Supply Chain

• Steel Technologies plans Mexico expansion Oct 03, 2011

  Steel Technologies LLC plans to build a new flat-rolled steel processing operation in central Mexico.

• Arch Coal cuts profit forecast on lost output Oct 03, 2011

  Arch Coal Inc. is warning that 2011 will not be as strong as originally forecast due to lost output at a metallurgical coal mine.

• Production picks up, backlogs slump Oct 03, 2011

  The Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index rose one point to 51.6 in September after falling the previous month to its lowest point in more than 12 months.

• NMBS reopens former CMC joist assets Oct 03, 2011

  New Millennium Building Systems (NMBS) LLC, a subsidiary of Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), is now running all of the steel joist fabrication facilities it acquired from Commercial Metals Co (CMC) last year as a low-cost route to gaining a foothold into the West and Southwest construction markets.

• Mid City Steel set to spend $3.7M for second Mass. site Oct 03, 2011

  Mid City Steel Corp. will spend $3.7 million to establish a second facility in Westport, Mass.

• Dana’s $136M stakes in two ventures bought by Getrag Oct 03, 2011

  Dana Holding Corp. has sold a $136-million equity stake in two joint ventures to Germany’s Getrag Group Corp.

• St. Lawrence Seaway labor strike averted Oct 03, 2011

  The Canadian Auto Workers union reached a tentative labor agreement with St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. early Monday, avoiding a threatened strike.

• Tico Titanium fills key slots in management realignment Oct 03, 2011

  Tico Titanium Inc. has announced a realignment of its management team.

• Allied’s Warren Alloy moving headquarters out of Houston Oct 03, 2011

  Warren Alloy Valve & Fitting Co. LP, a master distributor of stainless steel and specialty metal pipes, valves and fittings, is relocating its headquarters to Missouri City, Texas, from Houston with a view toward eventually sharing the facility with its owner, Allied Fittings LP.

• US drilling steady, Canada up Oct 03, 2011

  The number of drill rigs running in the United States was virtually even last week, falling by just one, while Canadian drilling activity increased by five rigs compared with the previous week.

• Commerce revokes duties on ball bearings from France, Germany, Italy Sep 30, 2011

  The U.S. Commerce Department is revoking anti-dumping duty orders on ball bearings from France, Germany and Italy because no domestic parties filed a notice of intent to participate in the third sunset review of the orders by deadline.

• Worthington acquires LPG tank maker Stako Sep 30, 2011

  Worthington Industries Inc.’s pressure cylinders segment, Worthington Cylinders, has purchased the assets of Stako, which makes automotive liquefied propane gas (LPG) tanks for the European market.

• Toyota starts 4-cylinder engine production in Ala. Sep 30, 2011

  Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama Inc. last week launched a $147-million expansion at its Huntsville plant, adding 2.5-liter and 2.7-liter four-cylinder engines to its production line and creating 240 jobs.

• Auto supplier, three execs admit price-fixing Sep 30, 2011

  Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd., a supplier of automotive wire harnesses and related products, has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $200-million fine for its role in an alleged price-fixing and bid-rigging conspiracy involving the sale of parts to auto manufacturers, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

• Cat, Navistar venture moves into vocational trucks Sep 30, 2011

  Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. and heavy truck and engine maker Navistar International Corp. have launched their newest phase of collaboration, with plans to manufacture and sell vocational and on-highway trucks.

• Enbridge, Enterprise plan Okla.-Gulf Coast pipeline Sep 30, 2011

  Enbridge Inc. and Enterprise Products Partners LP plan to build a new pipeline to move crude oil from an "oversupplied" hub at Cushing, Okla., to refineries along the Gulf Coast in Texas.

• Worthington profits up as sales dip Sep 30, 2011

  In a global economy that is still struggling to fully recover, steel processor and distributor Worthington Industries Inc. is investing time and effort to reduce costs, improve the quality of its products and prepare for growth.

• OCTG tags climb on demand from oil, gas patch Sep 29, 2011

  Oil country tubular goods (OCTG) prices continued their upward march in September, largely defying concerns that have plagued other non-energy steel-consuming sectors, according to market sources and published reports.

• UAW ratifies four-year labor deal with GM Sep 29, 2011

  United Auto Workers (UAW) union members have ratified the collective bargaining agreement reached with General Motors Co.

• Navistar sets plans for third Alabama plant Sep 29, 2011

  Navistar International Corp. said it intends to sign a lease on a manufacturing plant in northwest Alabama that would further solidify its manufacturing strategy.

• Patriot, union wrap up labor deal Sep 29, 2011

  Patriot Coal Corp., St. Louis, has finalized a new labor agreement with the United Mine Workers of America.

• US mulls another WTO suit vs. China export restraints Sep 28, 2011

  The United States may file another raw materials complaint against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO), an official from the U.S. Trade Representative’s office told industry participants at the first briefing of the Congressional Wire and Wire Products Caucus in Washington.

• Aluminum distributor plans Calif. anodizing line Sep 28, 2011

  Southern Aluminum Finishing Co. Inc. (SAF) will construct its first West Coast anodizing line on property in Redding, Calif., it purchased in a foreclosure sale.

• Metal orders, shipments rise; stocks flat Sep 28, 2011

  Primary metals producers and metal fabricators saw healthy month-over-month gains in shipments and new orders during August, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.