-
Automotive parts manufacturer Dana Corp., Toledo, Ohio, said it plans to close eight U.S. plants and downsize three others in the United States and Canada as part of its restructuring under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
-
Hot on the acquisition trail, Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., Los Angeles, has mounted a major bond buyback by one of its subsidiaries and bumped up its credit line. The company made two major service center acquisitions this year and is planning a third.
-
Alcan Inc., Montreal, will sell its Wheaton Science Products business in Millville, N.J., to River Associates Investments LLC, a private equity group headquartered in Chattanooga, Tenn.
-
Alcoa Inc.’s Packaging unit has reached a new three-year agreement with the Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters for the approximately 308 workers at the company’s Bellwood printing plant in Chesterfield County, Va.
-
The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) announced Tuesday the start of side-by-side trading of its gold and silver futures contracts. Gold and silver open auction volume totaled 381 contracts on the first day of trading.
-
Alcan Inc., Montreal, has added to its reputation for placing women in senior management positions with the appointment of Ilene Gordon as president and chief executive officer of its Alcan Packaging business.
-
Flat-rolled toll processor All Metals Service & Warehousing Inc., which has plants in Spartanburg, S.C., and Cartersville, Ga., has broken ground for a 48,000-square-foot extension in Spartanburg that will expand the facility to a total of 157,000 square feet.
-
The United Transportation Union (UTU) said it will side with shippers, including steel companies, and against the railroads on legislative issues when the 110th Congress is seated next year.
-
The U.S. International Trade Commission said late Thursday that it has launched the first of three investigations aimed at better understanding the trade relationship between the United States and China.
-
Ford Motor Co., Dearborn, Mich., has confirmed that it has ceased purchasing from an Illinois supplier after a magazine reported that its Brazilian source of pig iron was using slave labor.
-
The Chinese government said tax breaks for toll trading in a number of nonferrous metals and steel products will be removed beginning Nov. 22.
-
Richard F. “Dick” Fontana, 71, former public relations director of the United Steelworkers’ union, died Oct. 31 in Pittsburgh’s UPMC Shadyside Hospital, where he had been a cancer patient since Sept. 26.
-
Economic activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector increased in October for the 41st consecutive month—albeit at the slowest pace since June 2003—and the overall economy expanded for the 60th month in a row, according to the latest business report from the Institute for Supply Management, Tempe, Ariz.
-
Has the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the nation's largest industrial trade association, lost its way?
-
Gibraltar Industries Inc., Buffalo, N.Y., has purchased for an undisclosed price the stock of British and German expanded metal mesh manufacturers that together operate as Emco.
-
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Delphi Corp., Troy, Mich., have settled financial fraud charges, some of which were related to an alleged scheme to sell and repurchase metals in order to artificially boost cash flow and earnings.
-
Automotive supplier Visteon Corp., Van Buren Township, Mich., plans to cut about 900 salaried employees from its work force, mostly in higher-cost countries, as part of an ongoing restructuring.
-
Opponents of bilateral free-trade agreements (FTAs) have seized on recent comments by officials from the U.S. Trade Representative’s office that suggest the accords are working against U.S. interests.
-
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) has expressed optimism about its newly appointed U.S.-China Business Relations Task Force, which will work directly with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson as he prepares for face-to-face meetings with Chinese leaders on a wide array of trade issues.
-
Components supplier Dura Automotive Systems Inc., Rochester Hills, Mich., has filed for creditor protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The company blamed an accelerating deterioration of the North American automotive industry, including escalating raw materials costs, for the decision.
-
Automotive laser-welded blanks supplier Noble International Ltd., Warren, Mich., and Arcelor SA, a subsidiary of Arcelor Mittal, have agreed to combine their laser-welded tailored blanks businesses, with Arcelor Mittal becoming Noble’s largest shareholder.
-
Johnson Controls Inc., Milwaukee, and Montecchio, Italy,-based Fiamm SpA said they had completed a preliminary agreement for the sale of Fiamm’s automotive battery business to Johnson Controls for an undisclosed price.
-
The Chinese government has announced widespread changes to import and export taxes affecting steel, base and minor metals, ferroalloys and scrap in an effort to reduce its massive trade surplus.
-
Slowed by lower sales, North American production of family vehicles totaled 1,225,921 in September, down nearly 12.8 percent from 1,405,351 the previous month and 15.2 percent below 1,446,053 in September 2005, according to data from Ward’s Automotive Group.