Steel

• SDI promotes 3 managers in flat-rolled sales business Apr 25, 2013

  Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has promoted three veteran sales and marketing executives in its flat-rolled steel division.

• USS intends to lock out Lake Erie union workers Apr 25, 2013

  U.S. Steel Corp.’s Lake Erie Works intends to lock out unionized workers at 9 a.m. April 28 as labor negotiations between the two parties have failed.

• Steel profits to grow despite low capacity rates: Timken Apr 25, 2013

  Timken Co. will be able to operate profitably in a weak demand environment and with relatively low capacity utilization by investing in new equipment that both increases efficiency and raises the quality of its steel bar products, the company says.

• Metals shipments, orders up in March Apr 25, 2013

  Primary and fabricated metals shipments and new orders all improved strongly in March compared with the previous month, while inventories were mixed.

• TransCanada defends Keystone XL report Apr 25, 2013

  The U.S. State Department’s supplemental environmental impact statement (DSEIS) on TransCanada Corp.’s rerouted Keystone XL pipeline "strengthened the analysis presented to date" but did not adequately address potential risks, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

• ITC revises dumping margins on steel nail imports Apr 25, 2013

  Citing a ministerial error in an anti-dumping duty administrative review of steel nails from China from April 1, 2010, to July 31, 2011, the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration has revised the weighted-average dumping margins.

• Vale drops iron ore project, underlying earnings at $3.2B Apr 25, 2013

  Vale SA has dropped its multibillion-dollar Simandou iron ore project in Guinea from its project list as its underlying first-quarter earnings fell 10.1 percent year on year to $3.19 billion despite lower costs and expenses.

• N. America automaker opts to use ArcelorMittal’s AHSS Apr 25, 2013

  A large north American vehicle manufacturer will use ArcelorMittal SA’s steels in its lightweight vehicles, Prabhat Rastogi, the steelmaker’s worldwide sales and marketing manager, said April 24.

• ATI’s 1st-qtr. earnings, sales drop on ‘sluggish demand’ Apr 24, 2013

  Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) saw its first-quarter net income plunge 82.2 percent to $10 million from $56.2 million in the same period last year on sales that fell 12.8 percent to $1.18 billion as a result of lackluster demand from its major end-market sectors.

• Canacero expects rise in Mexican steel investments Apr 24, 2013

  The Mexican steel industry is expected to see investments totaling $11.5 billion between 2013 and 2015, local steel association Canacero announced this week.

• OCTG selling prices slip in April: Pipe Logix Apr 24, 2013

  Distributor selling prices for oil country tubular goods (OCTG) fell to a 13-month low in April, according to Pipe Logix Inc.

• Greece’s Corinth Pipeworks adding new pipe mill Apr 24, 2013

  Pipemaker Corinth Pipeworks SA has announced plans to build a large-diameter pipe mill that will produce 400,000 tons of longitudinal submerged-arc welded (LSAW) pipe annually.

• Timken’s net tumbles on lower demand Apr 24, 2013

  CHICAGO — Timken Co.’s net income plunged year on year in the first quarter, but the company managed to sustain double-digit operating margins despite low levels of capacity utilization, the company’s top executive said.

• Trade case filed vs. PC tie wire imports Apr 24, 2013

  Wire producers Davis Wire Corp. and Insteel Industries Inc. have filed an anti-dumping duty petition with the Commerce Department and the U.S. International Trade Commission alleging that imports of pre-stressed concrete (PC) steel rail tie wire from China, Mexico and Thailand are hurting the domestic market.

• Outokumpu slashes May surcharges on stainless Apr 24, 2013

  Outokumpu Stainless USA LLC has lowered its surcharges on most stainless steel grades for May.

• Arch Coal posts $70M first-quarter loss Apr 24, 2013

  Arch Coal Inc. posted a first-quarter net loss of $70 million in contrast to net income of $1.2 million in the same period last year on revenue that fell 20.6 percent to $825.5 million from nearly $1.04 billion.

• Construction growth continues, but slowing Apr 24, 2013

  A key indicator for nonresidential construction activity was positive for the eighth month in a row in March, signaling a boom for the steel market, even as the rate of growth eased compared with previous months.

• Stainless base price hikes in doubt Apr 24, 2013

  ATI Allegheny Ludlum Corp. says previously announced base price increases on several stainless steel grades are not gaining traction, with other stainless producers reportedly rescinding their own price increases.

• Lake Erie plant workers reject USS labor offer Apr 24, 2013

  United Steelworkers union members at U.S. Steel Corp.’s Lake Erie plant have rejected the company’s proposed contract, USW Local 8782 said on its website.

• Met coal exports to remain high in 2013: Arch Apr 24, 2013

  U.S. metallurgical coal exports will remain elevated in 2013 on rising global steel output, Arch Coal Inc.’s top executive said.

• Union, ArcelorMittal in Burns Harbor dispute Apr 24, 2013

  ArcelorMittal USA LLC is involved in a dispute about workplace safety with "a small number of union workers" at its Burns Harbor facility in Indiana, a company spokeswoman told AMM in an e-mail.

• AMM steel awards finalists announced Apr 24, 2013

  Finalists drawn from the largest, most competitive pool of applicants ever nominated have been announced for AMM’s annual Awards for Steel Excellence.

• Chinese plate export prices holding steady after losses Apr 24, 2013

  China’s plate export market saw little movement this week as steelmakers held the line to avoid further losses.

• Flat products drive down steel imports Apr 24, 2013

  U.S. steel imports fell in March, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data.