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US trade officials are close to filing a case against China at the World Trade Organisation challenging export restrictions on raw materials used in steel-making and other industries. The US has been working on the case intensely for the past few months, and could move ahead with a request for consultations – the first step in the WTO dispute settlement process – within weeks, according to people close to the discussions. The European Union has already opened three investigations into allegations of dumping by Chinese steel producers. A WTO fight over China’s treatment of raw materials would shake up the...

Carlyle sells off steel group for $3.53bn By Julie MacIntosh in New York Published: August 13 2008 00:24 | Last updated: August 13 2008 00:24 The Carlyle Group agreed on Tuesday to sell John Maneely, a US manufacturer of steel pipes and tubes, to Russian steelmaker Novolipetsk Steel for $3.53bn, culminating a two-year turnround process. Carlyle has voluntarily filed to have the deal reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (Cfius), a panel that seeks to protect certain US national security interests from foreign investment.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- United States Steel Corp. shares jumped more than 14% on Tuesday after the company reported its second-quarter profit more than doubled on prices pushed higher by surging global demand for its steel products. The stock added $20.92 to $166.25 in early trading and, despite some recent weakness, has now surged 70% in the past year. The nation's second-biggest steelmaker posted a profit of $668 million, or $5.65 a share, up from $302 million, or $2.54 a share, earned in the year-ago second quarter. The Pittsburgh-based manufacturer reported that income from operations jumped to $954 million from...

Unexpected Climb in Workplace Fatalities Sparks Search for Causes by Unions, Firms At a time when steel mills in the U.S. are running flat out to meet increasing demand, the steel industry is trying to unravel the causes of on-the-job accidents that resulted in more deaths in the first half of 2008 than in recent full years. . . . Officials at the United Steelworkers, which is negotiating labor contracts with U.S. Steel Corp. and ArcelorMittal, contend that pressure to boost steel output while the market is strong has led to some fatalities . . .

USS New York It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center . It is the fifth in a new class of warship - designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft. Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite , LA to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds  on Sept. 9, 2003, "those big rough steelworkers treated it with total...

Inside scoop … Shhhhhh … you did not hear it from me! I am not revealing the location to protect my source. When it is published by our local paper I will. Our local Wal-Mart called an employee (selected) meeting this evening to announce a change in scheduling and new procedures. It is expected that 9 employees will have their schedules drastically altered during the meeting. Law Enforcement Officers will arrive during the meeting and escort the 9 employees in handcuffs through the store to waiting vehicles. Or just out the back door, to avoid any kind of problems (law...

Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton have asked their Chinese steelmaker customers to accept the largest ever increase in iron ore prices or risk the interruption of supplies from Australia. Traders and industry officials said the mining companies have demanded price increases for their annual iron ore contracts in excess of the record 71.5 per cent rise of 2005 and were fighting for increases of 85-95 per cent.Rio and BHP have warned their Chinese clients some annual contracts will expire next Monday and they would cease supply under the old terms. They have told them the ore would instead be sold...

This newspaper is printed on paper made from cellulose fibers obtained from wood pulp. The fibers are fairly large, on the order of tens of micrometers wide, and the resulting paper is fairly weak — pulls on it and it tears easily. Researchers in Sweden and Japan have developed a much stronger paper, made from much smaller fibrils of cellulose. This "nanopaper" has a tensile strength greater than that of cast iron. Marielle Henriksson of the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and colleagues used enzymes and a gentle beating technique to produce fibrils on the order of tens of...

The American steel industry is enjoying a new era of prosperity [snip] Buoyed by sharply reduced employee costs, soaring global demand, dramatic consolidation that has tamped down cutthroat competition, and a weakened dollar that has made imports less attractive, steel prices have tripled in the past five years. For the first time in decades, companies operating in America have added capacity and workers. [snip] "There hasn't been this much building in 25 to 30 years," the president of Locker Associates, a steel consulting firm, Michael Locker, said. "We are in a new period here. I don't see us going back...

