Other

• 'We've seen increases in fuel costs of 50 cents per gallon in one day' Sep 02, 2005

  Metal logistics and transportation executives and trucking companies are struggling to find diesel fuel for trucks in large areas of the United States, while individually negotiated fuel surcharge rates are climbing rapidly along with other fuel prices.

• 'Our wharves appear to be intact and able to conduct cargo operations' Sep 02, 2005

  Logistics managers at metal trading companies said they were still assessing whether to shift shipments scheduled to move through New Orleans to ports in Houston, Tampa, Fla., or even as far away as the Great Lakes. Such moves would likely entail extra costs and delayed deliveries, they said.

• Notice to readers Sep 02, 2005

• Metals awaiting impact of strike by stevedores at Russian port Sep 01, 2005

  Stevedores at the port of St. Petersburg, Russia, launched an intermittent strike Wednesday after unions failed to reach an agreement on new contracts with management of the major stevedoring companies.

• Port of New Orleans to stay closed for now Aug 31, 2005

  The Port of New Orleans and the lower Mississippi River are unlikely to reopen before next week at the earliest, according to U.S. Coast Guard sources.

• Fording names new finance chief Aug 25, 2005

  Fording Canadian Coal Trust, Calgary, Alberta, has named R.J. (Jim) Brown vice president of finance and chief financial officer, effective Oct. 3.

• Canadian mining facing shortfall of 81,000 skilled workers report Aug 24, 2005

  Canada's mining sector faces a serious shortage of skilled labor during the next decade due to retirements and industry growth spurred by rising commodity prices, according to a report released Wednesday.

• Mongolia moly-copper mine eyed Aug 23, 2005

  Canadian miner Erdene Gold Inc. has launched an independent evaluation of its Zuun Mod porphyry molybdenum-copper project in southern Mongolia.

• Shiloh Industries tallies higher net despite lower revenue in quarter Aug 23, 2005

  Automotive blanks and stampings producer Shiloh Industries Inc., Valley City, Ohio, posted net income of nearly $5.5 million in its fiscal third quarter, up 42.6 percent from the same period last year despite a 4.8-percent decline in revenue to $139.4 million, in line with lower U.S. automotive production.

• Olin raises fuel surcharge to 17% Aug 22, 2005

  Olin Brass has raised its fuel surcharge on prepaid shipments of products to 17 percent from 13 percent following a surge in fuel prices.

• Machine tool consumption still climbing Aug 19, 2005

  U.S. machine tool consumption totaled $269.0 million in June, up 6.3 percent from a revised $253.1 million the previous month and 0.9 percent ahead of $266.6 million in June 2004, according to a joint report by the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association, Rockville, Md., and the Association for Manufacturing Technology, McLean, Va.

• Canam sells Mexican joist facility Aug 16, 2005

  Canam Group Inc., Boucherville, Quebec, said its Mexican subsidiaries have sold a steel joist manufacturing facility in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to CMC Commercial Metals de Mexico S de RL de CV, a subsidiary of Irving, Texas,-based Commercial Metals Co.'s CMC Steel Fabricators Inc. unit.

• Intermet gets OK for reorganization financing Aug 15, 2005

  Automotive castings supplier Intermet Corp. said the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit had approved a financing plan that would underwrite a $75-million equity investment connected to Intermet's proposed reorganization.

• NRC probes radiation exposure at foundry Aug 15, 2005

  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is investigating how damage to a nuclear gauge at DaimlerChrysler AG's Indianapolis foundry resulted in possible radiation exposure to several workers.

• Inseq acquiring Independent Metal for $7.5M Aug 12, 2005

  Inseq Corp., a company developing an online trading portal for primary and secondary commodities that is to include metals, chemicals, fuels and plastics, has agreed to buy flat-rolled steel distributor Independent Metal Sales Inc. for an estimated $7.5 million.

• US construction industry opens the throttle Aug 12, 2005

  The value of new construction contracts jumped 8 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $647.9 billion. Nonresidential building registered a sharp improvement after a lackluster May, and strong growth also was reported for nonbuilding construction (public works and utilities), according to the McGraw-Hill Construction division of the McGraw-Hill Cos., New York.

• Aluminum spaceframe on new Corvette 30% lighter than steel design Aug 10, 2005

  Automotive parts supplier Dana Corp., Toledo, Ohio, said an all-aluminum, ultra-lightweight spaceframe it is supplying for General Motors Corp.'s new Z06 Corvette is cutting the mass of the original all-steel design by more than 30 percent.

• Delphi draws on credit to finance restructuring of its US operations Aug 08, 2005

  Automotive supply industry giant Delphi Corp. has started drawing down $1.5 billion of its $1.8-billion revolving credit agreement to finance a restructuring of its U.S. operations.

• US manufacturing sector picking up steam Aug 05, 2005

  After hitting a low point in May, the U.S. manufacturing sector picked up more steam in July, when economic activity grew for the 26th consecutive month and the overall economy expanded for the 45th month in a row, according to the latest business report from the Institute for Supply Management, Tempe, Ariz.

• GM spending $30M on Mo. Upgrade to improve full-size van production Aug 05, 2005

  General Motors Corp., Detroit, will spend about $30 million to upgrade two stamping presses at the company's Wentzville, Mo., plant and improve production of full-size vans.

• Toyota boosting capacity at Texas assembly plant by 50,000 vehicles Aug 05, 2005

  Toyota Motor Co.'s North American manufacturing unit in Erlanger, Ky., plans to invest an additional $50 million at the plant it is building in San Antonio, Texas, to add another 50,000 vehicles to the facility's production capacity.

• Neenah Foundry, ACP Holding tap Citigroup to find potential buyers Aug 01, 2005

  Neenah Foundry Co., Neenah, Wis., and its indirect parent company, ACP Holding Co., have engaged Citigroup Global Markets Inc. to help find potential purchasers.

• Alberta-Illinois pipeline expansion draws growing support Enbridge Aug 01, 2005

  Enbridge Inc. is receiving strong support from the oil industry to build an $895-million expansion of its main pipeline from Alberta to Illinois.

• Massey Energy net income surges on high metallurgical coal demand Jul 31, 2005

  High coal prices and strong demand, in part for metallurgical coal, led to a tripling in Massey Energy Co.'s net income in the second quarter.