Steel Strip

On the day that Arcelor CEO Lakshmi Mittal talked of a glimmer of hope the ISSB have reported that Steel exports from the world’s top ten exporting countries fell by 41% between July and November 2008. According to figures released by the Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau (ISSB). Steel shipments fell from 24.7 million tonnes [...]

There is still downward pressure on US transaction prices, although the rate of decrease has decelerated. Mill outages continue, with operating levels quoted at between 40 and 50 percent, depending on the facility. Deliveries are running late because of the production constraints. Nevertheless, distributors are keeping inventories at the lowest levels in many years as [...]

Council leaders from major steel producing areas of Britain are to meet directors of steelmaker Corus to seek assurances over the company’s future.
A working party of councillors from Scunthorpe, Rotherham, Corby, Redcar and Cleveland and North Lanarkshire are to meet at Corus’s London HQ next week.
Corus said last month it was shedding 3,500 [...]

 MEPS report that Turkey has seen more price reductions and although Russian suppliers have increased the price on quotes, activity remains very low.
South Africa remains busy in long products due to Government construction, but  the flat products remains quiet.
Mexican prices are falling, whilst Brazil remains stable, at half the activity level of this year.
Prices in [...]

I was amazed to see a report that Steel production in China was up month on month in January by 10 % to 41.5 million tonnes (source forbes.com)
When worldwide demand is so weak and US and European output has been slashed this comes as quite a surprise, and has resulted in the fall in share [...]

The government is being urged to give the same financial support to manufacturing during the recession as it has to failing UK banks.
The Work Foundation think tank wants emergency state funding to help save jobs and companies in the "extremely important" sector of the economy.
Its comments came as a CBI survey showed that factory [...]

After weeks of speculation LDV have approached the Government to seek a loan for a management buyout to save the company.
Struggling van-maker LDV has asked the government for millions of pounds in loans to help secure its future.
It wants access to bridging loans to tide it over while it presses ahead with plans for a [...]

Troubled US carmakers GM and Chrysler have asked the US government for another $21.6bn (£15.2bn) in support, on top of the $17.4bn already received.
The auto giants also plan to axe 47,000 and 3,000 jobs respectively, as well as shedding a number of car models.
The moves form part of their drastic restructuring plans submitted to [...]

Corus has become the first leading UK industrial company to find itself caught by the reduction of cover to its suppliers by one of the world’s largest credit insurers.
Euler Hermes said it was reducing the amount of cover it was willing to write for suppliers of the country’s largest steelmaker as a result of a [...]

European steelmakers are braced for a first quarter that they expect to be even tougher than the end of last year, with demand still slack in Europe despite signs it might be picking up elsewhere.
Steelmakers around the world have slashed production, cut jobs and shelved expansion projects as key customers in the automotive, appliance and [...]