It's been described, aptly, as the inbox from hell. As Barack Obama puts together his transition team in the weeks before his inauguration on Jan. 20, the President-elect could be forgiven if depression—with a small "d"—sets in.

It seems inevitable that by early next year the economic situation will have worsened as the impact of the "virtual" financial crisis feeds through to the "real" economy. Consumers will have cut back further, manufacturers will shed more jobs and the impact on steel and metal companies will only become more severe.

In the face of the most uncertain economic outlook in generations, what does the U.S. metals industry...