emerging market with enormous potential for growth; fossil fuel depletion, political volatility in oil producing nations, and the effects of greenhouse gasses have become pressing issues for many in recent years. But for all the hype, the question remains: Can it compete?

The dig against alternative energy has always been costs. Yes, solar power is nice, but if it costs 10X more than burning oil, we'll stick with our dinosaur fuels.

Technological advancements over the past few years, however, have significantly decreased production costs. With rising prices for fossil fuels, solar power, wind power, hydropower, bio-diesel, and ethanol have seen tremendous growth. Thanks to increased cost efficiency, alternative energy sources have caught the eyes of many governments and energy producing companies across the globe, which are throwing increasing amounts of money at the concept. Is this money over the bridge, or have alternative energy sources turned the corner to become cost effective? Read More.

Nanotech’s Impact on Cleantech Growing Rapidly

August 16 - Business Wire - With the fevered search for new clean technologies, attention is turning to nanotech’s potential in energy and environmental innovation. Nanotechnology’s impact on cleantech is growing, and happens both through product and process innovations, with each type of impact posing its own set of challenges, according to a new report titled “Nanotech’s Impact on Energy and Environmental Technologies” available exclusively to Lux Research clients.

“The rapid increase in nano-enabled cleantech patents and publications relative to overall cleantech numbers indicates that nanotechnology’s impact on cleantech, though small at present, is growing at a fast clip,” said the report’s lead Lux Research analyst Jaideep Raje. “However, the near-term cleantech applications of nanotechnology are likely to come in more mundane forms like catalysts, coatings, and additives – not through big-ticket applications like next-generation photovoltaics.” Read More.

U.S. Middle Market Companies Confident about Business Growth in Year Ahead Despite Concerns about Slowing Economy

July 30 - Business Wire - Sixty-four percent of U.S. middle market companies, with revenues between $25 million and $1 billion, are predicting growth over the next 12 months, even though nearly 60% believe the U.S. economy will slow down, according to a new study from the Economist Intelligence Unit and CIT Group Inc., a leading global commercial and consumer finance company. Respondents also indicated that a "shortage of talented staff" and high "labor costs" were the top two challenges to achieving this growth.

The study, "Perspectives from America's Economic Engine: The CIT U.S. Middle Market Outlook 2007," surveyed more than 500 senior financial decision-makers at companies with revenues between $25 million and $1 billion. According to the most recent U.S. Census, the middle market accounts for more than $6 trillion in sales and employs almost 32 million Americans, which is more than twice the revenues and four times the number of employees of the blue-chip companies that comprise the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Read More.