Steel

• North Texas Steel sold for $11M Sep 14, 2005

  American Technologies Group Inc. has acquired through wholly owned subsidiary Omaha Holdings Corp. all of the common stock of North Texas Steel Co. Inc. for $11 million.

• Chinese steel output rises 27% Sep 14, 2005

  China's crude steel output rose almost 27 percent in August compared with a year earlier, leading the country's overall industrial output up a stronger-than-expected 16 percent, according to government figures.

• Dofasco cuts earnings view on soft steel tags Sep 14, 2005

  Decreased revenue from Dofasco Inc.'s Hamilton, Ontario, operations, driven by soft spot market steel pricing and a stronger Canadian dollar during the first two months of the third quarter, has prodded the steelmaker to lower its earnings expectations for the quarter.

• Brazil ruling imminent on alleged rebar cartel by three steelmakers Sep 14, 2005

  Brazil's antitrust watchdog, Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (Cade), is expected to rule this week on an alleged rebar cartel.

• Injuries in Ohio blast, blaze not life-threatening Sep 13, 2005

  Injuries to three workers caused by an explosion and fire at Atlas Steel Products Co., Twinsburg, Ohio, were described as not life-threatening Tuesday.

• SGL Carbon appealing reduced price-fixing fine of $22.7 million Sep 13, 2005

  German carbon and graphite rod maker SGL Carbon AG, Wiesbaden, has lodged an appeal with the European Court of Justice against an 18.5-million-euro ($22.7-million) price-fixing fine.

• Salzgitter hiking carbon flat steel Sep 13, 2005

  German steelmaker Salzgitter AG plans to raise fourth-quarter prices for carbon flat steel products by 30 euros ($37) a tonne, citing a pickup in demand.

• Second Timken contract vote set for Sept. 15 Sep 13, 2005

  Unionized workers at two plants operated by Timken Co., Canton, Ohio, on Thursday will vote for a second time on a proposed labor contract.

• US raw steel production edges past 2M tons Sep 13, 2005

  Raw steel output in the United States totaled 2,009,000 tons last week, a 1.3-percent increase from 1,984,000 tons produced the previous week, as mills operated at an average capability utilization rate of 86.9 percent.

• US rig count off as Canada jumps Sep 13, 2005

  The number of drill rigs running in the United States fell by six last week, with the largest decrease in Louisiana (down nine), while Canadian drilling activity jumped by 37 rigs.

• AK warns of loss as labor deal reached Sep 12, 2005

  AK Steel Corp., Middletown, Ohio, has scored a victory on the labor relations front but expects to incur a third-quarter financial loss in the face of rising costs.

• Danieli logs six China mill orders Sep 12, 2005

  Danieli SpA, Buttrio, Italy, is reaping the benefits of continued construction and steel demand from China with orders for modernizations or equipment installations at six Chinese steel mills.

• Liberia OKs Mittal mining development deal Sep 12, 2005

  Mittal Steel Co. NV said that an iron ore mining development deal with Liberia has been approved by the nation's Senate, giving it access to about 1 billion tonnes of iron ore.

• Steel distributors shift New Orleans meeting Sep 12, 2005

  The Association of Steel Distributors has relocated its planned fall meeting next month to Las Vegas from New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

• Ural Steel contracts SMS Demag to boost mill capacity to 2M tons Sep 12, 2005

  Ural Steel AG, Novotroitsk, Russia, has placed an equipment order with SMS Demag AG, Düsseldorf, Germany, to help it launch a modernization project that will more than double its steel production capacity.

• CIS export tags up, but caution aired for 4th qtr. Sep 12, 2005

  Tight supply following summer production cuts at mills in the Commonwealth of Independent States and increased demand in Europe and the Middle East have supported an upward trend in prices for both long and flat products out of the CIS.

• AISI code defines roles in steel cold-form framing construction Sep 12, 2005

  In an attempt to clear up some questions surrounding the use of steel framing, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), Washington, has released a new code of standard practice for cold-formed steel structural framing.

• BofA opens the till and the guessing game is over at Primary Steel Sep 09, 2005

  The long-awaited financial restructuring of Primary Steel LLC, originally expected to involve its acquisition by another service center chain, has finally taken place-but with a deal that instead involves debt from Bank of America as well as private equity investment from outside the industry.

• Same statistics but a different take on July's steel import data Sep 09, 2005

  Some two weeks after Hurricane Katrina made landfall near New Orleans, it remains unclear what the full impact of the storm will be on the U.S. steel industry.

• ATI slates $30M investment to lift alloy output for aero, power marts Sep 09, 2005

  Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI), Pittsburgh, plans to expand its premium-melt nickel-based alloy, superalloy and specialty alloy production to meet anticipated demand growth in the aerospace and power generation markets.

• ITC to review duty orders on bearing imports Sep 09, 2005

  The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) will conduct a full five-year "sunset" review of anti-dumping duties on imports of bearings from China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

• Liebovich Bros. Steel co-founder Carl V. Liebovich succumbs at 88 Sep 09, 2005

  Carl V. Liebovich, who co-founded Liebovich Bros. Steel Inc. in Rockford, Ill., with his late brother, Albert, in 1939, has died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Rockford. He was 88.

• Byrdwatching hunted becomes hunter Sep 09, 2005

  Steel consumers are stepping up efforts to repeal the Byrd Amendment even as staffers for the legislation's chief sponsor, Sen. Robert Byrd (D., W.Va.), head to Weirton, W.Va., to review operations at the Mittal Steel USA plant there.

• A graying work force casts a long shadow across Canadian steel Sep 09, 2005

  A tidal wave approaching Canada's steel industry could leave the country awash in retired steelworkers and leave the industry itself swimming upstream in a bid to find skilled replacements.