Steel Strip

I occasionally "stumble" on to websites that I think would be of interest to those of us involved with steel, either working in the industry or working with the products.
I found one such site today. The Fabricator is packed with articles, news items and useful links to the Industry.
An example of a good metal website. [...]

Corus Construction & Industrial will also be raising basis prices for structural sections by £60 per tonne. This change will be reflected in the published price contained in Price List 5 and will apply to all material despatched from 30th March 2008. The price increase is a direct consequence of the considerable increase in [...]

ArcelorMittal and ThyssenKrupp were affected by short strikes by workers this morning. The stoppages were to back demands by the IG Metall Union for increased pay.

Opposition is growing from steelmakers across the world against miner BHP Billiton’s £75bn hostile takeover plans for its rival Rio Tinto.
Companies, particularly in China, Japan and Europe, say a combination of the two would simply be too powerful.
It would become the third biggest group in the world, dwarfed only by Exxon Mobil and General Electric.
BHP [...]

Heavy demand in emerging markets such as China has tightened steel supplies and pushed up prices for suppliers worldwide.
U.S. steel makers have the added benefit of favorable exchange rates, which have tamped down imports and stirred sales overseas.
"High shipping rates and the weak dollar are giving producers here a lot of leverage, particularly in the [...]

The world’s biggest miner wants to be even bigger.
Not content with annual revenue equal to the size of Vietnam’s economy, Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton has formalised a bid to buy close rival Rio Tinto.
The $147bn (£74.8bn) offer sets the stage for the world’s second-largest takeover.
The bold move is raising hackles among the [...]

A series of German salary renewal negotiations has gotten off to a brisk start this year amid strikes in several sectors. On Feb. 6, steelworkers laid down tools following a call by the IG Metall trade union. Three hundred workers stopped work temporarily at a site belonging to sector leader ThyssenKrupp. Similar actions were expected [...]