Steel

• Proposed Lake Erie contract ‘fair’ and ‘competitive’: USS May 03, 2013

  U.S. Steel Corp. management in Canada has responded publicly to locked-out United Steelworkers union members outside its Nanticoke, Ontario, operations, saying that its latest labor proposal was fair and competitive.

• TK Steel Americas talks said ‘intense’ May 03, 2013

  A prolonged bidding process for ThyssenKrupp AG’s Steel Americas operations in Calvert, Ala., and Brazil could be nearing a conclusion after the steelmaker said it was in "intense negotiations" with potential buyers.

• Tenaris plans Texas sucker rod mill May 03, 2013

  Tenaris SA plans to build a $70-million sucker rod mill with a production capacity of 1.8 million units near the company’s welded operations in Conroe, Texas.

• Mexico’s crude steel output logs 8.6% gain May 03, 2013

  Mexico’s crude steel production reached rose 4 percent year on year to 2.97 million tonnes in the first two months of this year, according to national steel association Canacero.

• Brazil’s iron ore exports fall 8.6% May 03, 2013

  Brazilian iron ore exports declined again in April compared with the same month last year, following the trend seen in both February and March.

• Letter to the Editor: Reliance’s Hannah clarifies position on CRU coil index May 03, 2013

  I would like to clarify certain comments that I made on our first-quarter conference call April 25 which were then reported in AMM regarding the CRU Steel Index (amm.com, April 25).

• Handy & Harman sees tube segment’s 1st-qtr. profits rise May 03, 2013

  Handy & Harman Ltd.’s tubing division saw its first-quarter operating earnings rise from a year earlier even though sales fell.

• Tenaris, Vallourec say drillers’ cost-saving moves affect mix May 03, 2013

  A growing cost-savings drive by companies in the domestic drilling sector has had an impact on product mix, according to two large tube and pipe makers.

• Ternium seen mulling slab mill in Mexico May 03, 2013

  Latin American steelmaker Ternium SA might choose to expand its crude steel capacity in Mexico following its exit from the sale process of ThyssenKrupp AG’s 73.13-percent stake in the 5-million-tonne-per-year Cia. Siderúrgica do Atlântico (CSA) slab plant in Brazil.

• Nucor trims rebar by $20 per ton May 03, 2013

  Nucor Corp. has lowered its base price on concrete reinforcing bar by $20 per ton ($1 per hundredweight) effective with shipments May 2, the steelmaker said in a May 2 letter to customers.

• Nucor cuts merchant bar, structural prices May 03, 2013

  Nucor Corp. has lowered its base price on most merchant bar and structural products by $20 per ton ($1 per hundredweight) effective with May 2 shipments "due to market conditions," the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said in a May 2 letter to customers.

• Mexico, China drilling growth expected May 02, 2013

  Tenaris SA expects pipe and tube demand from the Mexican market to rise in the medium term, as the country—now an importer of natural gas—begins to exploit its shale reserves.

• Gerdau, SDI cut beams again in unusual move May 02, 2013

  Structural steel prices have become a moving target as two of the three major U.S. producers posted their second reductions in a month.

• Trade case mulled as rebar imports spike May 02, 2013

  Market speculation is mounting about a possible trade case against Turkey after total rebar imports soared to more than 140,400 tons in March. However, some dismissed rumors of a trade case as nothing more than customary saber-rattling.

• Vallourec set to commission Youngstown lines in 2d qtr. May 02, 2013

  Vallourec SA plans to commission the finishing lines at its new mill in Youngstown, Ohio, during the second quarter, with ramp-up of the facility "advancing as scheduled," the company said in its first-quarter earnings report May 2.

• Tenaris joins industry in fight vs. OCTG imports May 02, 2013

  Luxembourg-based pipe and tube maker Tenaris SA is working with U.S. steelmakers to determine the best way to cope with a wave of imports that has dragged down prices.

• USS workers told to avoid picketers: union May 02, 2013

  Employees at U.S. Steel Corp.’s pickling operations in Nanticoke, Ontario, have been told by management not to talk to locked-out United Steelworkers union members outside its Lake Erie Works.

• Stainless profits to stay flat: distributor May 02, 2013

  Profits in the flat-rolled stainless steel industry will be "nonexistent for the next three years," according to an executive at Global Stainless Steel Inc.

• U.S. Steel positive on auto; construction mart still lags May 02, 2013

  U.S. Steel Corp. continues to see solid demand in the automotive market, but the steelmaker says it has yet to see a significant uptick in the construction sector.

• Steel group updates manual on bumper materials, design May 02, 2013

  To assist engineers and automakers in applying the most lightweight and cost-effective steel bumpers in passenger cars and light trucks, the Steel Market Development Institute’s (SMDI’s) Bumper Group has released the fifth edition of its product manual.

• Gerdau Long Steel cuts merchant product prices $20/T May 02, 2013

  Gerdau Long Steel North America has lowered its merchant steel product base prices by $20 per ton ($1 per hundredweight) effective with May 1 shipments, the company said in a letter to customers.

• Tenaris sees North America drilling pickup by year-end May 02, 2013

  Tenaris SA expects North American drilling activity to begin to pick up by the end of the year, while international drilling activity is expected to increase slowly throughout the remainder of 2013, the company said in its first-quarter earnings report.

• Weak demand sinks China's H-beam export prices May 02, 2013

  China’s H-beam export market has slumped on thin trade, shedding $20 per tonne over the past week.

• China's Zhejiang exchange plans iron ore trading platform May 02, 2013

  Zhejiang Zhoushan Bulk Commodity Exchange is seeking to launch a spot iron ore trading platform by year-end.