The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has initiated investigations into alleged dumping and subsidizing of certain hot-rolled carbon steel plate and high-strength low-alloy steel plate originating in or exported from the Republic of India (India) and the Russian Federation (Russia). The investigation follows a complaint filed on April 20, 2015 by Essar Steel Algoma claiming […]
Myron J. Weiss, 83, partner at Mars Industries and Jame’ Roll Form Products passed away on Tuesday, June 9, 2015. Weiss co-founded the firm in 1975 and was a partner for the past 40 years. Mars Steel and Jame’ Roll Form Products, Inc. released the following message to colleagues and friends of Mr. Weiss: It […]
According to Investopedia, a subsidy is “a benefit given by the government to groups or individuals usually in the form of a cash payment or tax reduction. The subsidy is usually given to remove some type of burden and is often considered to be in the interest of the public.” The example accompanying the definition […]
US Steel has called 149 employees back to work at Fairfield Works. Currently just 76 workers are on layoff from the original 225 workers at the end of May. US Steel is in the process of restarting the Fairfield Works blast furnace. US Steel spokesperson Sarah Casella told the Birmingham Business Journal that the Jan […]
Exports of steel out of the United States to the rest of the world fell in April according to the latest data released by the US Department of Commerce. In a press release the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) reported U.S. steel exports fell 8.5 percent in April after making a slight gain in […]
Phase 1 in the sale of US Steel Canada has been completed. Thirty-nine potential bidders for the USSC assets have signed non disclosure agreements, according to the latest report by court monitor, Alex Morrison. Multiple letters of intent were received indicating interest in: a. acquiring on or both of Lake Erie Works and Hamilton […]
We have been hearing a lot about TPP and TPA. Here’s another acronym you should know—T-TIP. T-TIP stands for Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The T-TIP is a trade and investment agreement being negotiated between the U.S. and the European Union. Launched by President Obama in 2013, T-TIP has taken a backseat to the Trans-Pacific […]
The Dodge Momentum Index was unchanged in May at 122.3. The Index, a monthly measure of the initial report for nonresidential building projects in planning, has been flat so far in 2015 after growing in 2014. Although, May activity was at a standstill, the Index was still 6.1 percent higher compared to a year ago. […]
The “not if but when” question has been settled as the long awaited trade case filing on galvanized steel finally occurred on Wednesday. Six domestic steel mills submitted a petition to the Department of Commerce asking for the imposition of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on certain corrosion-resistant steel products from China, the Republic of Korea, […]
A US Steel spokesperson reports that the Fairfield Works blast furnace is in the process of restarting. Notices were given last week to employees and customers that a blast furnace at Granite City Works will continue in operation. Analysts at Key Banc Capital Markets had the following comments on US Steel. “Fairfield is being restarted […]
The United Steel Workers said Wednesday that the union fully supports the antidumping and countervailing petition filed on corrosion-resistant steel products. The petition, said the USW in a press release, details ”how a flood of subsidized and unfairly traded steel imports from China, India, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan has damaged the US steel industry […]
AK Steel announced plans to introduce one of the first commercially available Next-Generation Advanced High Strength Steels. The new technology improves steel formability at higher tensile strength levels, perfect for customers seeking lightweighting for automotive manufacturing. The Hot Dip Galvanizing Line (HDGL) at AK Steel’s Dearborn works will be modified to produce both coated and […]
US Steel has purchased the remaining AK Steel shares of its joint interest in Double Eagle Steel Coating Company. AK Steel acquired 50 percent of Double Eagle when it acquired the Severstal Dearborn operations in 2014. With a payment of $25.2 million to AK Steel, US Steel now owns the 700,000 ton electrolytic-galvanizing line. The […]
May U.S. automotive sales exceeded expectations with a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17.71 million vehicles, according to the final tally by WardsAuto. Predictions ranged from Bloomberg’s consensus of 17.0 million to GM’s prediction of 17.5 million. May sales were at the highest single-month level since July 2005. The final tally for April was 16.5 […]
Global manufacturing advanced slightly in May according to the JP Morgan Global Manufacturing Survey. The Global PMI registered 51.2 last month, compared to 51.0 in April. International trade remained weak, however, as new export business decreased for the first time in two years. Production and new orders picked up in May after hitting lows in […]
