Terex (TEX)

MATERIALS

Principal materials that we use in our various manufacturing processes include steel, castings, engines, tires, hydraulic cylinders, drive trains, electric controls and motors, and a variety of other commodities and fabricated or manufactured items. Our performance may be impacted by extreme movements in material costs and from availability of these materials. As our manufacturing volume has increased, our need for these commodities and manufactured items also has increased, which in turn has created pressure on our existing supplier base to deliver us materials on a timely basis and in sufficient amounts when requested. This supply constraint has been exacerbated as a result of higher global demand for the same materials caused by recovering end-markets in our product areas and by higher consumption from emerging economies such as China. The inability of suppliers to deliver materials promptly has resulted, and could result, in production delays and increased costs to manufacture our products. Some of the necessary components for which we have experienced supply constraints over the recent past include large off-highway tires, steel and steel products, bearings, gear boxes and various fabricated weldments. Furthermore, as demand for these materials has increased, we have experienced increased costs to obtain these components.

In the absence of labor strikes or other unusual circumstances, substantially all materials are normally available from multiple suppliers. Current and potential suppliers are evaluated on a regular basis on their ability to meet our requirements and standards. We actively manage our material supply sourcing, and may employ various methods to limit risk associated with commodity cost fluctuations and availability. To deal with some of the recent supply constraints we have experienced, for example, we designed and implemented plans to mitigate their impact by using alternate suppliers, leveraging our overall purchasing volumes to obtain favorable quantities and costs, and increasing the price of our products. We continue to search for acceptable alternative supply sources and less expensive supply options on a regular basis. One key Terex Business System initiative has been developing and implementing world-class capability in supply chain management, logistics and global purchasing. We are focusing on gaining efficiencies with suppliers based on our global purchasing power and resources.

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