Weak Dollar, Strong Demand Raise Steel Prices, Production By PETER KROUSE   A furnace helper at Republic Engineered Products in Canton, Ohio, cleans out the tap hole and the runner that allows liquid steel to flow from an electric arc furnace into a waiting ladle. (Photo by Scott Shaw)     CLEVELAND, OH — The last time the U.S. economy was in or near a recession, the U.S. steel industry was tanking, too.Not this time around.U.S. steelmakers are full sail amid the doldrums. That's good news for Northeast Ohio, where several mills churn out steel for such diverse products as...

WASHINGTON — This is not your economy. It's not even your parents' economy. To a surprising degree, this is your great-grandparents' economy. Quietly, while attention has focused on the technology, finance and service sectors, businesses that stood astride 19th century industrial America but then collapsed have been resurrected to meet the needs of a feverishly industrializing world. In the process, much of what Americans think they know about their economy is being upended. Steel makers, railroads, mining concerns and agriculture, long considered part of a fading past, suddenly have bright futures. And segments of the economy long lauded as the...

Russian metals and mining company OAO Severstal offered Tuesday to buy Esmark Inc. for $17 (€10.87) per share in cash, claiming it has the critical support of the United Steelworkers union. The union late last week said it would oppose an identical $670 million (€428.4 million)cash buyout offer from India's Essar Steel Holdings, contending that Wheeling-based Esmark accepted the deal without giving the USW adequate notice or a chance to put forth an alternative. [...] Severstal released a copy of its offer letter, arguing it is "best suited to unlock the potential of Esmark's current operations" by merging them with...

CARACAS, VENEZUELA: President Hugo Chavez threatened on Sunday to expropriate Venezuela's largest steel maker due to what he said are the soon-to-be-nationalized company's excessive compensation demands. Chavez said he could not help but laugh when he heard that Sidor's parent company, Luxembourg-based Ternium SA, is asking for at least US$4 billion (euro2.56 billion) in compensation for its 60 percent stake in Sidor. "I'm not going to pay $4 billion for that company," Chavez said during his Sunday radio and television program. "If they don't want to reach an agreement with us, I'll sign an expropriation decree. I'll take immediate control...

CARACAS [EL COMERCIO/AGENCIAS]. Last week it was the cement industry and now it is the Andean and Caribbean steel giant’s turn. The Venezuelan government ordered the nationalization of the steel company Siderúrgica del Orinoco (owned by Ternium-Sidor, which has majority Argentine ownership) after the collapse of contract talks with the workers, announced the Venezuelan vice-president Ramon Carrizales. "After a long process of negotiations were fruitless in solving the conflict between Sidor and its workers, president Hugo Chavez decided to assume control of Siderúrgica del Orinoco which has been privatized for some 10 years", said Carrizales. The company "took a radical...

Russian steelmaker to buy Sparrows Point OAO Severstal says it has agreed to purchase Balto. Co. mill for $810 million Russian steelmaker OAO Severstal said early this morning that it has reached an agreement to purchase the Sparrows Point steel mill in Baltimore County for $810 million. It will be the plant's fourth owner in four years. The 119-year old steel mill employs 2,450 hourly and salaried workers and has the capacity to produce 3.6 million tons of steel a year. The sale, which faces several regulatory approvals, is expected to close during the second quarter of the year. Related...

A new U.S. Navy ship to be christened Saturday was built partly using steel from the 9/11 ruins of the World Trade Center. The company says on its Web site that the bow-stem of the ship, the seventh to be named "New York," includes 7.5 tons of steel from the World Trade Center.

Taiwan bans certain steel exports for first time By Kathrin Hille in Taipei Published: February 21 2008 03:53 | Last updated: February 21 2008 03:53 Taiwan has banned exports of certain steel products for the first time, in a move that could further contribute to the squeeze in global steel supply. From March 5, exports of small billets and rebars will be banned for three months, and exports of H beams and scrap steel will be subject to government approval on a case-by-case basis, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Thursday. The measure is an attempt to protect the...

