In a move that buyer sources say—and some flat out hope—is a harbinger of things to come, AK Steel Corp. plans to increase prices on carbon flat-rolled sheet products by $20 to $30 per ton starting with January shipments.

The development of a renewable energy grid across the United States could be a boon for the struggling aluminum cable industry, but if one Indian wire manufacturer has its way it might be foreign suppliers, not domestic ones, who reap the benefits, two major fabricators of the light metal warn.

The traditional winter construction lag is prompting Steel of West Virginia Inc. to lay off 15 percent of its employees.