The below links cover titanium, aerospace and medical news trends. In the current environment, news happens quickly so hopefully some of these articles that aren’t typically covered by major news outlets (Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times, etc.) will help you stay better informed. Also, please contact us at info@vestedmetals.net if you find a particular news category helpful. We can increase our focus on specific sub-topics in the weeks to come.

News Links of Interest From the Past 1-2 Weeks 

  • Approximately 300 jobs are at risk at two titanium factories that supply parts to aerospace companies. Timet UK is currently negotiating with 2 different unions to immediately “right-size” its business.
  • A recent partnership between Titomic and Ascent Aerospace will drive the additional use of titanium 3D printing by aerospace companies. Titanium superalloys are ideal materials that have helped companies reduce their carbon footprint. The use of 3D printing further increases the opportunity for titanium to be used in aerospace manufacturing.
  • Purdue University engineers discovered a new way to imbue metals with effective bacteria killing capabilities. Key advantage: the innovation does not include the addition of anti-bacterial compounds such as silver. The discovery is significant because surgical site infection is a significant cause of orthopedic implant re-operations.
  • The demand for Anatase Titanium Dioxide is growing due to the global pandemic.
  • Recruiting firm Consilium Recruit signed a two year deal to source jobs in the emerging battery powered aerospace industry despite the economic recession.
  • The X-37B autonomous spaceplane launched its second mission for US Space Force. Boeing is the primary contractor for the X-37B and is facilitating the integration of related experiments.
  • U.S. long products imports dropped by 31% year-over-year in April. Long products imports have declined 21% so far this year led by wire rod (-36%) and rebar (-12%).
  • Elective surgeries can resume now in Washington State. The restrictions had been in place since March 19th. “We’ve managed the peak of the COVID-19 assault without having our hospitals or our medical systems absolutely overrun,” Inslee said at a recent press conference.
  • Medical Economics: how elective surgeries are restarting during a pandemic. This article describes some of the issues that health care providers face as they begin to re-start elective surgeries.
  • NBC News: Elective surgeries are set to resume but with some concerns. This article discusses the issues health providers and patience face as elective surgeries resume. One issue the article discusses is the process for evaluating urgency. This has become an important issue due to the significant backlog of surgeries that built up during lock downs.
  • Kaufman Hall Report: Hospital revenues were down by significant amounts in recent months due to the COVID-19 related lock downs. While revenue dropped, expenses were flat to slightly higher. As a result, EBITDA margins fell by on average 13% in March alone. “Across-the-board volume declines were a major contributor to the steep decline in margins, as providers postponed elective procedures to free capacity and equipment for COVID-19 patients, and as individuals cancelled appointments for fear of contracting or unwittingly spreading the virus.” The rest of the report details region level information in addition to other drivers of hospital financial performance.