Government Grants Steel Makers' Request to Extend Tariffs to China, India, Four Other Nations WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a victory for U.S. steel makers, the federal government agreed Wednesday to continue tariffs on imports of certain steel products from China, India and four other nations. General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. Chrysler and other steel consumers had opposed the tariff extension. But ending the tariffs would have increased steel imports, harming U.S. steel makers, said Alan Price, a lawyer for Charlotte, N.C.-based Nucor Corp. "China has a staggering amount of excess (steel production) capacity," he said. The U.S. International Trade...

The global steel industry is on the hunt for homes for a new generation of steel mills. Low-cost places like Ukraine, Russia, Brazil and India stand to benefit from investments to satisfy the world's growing appetite for steel. Also set to benefit: The U.S. This month, big construction machinery is felling trees and leveling the earth outside Mobile, Ala., to make way for a 3,500-acre stainless- and carbon-steel mill being built by Germany's ThyssenKrupp AG. The $2.7 billion mill, which is expected to be up and running by 2010, will make and process 4.5 million tons of steel, making it...

The owner of Tarrasco Steel, a company that supplied workers on the Biloxi Bay Bridge, was arrested and charged with hiring illegals on projects in three states. Some had improper welding certification. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Jose Gonzalez. Tarrasco Steel was hired as a subcontractor for rebar installation services to major projects in Mississipi, Louisiana, and Tennessee. The federal government considers those bridges as critical infrastructure, and they were part of routine inspections of facilities that if damaged could pose a threat to national security and public safety. "There is a serious public safety concern when illegal aliens,...

'Ring of steel' plan to protect New Yorkers By Tom Leonard in New York Last Updated: 2:03am BST 10/07/2007 America's deep-seated sensitivity about the privacy rights of its citizens is being challenged in New York where police want to set up a London-style "ring of steel" to protect the city against terrorism. Officials say that 116 licence-plate reading cameras will have been installed in Lower Manhattan by the end of the year, the initial phase of a $90 million (£45 million) surveillance programme that will be the first in the United States. The Lower Manhattan Security Initiative will resemble the...

The Economy: You used to know good economic times were nearing an end when stock leadership rotated into such "late cycle" plays as steel, chemicals and machinery. But that, as they say, was then. And this, as they also say, is now. And when it comes to shares of these and other "basic" industries, now is wow! Unlike past bull markets, when "quality" leadership was synonymous with new-age jack rabbits grouped in the tech, medical and retail sectors, slower-moving old America is stealing the show. Credit a global economic boom that the U.S. not only made possible by defeating communism...

Conspiracy: Unless the feds had something to do with it, the theory held by Rosie and others that the Twin Towers were brought down by the Bush administration just crashed and burned on a California freeway. In recent discussions on the jaundiced "View" and her Web site, conspiracy theorist Rosie O'Donnell opined that the 9/11 collapse of the Twin Towers, as well as 7 World Trade Center, marked "the first time in history that fire has ever melted steel." This, she said, is "physically impossible." Well, not exactly. Fire only has to weaken a structure already weakened by, say, a...

The chief engineer in charge of reconstructing the mangled ramps connecting Interstate 80 to two major East Bay freeways said this morning that it could take six weeks to several months to get the steel necessary to complete the job. A connector to Interstate 580 collapsed onto the southbound Interstate 880 connector after a crash early Sunday morning in which a tanker truck carrying 8,600 gallons of gasoline crashed on the highway below and burst into flames. Steel holding up the section of I-580 started to melt, causing pavement to pull away from support beams. Today, Chief Engineer Rick Land...

Just a few years ago, over one thousand Chinese descended upon the Ruhr valley. "They bedded down in a makeshift dormitory in a disused building in the plant and worked twelve hours a day, seven days a week throughout the summer. Only later, after some of the German workers and managers complained, were the Chinese workers obliged to take a day off, out of respect for local laws." In less than one year, they successfully disassembled the plant and shipped the 275,000 tons of materials and equipment to China. A manufacturing entrepreneur and a former peasant farmer named Shen Wenrong...

