Supply Chain

• Environmental fears about fracking overdone: analyst Feb 25, 2013

  Environmental concerns about the contamination of drinking water from fracking are overdone, according to Loren Scott, president of economic consulting firm Loren C. Scott & Associates Inc.

• Olympic to expand CTI operation Feb 25, 2013

  Olympic Steel Inc. plans to expand the St. Paul, Minn., facility of its Chicago Tube & Iron Co. (CTI) subsidiary this year.

• MRC turns focus away from OCTG, records loss Feb 25, 2013

  MRC Global Inc. is moving away from the oil country tubular goods (OCTG) sector, seeing little upside for the market.

• Aero Gear places order for Solar furnace Feb 22, 2013

  Solar Manufacturing Inc. has received a furnace order from aerospace gear manufacturer Aero Gear Inc.

• Aero sector issues temper titanium outlook: analysts Feb 22, 2013

  The continuing impact of forging press outages in 2012, as well as an ongoing inventory selloff at aerospace giant Boeing Co., has prompted analysts to temper their titanium outlook over the next five years.

• Olympic optimistic on volume, not pricing Feb 22, 2013

  Executives at Olympic Steel Inc. expect flat-rolled steel pricing to stay relatively flat this year, but they hope to counter that with higher inventory turns as volumes continue to rise due to improved demand and deeper market penetration.

• Reliance exec favors plate price hikes Feb 22, 2013

  Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.’s carbon steel plate shipment volumes have held steady, but falling prices hurt margins last year and still haven’t recovered, and the service center chain’s chief operating officer hopes that buyers accept the most recent increase attempt.

• Honda technologies join steel, aluminum Feb 22, 2013

  Honda Motor Co. Ltd. says it has developed a trio of technologies that combine steel and aluminum and is applying them to mass-produced vehicles, initially in the North American model of the Acura RLX.

• Mills, distributors size up market prospects Feb 22, 2013

  Steel market participants likely will see some bright spots in 2013, but they must keep a close eye on potential challenges in the form of global competition, ensuring access to affordable energy, and the pace of technological advancements.

• Ford to expand production at Cleveland plant Feb 22, 2013

  Ford Motor Co. plans to invest nearly $200 million and add 450 new jobs at its Cleveland engine plant to meet rising consumer demand for its 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine.

• Russel Metals promotes Reid Feb 22, 2013

  Service center operator Russel Metals Inc. has promoted John G. Reid to vice president and chief operating officer.

• Patterson promoted to Southern region post at O’Neal Steel Feb 22, 2013

  Birmingham, Ala.-based service center chain O’Neal Steel Inc. has named Lindsey Patterson regional administrative manager for the Southern region.

• Jeray joining Marmon/Keystone Feb 22, 2013

  Butler, Pa.-based steel tube and pipe distributor Marmon/Keystone Corp. has named Kevin Jeray account manager on its West Coast sales team.

• Reliance sees improvement despite headwinds Feb 21, 2013

  Pricing was the largest headwind against earnings power for Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. for most of last year, and has yet to gain real strength, given demand and capacity utilization and economic uncertainty.

• Rexam sales up in 2012 on regained US market share Feb 21, 2013

  Global packaging company Rexam Plc posted a moderate increase in revenue last year after regaining a large part of the U.S. beverage can market share that it lost in 2011.

• Olympic Steel results hurt by ‘disappointing’ 4th quarter Feb 21, 2013

  Service center chain Olympic Steel Inc. posted a fourth-quarter net loss of more than $10.1 million, largely the result of a $6.6-million goodwill impairment charge related to flat products in its southern operations, in contrast to net income of $565,000 in the last three months of 2011.

• Union split on Boeing offer; strike looms Feb 21, 2013

  Boeing Co.’s largest white-collar union split in a vote on the company’s latest labor contract offer, raising the possibility that technical workers—but not engineers—at the aerospace giant could go on strike.

• Obama unveils infrastructure upgrade plan Feb 21, 2013

  The White House has unveiled a new infrastructure plan to upgrade the nation’s roads, bridges and ports, helping U.S. businesses become more competitive globally.

• Commerce rules stainless steel sink imports dumped, subsidized Feb 21, 2013

  The Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued an affirmative final determination in an anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation of imports of drawn stainless steel sinks from China.

• MTU Aero eyes gains after 2012 net rises 9.2% Feb 20, 2013

  MTU Aero Engines Holding AG’s net income rose 9.2 percent in 2012, and the company expects commercial aerospace demand to drive both the group’s revenue and operating profit up 10 to 12 percent in 2013.

• Drew’s profits driven higher in ’12 as RV sector rumbles Feb 20, 2013

  Drew Industries Inc.’s earnings surged in 2012 as the company posted record sales thanks to a strong showing in the recreational vehicle (RV) sector and expansions into new markets.

• Drew anticipates growth in RV market Feb 20, 2013

  Drew Industries Inc. expects results to improve in 2013 thanks to a pickup in the recreational vehicle (RV) market.

• Centers’ lead times for copper products grow Feb 20, 2013

  Service centers are reporting extended lead times for certain copper flat-rolled products as copper mills have yet to add additional production, staff or shifts despite an uptick in demand.

• Commerce amends duties on tapered roller bearings Feb 20, 2013

  The Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration (ITA) has amended the final results of an anti-dumping duty administrative review of imports of tapered roller bearings from China, citing ministerial errors.