Cold Finished Steel Bar Institute Unveils New Industry Data Program

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Cold Finished Steel Bar Institute (CFSBI) has announced the inauguration of a new, improved program to collect and aggregate industry data for carbon and alloy steel bars.

"Members of the CFSBI have been concerned for many years that the industry data which was being collected presented an inaccurate and misleading picture of the cold finished steel bar industry," said CFSBI Chairman Michael Salamon, President and Chief Operating Officer of Niagara LaSalle Corporation. "We believe the new program will prove to be substantially more accurate and valuable for our industry." Former reports may not have reasonably reflected the overall size of the U.S. market, the amount of apparent domestic consumption, nor the market's general direction and exposure to import activity."

The new program will be administered by Georgetown Economic Services (GES), a subsidiary of the law firm Kelley Drye & Warren, legal counsel to the CFSBI. GES will collect confidential monthly shipment data from member and non-member companies alike. Federal government guidelines will be followed to assure that confidential data of individual companies will not be disclosed. If some U.S. producers decide not to report to GES, estimates of their shipment volumes will be made in order to enhance the accuracy of the aggregate data. The private industry data will be aggregated with official U.S. government import and export statistics in order to portray activity in the U.S. market. The new program will be effective with January 2015 data.

Cold finished steel bar is incorporated into a wide range of consumer, industrial, aerospace, and military products. Essentially any product that contains a motor or moving part contains one or more components made from cold finished steel bar. The U.S. cold finished steel bar industry produces high-quality products on an efficient and cost-competitive basis, using highly trained workers under environmentally sound conditions.

SOURCE Kelley Drye & Warren LLP