Molten steel shower kills 32 workers in China 52 minutes ago At least 32 workers were killed and two injured Wednesday when they were engulfed by molten steel at a metal factory in northeast China, the government said. The accident was triggered when a steel ladle, with a capacity of 30 tonnes of liquid steel, sheared off from the blast furnace, spilling molten metal onto the factory floor some three metres (three yards) below. The molten steel then engulfed an adjacent room where all the victims were gathered for a routine shift change, the State Work Safety Administration said in...

March 19, 2007 Giuliani Notes: California State Board of Equalization Member Michelle Steel Endorses Giuliani for President Michelle Steel, California State Board of Equalization Member for Imperial, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and portions of Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties has ENDORSED Rudy Giuliani for President in an interview with Flap this afternoon. Mrs. Steel, elected this past November is the highest ranking elected GOP woman politician in California. She is also the highest ranking elected Korean-American official in the United States.Steel’s California government website is here.Her biography is here and here.Why Rudy?“America is in a war. He is the...

A 6-inch-thick section of concrete flooring in the second-floor loading dock of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center collapsed yesterday under the weight of a tractor-trailer, sending steel, debris and equipment crashing 30 feet down into a walkway and a water feature below.

LONDON: Community, the UK's largest steel and metal industries union and the dominant union in Tata's new purchase Corus, representing over 80% of its UK employees, has signalled trouble ahead for the new merged steel company with the promise to oppose job cuts tooth and nail. The union's call for clarity and consistency was taken up by sections of the British political establishment with several MPs insisting the Tata Corus deal must "give guarantees about the long term future of Corus in this country". Community officials warned Tata they would not let it cut jobs in a bid to restructure...

U.S. trade panel ends steel tariff Carmakers say move will cut costs By James P. Miller Tribune staff reporter Published December 15, 2006 In a move that cheered automakers but angered domestic steel producers, the U.S. International Trade Commission on Thursday eliminated most of its controversial tariffs on carbon-steel imports. The ITC's ruling brings an end to what has been an unusual, high-profile feud between two American smokestack industries battered and dramatically altered by global competition: Big Steel and its crucial customer, the auto industry. The commission's action will lower the price auto companies pay for steel, and bring a...

There is no joy in a report that one of Russia's largest steelmakers may make a bid to take over U.S. Steel Corp. Let's hope it is not so. President Bush would have to say no to it. Eventually, he'd pick up the phone and say, "Please, Vladimir, I can't find a specific law that gives me authority for this, but I want you to call it off. Our biggest steelmaker can't be bought by ... sorry ... Russians." Pressed to say why, the president might reply, "Well, national security." Because Russia, although now a "friend," keeps behaving more like...

Secret's out for Saracen sabres 15 November 2006 NewScientist.com news service DURING the middle ages, the Muslims who fought crusaders with swords of Damascus steel had an edge - a very high-tech one. Their sabres contained carbon nanotubes. From about AD 900 to AD 1750, Damascus sabres were forged from Indian steel called wootz. Peter Paufler of the Technical University of Dresden, Germany, and colleagues studied samples of a 17th-century sword under an electron microscope and found clear evidence of carbon nanotubes and even nanowires. The researchers think that the sophisticated process of forging and annealing the steel formed the...

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama expressed regret late Friday for his 2005 land purchase from now-indicted political fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko in a deal that enlarged the senator’s yard. “I consider this a mistake on my part and I regret it,” Obama told the Chicago Sun-Times in an exclusive and revealing question-and-answer exchange about the transaction. In June 2005, Obama and Rezko purchased adjoining parcels in Kenwood. The state’s junior senator paid $1.65 million for a Georgian revival mansion, while Rezko paid $625,000 for the adjacent, undeveloped lot. Both closed on their properties on the same day. Last January, aiming to...

