Steel News

Friedman Industries Reports 1st Quarter Results

17 August 2004 - Friedman Industries Inc. announced net earnings of $1,618,829 on sales of $44,915,704 for the first quarter.

Gibraltar Extends Roofing Products Line with Portals Plus

16 August 2004 - Gibraltar has acquired Portals Plus Inc. and its affiliated companies, Roofing Products & Systems Corp. and J.L.R. Services, Inc. (Portals Plus).

NS Group President Adopts 10b5-1 Plan

16 August 2004 - NS Group, Inc.’s President and CEO, René J. Robichaud, has adopted a plan to sell common stock of NS Group to be acquired through the exercise of stock options. The plan applies to up to 40% (approximate) of the aggregate of the stock options and common stock owned by Mr. Robichaud and will continue through December 2005. The plan will diversify his asset portfolio and offer transparency to NS Group shareholders.

Competitive Technologies to Commercialize Steel Cutting Technology

13 August 2004 - Competitive Technologies, Inc. has signed an agreement with Cutting Edge Technologies LLC (CET) to commercialize and grant licenses for CET's patented Accelerated Steel Cutting (ASC) technology. The ASC technology, with a specifically designed and modified track torch, uses high-pressure propane and oxygen to cut steel at a rate up to four times faster than current methods, increasing operating efficiency and lowering costs.

MEPS International Steel Market Roundup

13 August 2004 - MEPS (International) Ltd provided the following summary of international flat steel and long products markets:

Timken Earns Training Award from Industry Publication

13 August 2004 - The Timken Co. recently earned the fifth annual Manufacturer Product Training Award from Progressive Distributor magazine in recognition of its Distributor Training School.

Canadian Tribunal Gives Notice of Expiry for Welded Steel Pipe Order

11 August 2004 - The Canadian International Trade Tribunal has given notice regarding expiry for its order made on June 5, 2000, in Review No. RR-99-004 regarding carbon steel welded pipe in the nominal size range of 1/2 to 16 inches (12.7 to 406.4 mm) inclusive, in various forms and finishes, usually supplied to meet ASTM A53, ASTM A120, ASTM A252, ASTM A589 or AWWA C200-80 or equivalent specifications.

Canadian Tribunal Amends Stainless Steel Bar Order

11 August 2004 - Concluding its interim review of an order made on September 3, 2003 for stainless steel round bar, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal is amending its order to exclude a range of goods described below. The original order addressed bar ranging in diameter from 25 to 570 mm from the Federal Republic of Germany, France, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, Chinese Taipei, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Korea..

Insteel Industries Files NASDAQ Application

11 August 2004 - Insteel Industries, Inc. has filed an application with The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. to make its common stock eligible for quotation on the NASDAQ National Market System.

ITC to Conduct Sunset Reviews of Hot-Rolled Steel from Brazil, Japan and Russia

11 August 2004 - The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) voted to conduct full five-year sunset reviews of antidumping duty orders on hot-rolled flat carbon steel products from Brazil and Japan, the suspended countervailing duty investigation on hot-rolled flat carbon steel products from Brazil, and the suspended antidumping duty investigation on hot-rolled flat carbon steel products from Russia. Specific cases include Inv. Nos. 701-TA-384 and 731-TA-806-808 (Review).

Ispat Inland Survivor Supplement Expires per Pension Agreement

10 August 2004 - A supplemental pension benefit for surviving spouses of Ispat Inland employees who retired before Aug. 1, 1989, has expired as provided in a pension agreement with the United Steelworkers of America.

Ivaco Enters Sales Agreements with Heico

10 August 2004 - Ivaco Inc. announced that Ivaco, Ivaco Rolling Mills LP, and Ifastgroupe and Co., LP have each entered into a binding agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of The Heico Companies, LLC for the sale of their respective businesses to Heico. The aggregate purchase price for the three businesses is $375 million, including certain assumed liabilities.

Wheeling-Pittsburgh Reports 2nd Quarter Income

10 August 2004 - Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corp., the holding company of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp., reported net income of $27.1 million on net sales of $356.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2004.

U. S. Steel Withdraws Case against Miller Citizens

09 August 2004 - United States Steel Corp. has withdrawn its request to be compensated by the Miller Citizens Corp. (MCC) for legal fees incurred defending against a filing by the MCC to oppose the proposed tax settlement between the company, Lake County and the state of Indiana. The Indiana Tax Court recently held that MCC had no right to intervene and that the MCC motion was not timely filed.

Ispat Inland Reports 2nd Quarter Income

09 August 2004 - Ispat Inland Inc. reported net income of $54.1 million on net sales of $771.9 million for the second quarter of 2004.

Keystone and Steelworkers Ratify Collective Bargaining Amendments

09 August 2004 - Keystone Consolidated Industries, Inc. and the Independent Steel Workers Alliance jointly announced that the ISWA membership has overwhelmingly approved revisions to the existing collective bargaining agreement at Keystone's Bartonville Plant.

Judge Dismisses GM Lawsuit against Steel Dynamics

06 August 2004 - Steel Dynamics, Inc. announced that on August 4, 2004, a Michigan circuit court judge dismissed General Motors Corp.'s lawsuit against SDI over an alleged multi-year steel purchase agreement.

ISG to Convert Idled Cleveland Continuous Anneal Line

06 August 2004 - International Steel Group Inc. has unveiled a plan to expand operations at its Cleveland Works.

Timken Latrobe to Increase Specialty Steel Prices

05 August 2004 - Timken Latrobe Steel has increased base prices by 3 to 10% on all remelted aerospace alloy steel grades. The price change is effective with all new orders received.

Canadian Tribunal Finds Injury from Stainless Steel Wire

05 August 2004 - The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) has determined that injury has been caused to the Canadian steel industry by the dumping of cold drawn and annealed stainless steel round wire from the Republic of Korea, Switzerland and the United States of America, and the subsidizing of this product from India.