It's no joke, but bundles surge may leave some laughing

While we like to think that much of the news reported in AMM makes readers sit up and take notice, only occasionally does a news story send shockwaves through the industry.

Such was the case April 1, when bundles from four Chrysler and one Mitsubishi Motors North America stamping plants sold for a record $555 a long ton, a stunning $155 increase compared with the previous sale a month earlier.

We've become used to major increases in commodity prices in recent years. Still, a sudden 38.8-percent surge in the price of a key steelmaking raw material like factory bundles is breathtaking. It's only a year ago, after all, since the...