Supply Chain

• GM’s Texas assembly plant receiving four large presses Feb 28, 2013

  General Motors Co.’s stamping plant in Arlington, Texas, is taking delivery March 1 of the first shipment of massive equipment to make components for its new full-size sport utility vehicles.

• Sungro Minerals buys La. oil, gas interest Feb 28, 2013

  Sungro Minerals Inc. has bought a 28-percent oil and gas stake in the Grande Chenier field in Cameron Parish, La., from Sigma Gamma Interests LLC for $2 million, the company said Feb. 28.

• Shell to pause drilling off Alaska Feb 28, 2013

  Royal Dutch Shell Plc is idling its drilling program in Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi seas after one of its rigs was damaged in a "maritime incident related to strong weather conditions" following the 2012 drilling season, the company said Feb. 27.

• A.M. Castle working to integrate businesses Feb 27, 2013

  Processor and distributor A.M. Castle & Co. plans to focus on two key areas in the year ahead: integrating its legacy Castle Metals Oil & Gas business with Tube Supply Inc., and realigning its Castle Metals Aerospace unit.

• Déjà vu for P&W in new titanium probe Feb 27, 2013

  Pratt & Whitney Co. is investigating titanium used in its aircraft engines that was supplied by Western Titanium Inc., reviving memories of an earlier criminal case against the San Diego distributor.

• Greer Steel expands Dover, Ohio, operation Feb 27, 2013

  Cold-rolled strip producer Greer Steel Co. has expanded its Dover, Ohio, operation to include full service center capabilities, the company said Feb. 27, noting that the expansion will be operational March 1.

• Reliance deal gains antitrust OK Feb 27, 2013

  The proposed acquisition of Metals USA Holdings Corp. by Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. moved one step closer to completion after the deal was granted early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, according to a Federal Trade Commission document.

• Toyota to ship Venza to Russia, Ukraine Feb 27, 2013

  Toyota Motor North America Inc. will begin shipping Venza models assembled at its Georgetown, Ky., plant to Russia and Ukraine this year.

• M/K reopens Ala. service center Feb 27, 2013

  Marmon/Keystone Corp. has completed the rebuild of its Birmingham, Ala., service center, which sustained damage in a tornado last year.

• Oneok expects falling gas prices to reduce earnings Feb 27, 2013

  Natural gas processor Oneok Inc. anticipates its earnings will fall below previous expectations this year due to lower prices for natural gas liquids (NGLs) and "widespread and prolonged ethane rejection," the company said in announcing its latest results.

• Sinopec buying $1B shale stake Feb 27, 2013

  China’s Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration & Production Corp. (Sinopec) is buying a 50-percent interest in 850,000 acres of Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s Mississippi Lime leasehold in northern Oklahoma.

• Castle exec expects ‘difficult’ early 2013 Feb 26, 2013

  Specialty metals distributor A.M. Castle & Co. hopes to improve profits as it restructures in 2013, but president and chief executive officer Scott Dolan doesn’t expect a major pickup in top-line revenue amid a weak demand environment.

• N. American die casters win back market share Feb 26, 2013

  The North American die casting market is starting to see signs that demand is swinging back in its favor and away from its competitors in China, according to an executive at Eastern Alloys Inc.

• Shale-Inland’s Bouchard resigns Feb 26, 2013

  Shale-Inland Holdings LLC has named Frank Riddick executive chairman, replacing Craig Bouchard, who is exiting the company he founded in 2010 in order to explore new opportunities in China.

• Reliance-Metals USA merger follows years of discussions Feb 26, 2013

  The proposed merger of Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. and Metals USA Holdings Corp. came about after several years of discussions between Reliance chairman and chief executive officer David H. Hannah and Metals USA director M. Ali Rashid about service center industry dynamics.

• Riddick named Shale-Inland chairman Feb 26, 2013

  Shale-Inland Holdings LLC has named Frank Riddick executive chairman, succeeding Craig Bouchard.

• Nucor, foundries appeal ‘Buy America’ ruling Feb 25, 2013

  Iron and steel foundries, steelmaker Nucor Corp., the United Steelworkers union and the Municipal Castings Association have objected to a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) ruling on "Buy America" requirements.

• General Cable eyes pickup after loss Feb 25, 2013

  General Cable Corp. is hoping for a rebound in the second quarter after a weak start to 2013 following a net loss at the end of 2012.

• 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.