Construction of Essar Steel’s Minnesota taconite operation is accelerating now that the project is fully financed. The $1.9 billion project near Nashwauk involves the construction of a taconite plant with a total annual production capacity of 7.0 million tons of iron ore pellets. The pellets will be initially sent to Essar Steel Algoma and to […]
ArcelorMittal Dofasco has been fined CAN $130,000 (US $104,379) after pleading guilty to two separate safety violations. On September 6, 2012, four workers were a changing a tuyere (a pipe/nozzle that blows air into the furnace) and blow pipe assembly on the #3 Blast Furnace. One of the workers fell off a tow motor used […]
The Board of Directors at AK Steel has approved the following executive promotions and organizational changes, effective May 29, 2015. Roger K. Newport has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Newport was previously Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer. He will continue to be responsible for accounting, […]
The Chicago Business Barometer lost its gains of April, falling back into contraction in May. The Barometer dropped 6.1 points to a reading of 45.2, down from 52.3 last month. The Barometer began slipping in October 2014 from its high of 55.2. Its strongest reading in 2015 was in January at 59.4 before plunging to […]
The International Monetary Fund says the China’s currency is “no longer undervalued” after being labeled “modestly undervalued” for the past several years. According to a Tuesday statement by IMF, “While undervaluation of the renminbi was a major factor causing the large imbalances in the past, our assessment now is that the substantial real effective appreciation […]
US Steel has decided not to close down the Granite City mill this month. Instead, 80 workers will be laid off and one blast furnace will be kept in operation. The second furnace will be offline while a new caster is installed. The previously announced temporary closure would have affected 2,080 employees at the plant. […]
The U.S. Senate passed the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) agreement on May 22 in a 62-37 vote, giving the president “fast track” authority to negotiate trade agreements without amendments attached by Congress. Trade agreements would still be submitted to Congress, however, for a yes or no vote. An amendment proposed by Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) […]
PRO-TEC Coating Company, a 50/50 joint venture between United States Steel Corporation and Kobe Steel, Ltd., of Japan, announced today that its president, Bryan Vaughn, will retire effective June 1, 2015 after 34 years of service in the steel industry. Brent Rosebrook, currently vice president of finance and administration at PRO-TEC, has been named acting […]
AM/NS Calvert will be producing Ultra High Tensile Strength Cold-rolled and Coated steel sheets with high formability by the end of 2016. Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC), which is a joint partner with ArcelorMittal in the Calvert operations, says the materials of up to 1.2 gigpascals (GPa) tensile strength will be used for […]
Essar Steel Algoma is asking for support from the City of Sault Ste Marie in challenging a request by the Independent Contractors and Business Association (ICBA) and the province of British Columbia for ‘regional exemption’ of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on rebar imports. “Although we are not a rebar producer, it is our view that […]
Steel Dynamics announced this morning that it will idle its Minnesota ironmaking operations in Chisholm and Hoyt Lakes, Minn., effective immediately. The operations will be idled initially for 24 months due to the “continued significant decline in pig iron pricing, which has resulted in the cost of iron nugget production being meaningfully higher than product […]
Canacero, the Mexican Iron and Steel Industry Chamber, is urging Latin American countries to take action against the flood of steel imports and derivatives from China. Latin America is the second largest international market for Chinese steel products, said Alonso Ancira Elizondo, president of Canacero. In 2014 shipments of rolled steel from China exceeded nine […]
US Steel can keep its secrets. Superior Court Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel ruled on Wednesday that the details of the agreement between US Steel and the government of Canada cannot be released by the court—only by the Ministry of Industry. And, so far, neither the Ministry nor US Steel is willing to reveal the contents of […]
Severstal says the DOC should not terminate the suspension agreement on cut-to-length steel plate from Russia. In a communication to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, the Russian steel producer said there is no evidence that Russian steel imports of CTL are injurious to the U.S. domestic steel market. In its letter Severstal writes, “Petitioner’s request […]
The Pacific Maritime Association overwhelmingly ratified a new five year contract with the International Longshore & Warehouse Union. The vote on the contract by the ILWU is expected by the end of this week. If the contract is ratified by the ILWU it will be retroactive to July 1, 2014 and will run through June […]