Steel

• Would-be buyers hoped to operate RG: union Dec 19, 2012

  At least two parties were said to have expressed an interest in buying and operating parts of the former RG Steel LLC Sparrows Point, Md., steelmaking facility prior to the sale of one of its top assets earlier this quarter.

• China helps drive rise in stainless production Dec 19, 2012

  Global stainless steel output hit 8.3 million tonnes in the third quarter, up 2.6 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to data from the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF).

• Vietnamese steel hangers dumped: Commerce Dec 19, 2012

  The U.S. Commerce Department has issued an affirmative final anti-dumping and countervailing duty determination on imports of steel wire garment hangers from Vietnam.

• Essar Steel Minnesota mulls new joint-venture DRI facility Dec 19, 2012

  Essar Steel Minnesota LLC is in talks to build a direct-reduced iron (DRI) plant as part of a joint venture with several leading U.S. steel producers.

• Tata Steel shuts trading desk in Rio Dec 19, 2012

  India’s Tata Steel Ltd. has shut its Rio de Janeiro office, which was used as a trading desk for export and import transactions.

• Nov. steel sales post 2.5% year-on-year increase: IABr Dec 19, 2012

  Steel sales in the Brazilian market increased by 2.5 percent year on year in November, according to data from domestic steel association IABr.

• No ‘hard and fast’ date for Mingo restart: exec Dec 19, 2012

  Frontier Industrial Corp. continues to seek an operator for the former RG Steel LLC steelmaking facility in Mingo Junction, Ohio, but has made no decisions on whether a restart at the site will be possible, a company executive said.

• US steel mills’ shipments rise as capacity utilization sags Dec 19, 2012

  U.S. steel mills’ shipments rose in October compared with the previous month at the same time that capacity utilization reached its lowest rate thus far this year, according to data from the American Iron and Steel Institute.

• Stainless consumption, imports rise: SSINA Dec 18, 2012

  Domestic stainless consumption rose significantly year on year in September, although imported material captured a greater share of the domestic market.

• Philadelphia leads way as US slab imports tumble 20% Dec 18, 2012

  Slab imports fell 20 percent month on month in October, led by a sharp decline in the Philadelphia district.

• Steel pipe tags rise despite year-end doldrums Dec 18, 2012

  Steel pipe and tube market activity has slowed as the traditional year-end doldrums have kicked in, leaving market players scratching their heads about what 2013 might bring.

• Essar Steel Algoma to finish energy upgrade in '13 Dec 18, 2012

  Essar Steel Algoma Inc. is set to complete a Canadian $30-million ($30.4-million) project to revamp the energy infrastructure at its Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, steelmaking operations by early 2013.

• Nucor projects lower 4th-qtr. earnings Dec 18, 2012

  Nucor Corp. says it expects to see lower fourth-quarter results compared to both the previous quarter and the prior-year period due to a smaller accounting credit, as well as thinner margins in the steel sector as a whole.

• SDI expects level earnings in 4th quarter Dec 18, 2012

  Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) expects its fourth-quarter earnings to be similar to results reported for the previous three months and year-ago quarter due to relatively flat shipment levels.

• China removes taxes targeted by WTO case Dec 18, 2012

  China has apparently decided to heed a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling by removing a range of raw material export taxes that were the target of a successful complaint.

• Most metals see PPI fall in Nov. vs. Oct. Dec 18, 2012

  Most metals products saw their producer price indices (PPI) move lower in November compared with October and a year earlier, although iron and steel scrap bucked the monthly trend, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• ArcelorMittal, Nunavut become equal partners in Baffinland Dec 18, 2012

  Nunavut Iron Ore Inc. will increase its interest in Canada’s Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. to 50 percent from 30 percent, giving it an equal stake in the project with joint-venture partner ArcelorMittal SA.

• ICE considers iron ore swaps contract to attract US clients Dec 18, 2012

  Atlanta-based InterContinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) might launch a new iron ore swaps futures contract in a bid to capture U.S. participants affected by changes under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, market sources told AMM sister publication Steel First.

• USW, UAW reps named to OSHA whistleblower panel Dec 18, 2012

  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced the members of its new Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee.

• Arcelor Tubarão furnace still off Dec 18, 2012

  ArcelorMittal Tubarão does not expect to resume operations at its 2.8-million-tonne-per-year No. 3 blast furnace before mid-March, the company says.

• US raw steel output rebounds 1.4 percent Dec 18, 2012

  U.S. raw steel output totaled 1,827,000 net tons last week, up 1.4 percent from 1,802,000 tons the previous week, as mills operated at an average capability utilization rate of 73.9 percent.

• China's early Dec. crude steel production decreases 0.8% Dec 18, 2012

  China’s crude steel output fell 0.8 percent to just shy of 1.95 million tonnes for the first 10 days of December from 1.96 million tonnes in late November, China Iron and Steel Association (Cisa) data show.

• Wheatland boosts sprinkler pipe prices Dec 17, 2012

  Wheatland Tube Co. plans to increase prices for sprinkler pipe by 3 to 5 percent for material in diameters of 1 to 8 inches, it said in a letter to customers dated Dec. 14.

• Three steelmakers vie for bridge job Dec 17, 2012

  Three major domestic steelmakers are vying to supply the plate for a large bridge construction project on the West Coast.