Supply Chain

• Chinese blast US ruling on solar cells May 18, 2012

  China has blasted the U.S. Commerce Department for acting in an "unfair" manner in ruling that imports of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells were sold in the United States at less than fair value.

• Crutchfield elected Alpha chairman May 18, 2012

  Alpha Natural Resources Inc. has elected Kevin S. Crutchfield chairman of its board of directors.

• Toyota spending $80M to ratchet up V6 production May 18, 2012

  Toyota Motor North America Inc. will spend $80 million to more than double V6 engine production capacity at its Huntsville, Ala., operation.

• Coal plant worker suffers fatal fall May 18, 2012

  An employee of Independence Coal Co., a subsidiary of Alpha Natural Resources Inc., has died after a fall at a coal preparation plant.

• ‘Robust’ aerospace market bolsters PCC May 17, 2012

  Gains in its aerospace and industrial gas turbine units helped push Precision Castparts Corp.’s (PCC) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings up 24 percent.

• Deere raises '12 forecast on profit rise May 17, 2012

  Farm, lawn and forestry equipment maker Deere & Co. has raised its expectations for demand in several global regions after posting record earnings in its second quarter ended April 30.

• Mining engineering facing big hurdles May 17, 2012

  Funding and a lack of qualified teachers are the biggest obstacles to keeping the U.S. mining engineering industry alive, the head of the University of Arizona’s Department of Mining and Geological Engineering told AMM Wednesday in an interview ahead of the Copper Club’s annual dinner in Phoenix.

• Wainscott touts steel’s changing auto role May 17, 2012

  Steel’s role in the rapidly changing automotive sector has come a long way over the course of the past decade, AK Steel Corp. chairman, president and chief executive officer James L. Wainscott told attendees at the 11th annual Great Designs in Steel (GDIS) seminar in Livonia, Mich., this week.

• Global auto suppliers shift focus from Europe May 17, 2012

  North America has emerged as a bright spot for global automotive suppliers this year, but difficulties elsewhere have them amending earlier sales and profit expectations.

• Michigan lands three auto supplier projects May 16, 2012

  The Michigan Economic Development Corp. announced three investment projects in the past week valued at nearly $94 million that will boost the state’s automotive supplier base.

• Stainless steel distributors’ shipments decline May 16, 2012

  Shipments by stainless steel distributors fell in April after three consecutive month-on-month increases, according to Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) data.

• Commerce delays decision on wind tower imports May 16, 2012

  The Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration (ITA) is postponing by 50 days to July 26 the preliminary determination in its anti-dumping duty investigation on imports of utility-scale wind towers from China and Vietnam.

• Chevy Volt wins SMDI steel design award May 16, 2012

  The design and engineering team behind General Motors Co.’s Chevrolet Volt was honored with the Steel Market Development Institute’s (SMDI’s) annual Automotive Excellence Award Wednesday.

• TK to sell foundry to private equity firm May 16, 2012

  ThyssenKrupp AG has agreed to sell its U.S. foundry business to private equity firm KPS Capital Partners LP.

• JMC Steel lifts Picoma’s profile in Canada May 16, 2012

  JMC Steel Group Inc. plans to sell electrical conduit fittings in Canada under the Picoma brand name, the company said Tuesday, and has added a Canadian sales team to handle the task.

• Excess steel capacity prompts timing game May 15, 2012

  April steel shipments by service centers dipped to their lowest level in four months, helping spur a 2.5-percent rise in inventories from the previous month even as demand continues to hold steady despite some erratic moves in spot pricing, market participants told AMM.

• Aluminum shipments down but pickup eyed May 15, 2012

  Aluminum shipments by service centers in the United States and Canada were down in April compared to each of the previous three months, but distributors say they nonetheless remain optimistic about the rest of the quarter.

• Metalformers feel more cautious: PMA May 15, 2012

  Metal stampers, rollers, tool and die makers, and parts producers are feeling a little less sunny about their economic prospects than they were earlier this year, according to the most recent business conditions survey by the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA).

• ITC maintains duties on Japan steel, China coke May 15, 2012

  The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) voted unanimously Tuesday to keep duties in place on imports of two steel-related products.

• Mexican auto assembly up: Amia May 15, 2012

  Mexico’s automotive industry assembled 920,032 cars and light trucks in the first four months of 2012, 15.2 percent more than in the same period last year, according to Amia, Mexico’s automotive industry association.

• Patriot Coal drops guidance over risk from key customer May 15, 2012

  Patriot Coal Corp. has revised downward its 2012 outlook due to uncertainty surrounding one of its customers.

• Alpha shuts W.Va. met coal mine May 15, 2012

  Alpha Natural Resources Inc. has closed a metallurgical coal surface mine in Raleigh County, W.Va., and has no plans to reopen it.

• Aerospace aluminum plate price rise sticks May 14, 2012

  A price hike on aerospace aluminum plate this year appears to have stuck and the market could be in store for further tightening, service center executives and sources said.

• Great Lakes iron ore shipments rise in April May 14, 2012

  Iron ore shipments on the Great Lakes totaled 6.1 million tons in April, up 6.1 percent from 5.74 million tonnes in the same month last year and 22.9 percent ahead of the five-year monthly average of 4.96 million tons, the Lake Carriers’ Association said.