Gypsum industry news
USG registers slight improvement in second quarter
02 August 2011US: USG Corporation (USG) has reported second quarter 2011 net sales of USD761m, an operating loss of USD21m and a net loss of USD70m. For comparison in the second quarter of 2010, the corporation's operating loss was USD25m and its net loss was USD74m.
US Gypsum wallboard shipments totaled 986MMSF, down on the second quarter of 2010, which saw 1070MMSF shipped. The average selling price was also down, from USD114.17/MSF on average to USD111.55/MSF.
"We are continuing to pursue our near-term and long-term strategic priorities during the protracted recession in our domestic markets," said James Metcalf, President and CEO of USG. "By strengthening our core businesses, diversifying the sources of our earnings and aggressively leveraging our innovation leadership to differentiate USG's products from the competition, we are confident that we can successfully navigate this recession and capitalise on a recovery."
The corporation's adjusted operating loss was USD19m in the second quarter of 2011, which compares to an adjusted operating loss of USD18m in the second quarter of 2010. The adjusted operating loss for the second quarter of 2011 excludes USD2m of restructuring and long-lived asset impairment charges, while the adjusted operating loss for the second quarter of 2010 excluded USD7m.
USG deformation-resistance patent
05 July 2011US: On 21 June 2011 United States Gypsum Co. was assigned a patent for 'Gypsum-containing product and method for producing same.' The inventors were named as Qiang Yu, Steven W Sucech, Brent E Groza, Raymond J Mlinac, Frederick T Jones and Paul J Henkels, all from the US.
According to the abstract released by the US Patent & Trademark Office, 'The invention provides a set gypsum-containing product having increased resistance to permanent deformation and a method for preparing it comprising forming a mixture of a calcium sulphate material, water and an appropriate amount of one or more enhancing materials chosen from condensed phosphoric acids, each of which comprises two or more phosphoric acid units; and salts or ions of condensed phosphates, each of which comprises two or more phosphate units. The mixture is then maintained under conditions sufficient for the calcium sulphate material to form a set gypsum material.'
Wallboard rebound failing to materialise
15 June 2011US: Like other makers of building products, United States Gypsum Company (USG), the US's largest maker of wallboard thrived during the US housing boom. But the company fell into the red in the fourth quarter of 2007 and is yet to climb out. With the anticipated housing rebound remaining elusive, average home prices in the first quarter of 2011 dropped to back to 2002 levels. This weak housing demand has spurred fears the economy may yet return to recession, with further losses expected for USG in the coming months.
USG Chief Executive James Metcalf, joked in a recent interview at the company's headquarters that he was getting tired of being asked to speak at conferences about 'managing in turbulent times' and has declined to predict when his company will return to the black.
Metcalf said that the company was building more modern plants and couldn't have foreseen the precipitous drop in housing construction, currently running at around a quarter of the peak level. USG has cut its work force by about one-third, to about 9250, since the peak. It has shrunk wallboard production capacity by about 30%, closing eight wallboard plants and idling others. The company's prolonged slump shows the peril of relying heavily on any one part of the world, even a market as large as the US, which accounts for 77% of USG's sales.
That said, USG is trying to build up sales in China, parts of Latin America and a few other areas without going fully global. Metcalf said, "We're putting bets down now -- small bets." For now though, the company's top priority is surviving the US housing collapse.