OCTG

Tenaris blames OCTG imports for new layoffs

May 21, 2024

Tenaris is blaming unfairly traded OCTG imports flooding the US market for its decision to lay off approximately 170 employees.

The company said the layoffs will impact employees at its operations in Pennsylvania and Ohio, but its steel shop in Koppel, Pa., will not be affected.

Imports account for nearly half of OCTG consumption in the US. Much of the product is made in China but is then being transshipped through countries like South Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan, and sold at less than fair value in the US, according to the company.

Tenaris said it is the largest producer of OCTG in the US, manufacturing “almost all” of its seamless and welded pipe at its 12 manufacturing facilities in the country.

Additionally, “Tenaris is asking the federal government for its support to level the playing field through the enforcement of fair trade remedies and additional tools of defense for a healthy, domestic OCTG supply chain,” it said in a statement sent to SMU.

Global pipe maker Tenaris is based in Luxembourg. Its US headquarters are in Houston.

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has held a variety of positions within the steel industry since 2007, including reporting and editing for Steel Business Briefing/Platts, the Association for Iron and Steel Technology, and Kallanish Commodities, as well as marketing for what was then known as ThyssenKrupp Steel USA (now AM/NS Calvert). After a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel in 2021 and has covered the flat rolled, tubular, and trade areas of the industry. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.