Newsletter 9 -September 2006

"Keeping you Informed"

Prices

                            Year to Date     October          Forecast Q4 '06

Merchant Bar      +£67/t (21%)    No Increase    No Increase

Heavy sections  +£90/t (+27%)   +£30/t             Another increase

                                                                            Q1 '07

Hollow Sections +£70/t (21%)     No Increase    No Increase

Supply

All products are in balance except for heavy sections. Supply problems and large order loads have created a genuine shortage on certain sizes. This situation has helped fuel the iincreases, stated above, in conjunction with continental European prices being significantly higher than in the UK.

Demand
Generaly static, certain areas are busy and some are not. We must remember that steel manufacturing is gradually moving out of the UK to China, Eastern Europe and the Middle and Far East, where costs are so much cheaper. This steady decline is reflected in stockholder prices.

Tomrods Limited

We welcome the arrival of two members of staff. Gill Kerriss who will be helping me on the purchasing side and Bernard O'Connell who will be bringing his many years of experience in steel related trades to our selling side. (Pictures to follow).

All Steels Trading continues to do well and is keeping us all busy.

"Instinct" our race horse has suffered from a blood virus and has not helped us raise any more money for our charities.

Mel is still recovering slowly and will be away for at least another month whilst we await news from Gail (re the birth of her first born) in the next few weeks.

Thankyou for reading this and if you have any comments about Tomrods Ltd or our wedsite please email the undersigned at jjohnt@tomrods.co.uk

John Thompson
Managing Director