Steel News

Gerdau Ameristeel Closes North Star Steel Acquisition

02 November 2004 - Gerdau Ameristeel Corp. has completed its acquisition of the North Star Steel assets from Cargill, Inc. The deal includes the fixed assets and working capital of four long steel product minimills in St. Paul, Minn.; Wilton, Iowa; Calvert City, Ky.; and Beaumont, Texas; three wire rod processing facilities in Beaumont, Texas; Carrollton, Texas; and Memphis, Tenn.; and a grinding ball facility in Duluth, Minn. Integration of these operations will provide Gerdau Ameristeel's customers with expanded geographical coverage and a broader range of products.

Ipsco Reports Continued Strong Earnings in Third Quarter

01 November 2004 - Ipsco Inc. announced net income of $144.5 million on sales of $641.9 million for the third quarter, and net income of $242.2 million on sales of $1,673.0 million for the nine months ended Sep. 30, 2004.

MultiServ Logs Two Multi-Year Contracts

01 November 2004 - Worldwide industrial services and products company Harsco Corp. announced that its MultiServ mill services division has been awarded multi-year contracts totaling more than $15 million in projected new revenues over their duration for on-site mill services at two specialty steel plants in the U.S. and UK.

VAI to Expand Hadeed DR Plant and Meltshop

01 November 2004 - As the leader of two international consortia, VAI has received an order from Hadeed (Saudi Iron and Steel Co.), Saudi Arabia, for the enlargement of hot metal and steel-producing capacity at its Al-Jubail complex.

New Blast Furnace to Strengthen ThyssenKrupp Stahl Duisburg Location

01 November 2004 - ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG has announced a new blast furnace concept that will make a lasting improvement to both the environment and the job situation in the industrial city of Duisburg.

JFE and ThyssenKrupp Steel Achieve Milestones with Comprehensive Agreement

01 November 2004 - JFE Steel Corp. and ThyssenKrupp Steel (TKS) have accomplished several important achievements as a result of the comprehensive cooperation agreement for automotive steel and its related research and development, which was signed in April 2002.

Posco Celebrates Growing Success with Six Sigma

01 November 2004 - Posco recently held its third Six Sigma Festival, with all executives and employees sharing results of various Six Sigma activities. About 500 people participated in the festival, which was broadcast live over the Internet from Posco website.

Stelco and Local 8782 Welcome Agreement with DaimlerChrysler

31 October 2004 - Stelco Inc. and United Steelworkers of America (USWA) Local 8782 jointly announced that they have reached agreement with DaimlerChrysler to extend the deadline for providing assurances regarding security of steel supply. The deadline, originally set for October 31, 2004, has now been moved to November 18, 2004.

Gerdau Ameristeel to Purchase Gate City Steel and RJ Rebar

29 October 2004 - Gerdau Ameristeel has entered into an agreement to purchase substantially all the assets of Gate City Steel, Inc. and RJ Rebar, Inc., headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind.

Cleveland-Cliffs Reports Record Net Income for 3rd Quarter

28 October 2004 - Cleveland-Cliffs Inc reported third-quarter 2004 net income of $87.5 million on total revenues and other income of $409.7 million.

Import Gains Outpace Steel Consumption Increases

28 October 2004 - Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported September imports of steel into the United States were the highest import levels in four years — 3,467,000 net tons, including 2,714,000 net tons of finished steel.

NS Group Reports Record Consecutive Quarterly Results

27 October 2004 - NS Group, Inc. announced record net income of $24.7 million on record net sales of $122.1 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2004.

Carpenter Technology Reports 1st Quarter Results

27 October 2004 - Carpenter Technology Corp. reported record net income of $19.8 million on record net sales of $297.6 million for the first fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2004. Carpenter attributes the results to strong broad based demand and continued improvement in its operating performance.

Steel Dynamics Breaks Ground on New Joist & Deck Plant

27 October 2004 - Steel Dynamics, Inc.’s New Millennium Building Systems, LLC, subsidiary conducted a ground-breaking ceremony for its new $30-million steel fabrication facility in Lake City, Fla., on October 22.

AK Steel Reaches Contract Agreement with Ashland Coke Workers

27 October 2004 - AK Steel Corp. announced that it has reached a progressive, four-year labor agreement at the company’s Ashland, Ky., coke plant.

Steel Dynamics Adopts New Stock Repurchase Program

27 October 2004 - Steel Dynamics, Inc.’s Board of Directors has authorized the company to buy back up to 5,000,000 shares of its common stock, or approximately 10% of the current shares outstanding.

AK Steel Reports 3rd Quarter Net Income

27 October 2004 - AK Steel reported net income of $83.1 million on record net sales of $1,337.3 million for the third quarter of 2004, and net income of $341.2 million on net sales of $3,783.5 million for the first nine months of 2004.

U. S. Steel Reports Record 3rd Quarter Results

27 October 2004 - United States Steel Corp. reported record net income of $354 million on total revenues of $3729 million for the third quarter, and net income of $623 million on total revenues of $10,176 million for the first nine months of 2004.

Dofasco Wins Approval for Repurchase Plan

26 October 2004 - The Toronto Stock Exchange has approved Dofasco Inc.’s application to make a Normal Course Issuer Bid for the repurchase of its common shares.

Dofasco Posts Record Third Quarter Results

26 October 2004 - Dofasco Inc. reported record consolidated net income of $115.0 million on record consolidated sales of $1,089 million for the third quarter of 2004. Dofasco attributes the results to higher pricing, strong operating performance and robust demand in the quarter.