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Drastic coal shortages despite massive natural deposits have had a ripple effect throughout Zimbabwe's economy and ruined a deal to renovate the country's biggest steelworks, the government has acknowledged. The energy crisis adds to the economic woes of Zimbabwe, which is already suffering from acute shortages of many basic commodities. Industry Minister Obert Mpofu told a panel of lawmakers in Harare recently that Indian steel maker Global Steel Holdings pulled out of an investment deal at the Zicosteel steelworks in central Zimbabwe because of concerns about lack of coal supplies. The steel maker needed 60,000 tons...

LONDON (AFP) - Mittal Steel, the world's biggest steel producer has announced that it controls 91.88 percent of European steel maker Arcelor following its 25-billion-euro takeover bid. "I am delighted at this result which is a resounding endorsement of the strategic logic and value of the merger of Mittal Steel and Arcelor, a truly industry transforming deal," Mittal chairman Lakshmi Mittal said in a statement received by media in London on Wednesday. He added: "We are very excited about our future as one company and believe this strong vote of confidence from shareholders paves the way for a speedy integration...

Suddenly, China dominates steel industry The Charleston Gazette (W.VA) 07/23/2006 By Author: Paul J. Nyden Today, China has the world's largest steel industry. In fact, the world's most populous nation now produces more steel than the next four largest producers combined: Japan, the United States, Russia and South Korea. Chinese mills make 31 percent of the world's steel. Between 2000 and 2005, Chinese steel production grew by 170 percent, from 126 million metric tons to 349 million metric tons. China's steel exports quadrupled between 1998 and 2005. Steel imports flooding into the United States doubled between 2000 and 2005. The...

LIKE many home cooks, I have sent my nonstick skillets to the moldy recesses of my basement, where they have joined the 1950's aluminum pots and the Dru casseroles (Dutch enamel coated cast iron, now eBay collectibles). What led to this step were unsettling reports that an overheated Teflon-coated pan may release toxic gases. DuPont, the manufacturer of Teflon, says that its pans are safe and that their surfaces won't decompose, possibly releasing the gas, until the pan's temperature reaches 680 degrees. Some scientists say that an empty pan left on a burner set on high reaches 700 degrees in...

Foundry worker killed after falling into steel pit. Interesting read. Go to Drudge Report, click on AP Breaking News and find story with the headline above.

Aleksei Mordashov, the CEO of Russian Steel Co. Severstal says he is befuddled by his proposed $16.5 Billion deal with the steel giant Arcelor. "The deal would create the world's largest steel company with a 6% of global production," Mordashov says. It would also give him a 32% share of the new company his critics say. Arcelor, apparently is a national treasure in the European countries where it operates - Fance and Belgium. Another company, Mittal, wants to buy out Arcelor and the Arcelor board doesn't like that idea either. It sounds to me like they just don't want to...

ABOARD THE USS LAKE CHAMPLAIN, May 1, 2006 – There's a "ring of steel" around one of the most important economic targets in the world. A supertanker fills up at the Al Basra Oil Terminal in the Northern Arabian Gulf. Coalition forces are protecting the terminal from attack. Photo by Jim Garamone  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. That's the way Royal Navy Cmdr. Steve Dainton, the captain of HMS St. Albans, described the coalition maritime protection around Iraqi oil terminals in the Northern Arabian Gulf. The terminals generate some $18,000 a second for Iraq as they pump crude...

NEW YORK - With a year to go before it even touches the water, the Navy's amphibious assault ship USS New York has already made history — twice. It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center, and it survived Hurricane Katrina. That combination of disasters gives the ship a unique standing among the 500 or so Avondale, La., shipyard workers building it, said Tony Quaglino, a crane superintendent who postponed retirement to have a hand in the New York's construction. "I think Katrina made us more aware of the tragedy in New York," said...

VANCOUVER -- Under a roof where World War II Liberty ships were built, Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash., urged the Bush administration on Tuesday to insist that California award the contract for the center span of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge to a U.S. company. Skirting the Buy America law and sending family-wage jobs overseas to save "a couple of dollars" will undermine the U.S. economy, destroy the domestic steel industry and compromise national security, Baird told about 60 union members at Oregon Iron Works Inc.'s plant at the old Kaiser Shipyards in Vancouver. Once the country's steel industry is...

