Steel

• Carpenter finance chief Geremski to retire Dec 16, 2005

  Carpenter Technology Corp. said Friday that Terrence E. Geremski, senior vice president and chief financial officer of the Wyomissing, Pa.,-based specialty metals producer, will retire next August. The company has hired an executive search firm to find a successor.

• Siemens wins Ukraine pickling line contract Dec 16, 2005

  Siemens AG's Industrial Solutions & Services group has received a contract from JSC Zaporizhstal for the supply of a new continuous pickling line at the company's steel works in Zaporozchye, Ukraine.

• Politicians feel heat to burn Byrd repeal Dec 16, 2005

  The steel industry is keeping up the pressure on the U.S. government to remove the repeal of the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act (CDSOA), the so-called Byrd Amendment, from the Budget Reconciliation Bill.

• SteelBoss operator settles lawsuit, will alter dispute resolution policy Dec 16, 2005

  A lawsuit that pitted the operator of steel trading Web site SteelBoss.com against a Sausalito, Calif.,-based steel trader has been resolved with an agreement that the site's dispute resolution policies will be modified.

• AK Steel cuts charges for January Dec 15, 2005

  AK Steel Corp., Middletown, Ohio, has advised its flat-rolled carbon steel customers that a $215-a-ton surcharge will be added to invoices for products shipped in January. The January surcharge is down $13 from the $228 surcharge the company had on flat-rolled products in December.

• China's '04 crude, finished steel output figures bumped upward Dec 15, 2005

  China's National Statistics Bureau has revised upward official 2004 steel production figures, adding another 10 million tonnes to crude steel output and 22 million tonnes to finished steel.

• Groundwork laid for Brazil's Ceara slab project Dec 15, 2005

  The foundation was laid Thursday for construction of Ceara Steel, a 1.5-million-tonne-a-year steel slab-for-export project in northeast Brazil.

• European strip prices likely to fall in '06 Dec 14, 2005

  European strip product prices are likely to fall by 5 to 10 euros ($6 to $12) per tonne at the start of 2006 as some major mills still have stockpiles and consumers remain reluctant to buy large volumes, according to market participants.

• White House rally presses for '421' relief vs. China pipe imports Dec 14, 2005

  Workers and congressional leaders from pipe-producing states are gathering in Washington Thursday to urge President Bush to approve Section 421 action that would stem the flow of Chinese standard pipe into the United States.

• Usiminas lays plan for 5M-tonne slab-for-export venture in Brazil Dec 14, 2005

  Brazilian flat-products steelmaker Usinas Siderúrgicas de Minas Gerais SA (Usiminas) plans to build a 5-million-tonne-a-year steel works to produce slab for export.

• Hamilton, USW in labor accord Dec 14, 2005

  Hamilton Specialty Bar Corp. has reached an early labor agreement with United Steelworkers union Local 4752, which represents 315 employees at the Hamilton, Ontario, producer.

• Turkish rod mill denies US dumping charge Dec 14, 2005

  Turkish wire rod producer Habas Sinai ve Tibbi Gazlar Istihal Endustrisi AS has expressed surprise at being cited in a dumping complaint filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) against U.S. imports from China, Germany and Turkey.

• Ipsco appoints new treasurer Dec 13, 2005

  Ipsco Inc., Lisle, Ill., announced the appointment of Gregory R. Burnett as corporate treasurer.

• European pig iron prices slide $20/tonne Dec 13, 2005

  Pig iron prices in Europe have fallen $20 per tonne since mid-November as scrap prices slid and buyers stayed out of the market in order to keep pre-Christmas inventories low, according to producers and traders.

• TK Electrical hikes capacity, posts profit Dec 13, 2005

  ThyssenKrupp Electrical Steel GmbH, the grain oriented electrical steel subsidiary of Duisburg, Germany,-based ThyssenKrupp Steel AG, increased annual production capacity to 240,000 tonnes at the end of its 2004-05 fiscal year vs. 200,000 tonnes previously.

• Daido Steel expanding Chita plant Dec 13, 2005

  Daido Steel Co. Ltd., Nagoya, Japan, is expanding capacity to make stainless steel bar and hot-rolled coil for automotive industry use by 10 percent to 9,000 tonnes per month at its plant in Chita, a company spokesman said.

• SMS Demag awarded Indian mill contract Dec 13, 2005

  SMS Demag AG, Düsseldorf, Germany, has received a contract to supply a compact cold mill and skin pass mill to Jindal South West Steel Ltd. (JSW Steel), Toranagallu, in India's Karnataka province.

• New China steel policy hits greenfield projects Dec 13, 2005

  The approval of two major greenfield steel projects planned by Shanghai Baosteel Group Corp. and Wuhan Iron & Steel Group Corp. (Wugang) will be affected by the implementation of China's new steel policy.

• Lance technology installed at USS Kosice Dec 13, 2005

  Berry Metal Co. said it has completed the installation of its Split Flow Post-Combustion oxygen injection lance technology at U.S. Steel Kosice s.r.o. in the Czech Republic.

• Buchanan Mine resumes output after repairs Dec 13, 2005

  <Consol Energy Inc.'s Buchanan metallurgical coal mine near Keen Mountain, Va., resumed production Tuesday after completing repairs to its skip hoist.

• US raw steel output off as five regions take hit Dec 13, 2005

  Raw steel output in the United States totaled 2,014,000 tons last week, a 0.9-percent decline from 2,032,000 tons produced the previous week, as mills operated at an average capability utilization rate of 87.2 percent. Five regions posted declines.

• US, Canadian drill rig counts jump Dec 13, 2005

  The number of drill rigs running in the United States rose by 23 last week, with the largest increase in Texas (up nine), while Canadian drilling activity jumped by 26 rigs.

• Carpenter sells special products unit to WHI Dec 12, 2005

  Carpenter Technology Corp. has sold off its special products subsidiary in a bid to concentrate on its core business activities.

• Mittal facing rivalry in S. Africa galvanized market Dec 12, 2005

  Safil Investments (Mauritius) Ltd. will decide before the end of the first quarter next year whether it will attempt to break Mittal Steel Co. NV's monopoly on the South African galvanized steel market.