As of mid-April, Industrial Info Resources (www.industrialinfo.com) was tracking 5,185 industrial projects in the United States with planned construction starts in 2006. These projects represent $169 billion in project spending.
The British steel forecasting firm MEPS estimates global steel output this year to reach 1,176 million tons, a 4.1% increase over 2005 production. The majority of the steel output improvement will take place in China and India.
Economic growth in the United States will continue in the second half of 2006, say the nation's purchasing and supply management executives in their spring 2006 Semiannual Economic Forecast conducted by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).
Spirax Sarco, Inc., (SSI) has purchased Advanced Flow Technology Co. (AFTCO) from AMJ Equipment Corp. of Lakeland, FL, Following the purchase, AFTCO will be merged into Spirax Sarco's EMCO Flow Systems division, which Spirax acquired in June 2005.