Al-Simoud State Enterprise, the country’s largest steel manufacture, achieved record sales in 2005, company figures reveal. The figures show that the company had sold products worth 10 billion dinars. The highest figures the company had achieved were in 1995 when it sold products worth 8.5 billion. The company is part of the domestic industry. It was the pride of former regime’s military industries. A company source said the enterprise had abandoned manufacturing of military equipment and has completely converted to civilian products. It was involved in the production of missiles and ammunition. But currently it produces cranes, pylons, communication towers,...

Paris, February 3: France's opposition to Mittal Steel's bid for Arcelor is not due to the fact that its owner is Indian-born, Finance Minister Thierry Breton said on Thursday, brushing off alleged French arrogance towards an outsider. France's conservative government and the Socialist opposition have stepped up rhetoric against steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal's $24 billion bid for Arcelor, sparking criticism by an Indian minister and some commentators. "This has nothing to do with India or anyone else," Breton told Europe 1 radio. "This is a European company. The nationality of the shareholders has nothing at all to do with this....

Rising India Challenges Declining France in Steel Mittal's surprise bid for Arcelor sounds as a warning for France Email Article Print Article Pierre Joo (pierre_joo) ©2006 Pierre Joo The French government has reacted swiftly and spectacularly to the news of the Indian company Mittal Steel launching a 18.6 billion euro (U.S.$22.3 billion) hostile bid to take over its European competitor Arcelor on Jan. 27. On the following Monday, French Minister of Economy Thierry Breton met with Mittal Steel's Chairman and CEO, Lakshmi Mittal. Breton gave a news conference, which in some parts sounded more like a lecture to the Indian...

LUXEMBOURG, February 01: Luxembourg's prime minister vowed on Tuesday to use "all necessary means" to fend off a hostile $23 billion bid by steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal for Arcelor, one of Europe's biggest companies. Speaking to the Grand Duchy's parliament after meeting with the Indian-born billionaire, Jean-Claude Juncker criticised him for not consulting him ahead of time, adding that he did not think a deal was in the best interest of Europe. "I am determined -- as is the government -- to do everything to preserve everything that we have worked for and that we believe in ... by using...

Billionaire steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal has launched an audacious £12.75 billion takeover attempt on rival Arcelor of France - in a move that would see him strengthen his position at the top of the world's steel industry. Mittal Steel, Mr Mittal's Dutch listed steel giant, said today it had offered €28.21 a share for Arcelor in an €18.6 billion bid that, if successful, would create the world's biggest steelmaker and the first producer capable of making more than 100 tons of steel a day. As he pitched his offer at a 27 per cent premium to last night's closing price...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. President Bush on Friday turned down pleas to impose a quota on Chinese steel pipe imports despite concerns that steel- industry jobs in several states could be lost without new restrictions. Major U.S. manufacturers of standard pipe, which is used in sprinkler systems, air conditioning and fencing, said workers in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania could lose their jobs if Bush did not accept a quota. Bush said in a statement released by the White House that a quota would hurt the economy because it would increase costs for consumers. He...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.U.S. manufacturers are speaking out against China's monetary policy -- and what they say is the president's unwillingness to confront the issue. In the wake of President Bush's recent trip to Asia, a coalition of U.S. business groups is assailing the administration for failing to press China to revalue its currency, which many say unfairly favors Chinese manufacturers and constitutes a violation of China's free-trade obligations. More than 40 manufacturing trade groups, including the Steel Manufacturers Association, have formed the China Currency Coalition with the U.S. Business and Industry Council to oppose...

Insurgencies are not put down in a fortnight. But considering the successes in the recent counter-insurgency sweep in Iraq's Al Anbar Province, one fact becomes obvious to anyone with so much as a sliver of an understanding of ground combat operations: Eliminating the insurgency in Iraq is best left to those who best know how to do it.