Steel Strip

Russia’s biggest steelmaker, is deferring indefinitely an ambitious $8bn investment programme in a further sign of how the downturn is forcing manufacturers to cut capital spending.
The company – which has expanded strongly particularly in the US in the past few years – on Tuesday said it was reducing its fourth-quarter earnings forecast and making further [...]

 MEPS are reporting a dire picture in the European Steel Market
Demand for steel in the EU has collapsed. Current price levels are, however, hard to verify because very few forward orders are being placed. Buyers are afraid to purchase because selling values are dropping on a daily basis. Moreover, customers’ orders books have reduced dramatically [...]

Troubled US carmakers General Motors and Ford Motor have been given a potentially devastating vote of no confidence by three big European credit insurers, which have removed cover from their suppliers.
The withdrawal of credit insurance – which covered suppliers against the risk of the car companies’ failing – has previously hastened the demise of a [...]

U.S. Steel is the latest steel maker to announce production cuts. They said yesterday they was laying off 675 union workers in the United States and Canada because of lower demand for steel amid the economic downturn. The layoffs, effective immediately, include 500 employees in the United States and 175 in Canada, said John [...]

We now here that Arcelor are to close three Steel production lines in Liege for six months………
 
as reported by Reuters
 
Technorati Tags: Arcelor,Steel Production,Liege

AK Steel Corp. is idling two mills and laying off hundreds of workers until early next year in response to a sharp and sudden drop in demand for steel.
The West Chester, Ohio-based steel business said it halted production and shipping at its 365-worker Mansfield, Ohio plant this week. A small group of workers will remain [...]

The US car giants General Motors,  Ford and Chrysler have been losing money for years. Then comes the credit crisis with car sales around the world "plummeting". It now appears that they are reaching the brink.
It seems to be "make or break" time for General Motors and the other big two, as congressional Democrats seek [...]

Steel Strip is annealed to:-

Soften the strip for improved forming and workability
To remove stresses induced during cold rolling, or uneven cooling
To remove coarse grain

Almost all cold rolled steel strip will have undergone the annealing process, normally prior to a final "skin pass", a final light reduction.
Annealing is basically a heat [...]

UNION leaders have urged Corus not to make any “knee-jerk reactions” after the steel giant announced plans to slash steel production by up to 30% across Europe.
The firm said it would shut down one of its Port Talbot blast furnaces after a massive downturn in the demand for steel. Production at plants in Scunthorpe and [...]

Corus has announced plans to cut 400 jobs from its distribution business.
The proposed job losses include 95 at the steel giant’s plant at Shotton, Deeside and 50 in south Wales.
Another 100 jobs will go at eight sites in the West Midlands and 50 in two locations in Leeds.
The company blamed the move on [...]