Other

• NAM prepared to revive fight to bring back R&D tax credit Dec 31, 2007

  A tax credit designed to encourage companies to improve productivity and keep high-wage, high-skilled jobs in the United States expired Dec. 31, but proponents of the credit said they will fight to get it renewed retroactively.

• Telefex sells auto parts businesses for $560M Dec 31, 2007

  Teleflex Inc. has completed the sale of several business units to Norwegian auto parts supplier Kongsberg Automotive Holdings (KOA).

• Auto parts supplier Federal-Mogul exits Ch. 11 after court clears plan Dec 31, 2007

  Auto parts supplier Federal-Mogul Corp. emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week after a six-year reorganization process.

• O’Neal targets specialty alloys, merges centers Dec 31, 2007

  Highlighting the drive toward service center consolidation, O’Neal Steel Inc., Birmingham, Ala., has merged two Ohio service centers it acquired in 2006, with the combined operation now known as United Performance Metals.

• Nymex pursuing top exec to pilot metals ventures Dec 28, 2007

  The New York Mercantile Exchange is looking to name a senior metals executive as the exchange moves closer to launching its steel futures contract.

• Paulson facing questions over weak yen Dec 28, 2007

  Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. must report to Congress within the next four months on whether the Japanese are manipulating their currency, according to the omnibus bill that passed Congress and was signed by President Bush prior to the holiday recess.

• Holiday notice Dec 28, 2007

  AMM’s offices will be closed Jan. 1 in observation of New Year’s Day. AMM will resume publication on Wednesday, Jan. 2.

• Toyota poised to take world No. 1 spot from GM Dec 28, 2007

  Toyota Motor Corp., Japan’s largest automaker, appears poised to unseat General Motors Corp. as the world’s biggest-selling automaker in what could be another big hit to the brand image of the U.S. auto industry.

• Hyundai’s US unit names new president, chief Dec 27, 2007

  Hyundai Motor America, Fountain Valley, Calif., has named Jong Eun Kim president and chief executive officer, succeeding Ok Suk “Owen” Koh, who left the company to head Kia Motors Corp.’s operations in China.

• Avtron, Morgan upgrading cranes at Nucor site Dec 27, 2007

  Avtron Industrial Automation, Independence, Ohio, and Morgan Construction Co., Worcester, Mass., have been awarded a contract to upgrade three hot metal cranes for the Memphis, Tenn., operations of Nucor Corp., Charlotte, N.C., Avtron said. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Leeco extending reach, plans N. Carolina plant Dec 27, 2007

  Plate distributor Leeco Steel LLC, Darien, Ill., is expanding into the Southeast and East Coast markets with a new plant in Hertford County, N.C.

• S&P rates metals’ credit quality as stable Dec 26, 2007

  Despite the turmoil in financial markets, credit quality and outlook remains stable for most metal and mining companies, according to recent reports from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services.

• ITE to buy GM’s medium truck business Dec 26, 2007

  General Motors Corp. has penned an agreement to sell its medium-duty truck business to International Truck & Engine Corp. as part of plans to focus on cars and light trucks.

• Buffett to land 60% stake in Marmon for $4.5 billion Dec 26, 2007

  Marmon/Keystone Corp., one of the largest U.S. distributors of pipe, tubing and specialty bar, is on its way to becoming part of billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s portfolio as its parent company has agreed to be acquired by Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

• Commerce gets an earful on ‘targeted dumping’ question Dec 21, 2007

  The Commerce Department has made public the comments it received on the subject of “targeted dumping,” an unused portion of an existing statute that could revive the practice of zeroing in dumping cases by a backdoor route should it be abolished in administrative reviews.

• ITE in deal to acquire GM’s medium-duty truck business Dec 21, 2007

  General Motors Corp. has entered an agreement to sell its medium-duty truck business to International Truck & Engine Corp. as part of plans to focus on cars and light trucks.

• Holiday notice Dec 21, 2007

  AMM’s offices will be closed Dec. 24 and 25 in observance of the Christmas holiday and there will be no issues dated Dec. 25 or 26.

• MELTING POT Home for Christmas Dec 21, 2007

  Daniel R. DiMicco and his staff at Nucor Corp., Charlotte, N.C., are playing Santa and his elves this holiday season.

• Construction, aerospace are centers’ ’08 hot market picks Dec 20, 2007

  Construction and aerospace might stand to be the best-performing end-use sectors in 2008, but the housing market will continue to give cause for concern, executives of major U.S. service centers said.

• WTO panel allows zeroing for administrative reviews Dec 20, 2007

  The World Trade Organization’s anti-dumping agreement never intended to eliminate zeroing from administrative reviews, a WTO panel ruled Thursday.

• GM pump ups vehicle prices to cover rising material costs Dec 19, 2007

  General Motors Corp., Detroit, plans to increase prices on most 2008 model-year vehicles in an attempt to partially recover higher steel and commodity costs.

• Borland succeeding Benitez as president of Future Metals Dec 19, 2007

  Mark G. Borland has been named to succeed Luis E. Benitez as president of Future Metals Inc., a Tamarac, Fla.-based aerospace tubulars distributor.

• Rail car builder idling Pa. plant in sagging mart Dec 19, 2007

  A conflict with a trade union has led FreightCar America Inc., Chicago, to close its Pennsylvania manufacturing facility.

• Bombardier lands N. American pacts for rail cars, locomotives Dec 19, 2007

  Bombardier Inc. has been awarded two major North American contracts valued at Canadian $480 million ($475 million) to build commuter rail cars and locomotives.