Supply Chain

• Ranger Steel promotes executives Jan 14, 2013

  Ranger Steel Services LP has named Jeff McPherson president and Jochen Seeba chief operating officer, succeeding Ron Whitley, who held both roles.

• RTI names O'Connell top commercial officer Jan 11, 2013

  RTI International Metals Inc. has named a veteran of the aircraft engine industry as its top commercial officer, further emphasizing its focus on downstream markets.

• Ford, GM announce hiring plans Jan 11, 2013

  Ford Motor Co. plans to hire 2,200 salaried workers at its U.S. operations this year, while General Motors Co. will hire some 1,000 high-tech workers to staff a new information technology (IT) innovation center in Georgia.

• Banker Steel plans $2M facility expansion Jan 11, 2013

  Structural steel fabricator Banker Steel Co. is expanding its Lynchburg, Va., facility by 45,000 square feet and adding 50 employees in order to produce remotely constructed building modules using tubular steel for a new contract, a spokesman for the company told AMM on Thursday.

• Natural gas exports could hurt US, manufacturers say Jan 11, 2013

  A nonprofit group of businesses and organizations that includes steelmaker Nucor Corp. and aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. is concerned that exports of natural gas could hurt the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers.

• NSK to build bearings plant in Mexico Jan 11, 2013

  Automotive bearings producer NSK Corp. says it plans to build a $70-million manufacturing plant in Mexico.

• Greenbrier expects annual rail car deliveries to fall 20% Jan 11, 2013

  Rail car deliveries by Greenbrier Cos. will fall approximately 20 percent in the company’s current fiscal year.

• Toyota sets company record for North American output in ’12 Jan 11, 2013

  Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. set a company record for North American production in 2012, manufacturing 1.78 million vehicles, up 41 percent from 2011 volumes and surpassing its previous record of 1.72 million units in 2007, the automaker said Thursday.

• Nissan’s Mississippi plant adds 8th production vehicle Jan 11, 2013

  Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.’s assembly plant in Canton, Miss., has won the sourcing contract to build the next-generation Murano crossover.

• GM picks high-strength steel for Chevy Silverado pickup Jan 11, 2013

  General Motors Co. engineers have incorporated high-strength steel (HSS) in the frame and cab structure of the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado full-size pickup.

• Bradford Steel files suit for alleged nonpayment Jan 10, 2013

  Bradford Steel Co. Inc. has sued contractor K-Con Inc. for allegedly failing to pay for steel structures that the company supplied for an Air National Guard facility in Cape Cod, Mass.

• Galvanizing business boosts AZZ results Jan 10, 2013

  AZZ Inc.’s zinc galvanizing segment posted sharply higher results in its fiscal third quarter.

• Stainless pipe supplier files for Ch. 7 Jan 10, 2013

  Stainless Pipe & Fitting Supply Co. Inc. has filed a Chapter 7 petition in federal bankruptcy court in California in a move that will see the company liquidate its assets.

• Local union walks out of port contract talks Jan 10, 2013

  Talks between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the New York Shipping Association (NYSA) have broken down, casting a shadow over next week’s master contract negotiations between the union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX).

• Shale-Inland names finance exec Jan 10, 2013

  Shale-Inland Holdings LLC has named Gary Haire as its new chief financial officer.

• Elio Motors set to take over closed GM plant Jan 10, 2013

  Elio Motors Inc. plans to spend more than $100 million to retool General Motors Co.’s plant in Shreveport, La., which closed last summer after years of making midsize pickups.

• VW, Eaton unveil new EV charger Jan 10, 2013

  Volkswagen Group of America Inc., with partner Eaton Corp., has introduced a single-port combined charging system (CCS) electric vehicle charger at VW’s Electronics Research Laboratory in Belmont, Calif., as the automaker looks to expand electric vehicle infrastructure in the United States.

• Metal One plans 4th Mexico service center Jan 10, 2013

  Japan’s Metal One Corp. is investing $13 million to build a steel sheet processing center in Mexico with an annual capacity of about 300,000 tonnes.

• Greenbrier still open to ARII discussions: exec Jan 10, 2013

  Greenbrier Cos., which successfully fended off a takeover attempt by Carl Icahn last month, said it still remains open to talks with the billionaire investor as it tries to convince shareholders that it made the right decision.

• Federal Reserve Bank appoints Surma Jan 10, 2013

  The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland has appointed two new directors with manufacturing backgrounds.

• Aluminum service centers see uptick Jan 09, 2013

  Aluminum service centers are cautiously optimistic about demand in 2013 amid a slight increase in orders.

• Vallourec, Petrobras in 5-year pipe supply deal Jan 09, 2013

  Vallourec SA subsidiary V&M do Brasil SA has secured a five-year supply contract with Brazilian national oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras).

• TransCanada plans two export projects Jan 09, 2013

  TransCanada Corp. plans to spend approximately Canadian $6 billion ($6.1 billion) on two natural gas export projects in British Columbia.

• Mississippi River rock blasting progresses Jan 09, 2013

  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ latest channel improvement project on the Mississippi River is progressing quickly and cargoes are moving through the area, a spokesman told AMM.