Steel and Stainless Steel Industries – Page 13

Labor Protests Multiply in China as Economy Slows, Worrying Leaders – by Javier C. Hernandez (New York Times – March 14, 2016)

March 14, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/

GUANGZHOU, China — For nearly seven years, Li Wei rose before dawn for his 10-hour shift at the steel plant, returning home each night soaked in sweat, the clank of heavy machinery still ringing in his ears. But last month, the 31-year-old welder stood outside the plant with hundreds of co-workers, picketing against pay cuts and singing patriotic battle hymns.

Within a week, the authorities declared their strike illegal, threatening fines and imprisonment. The police descended on the plant by the hundreds, tearing down signs and ordering the protesters to go back to work. “I’ve sacrificed my life for this company,” Mr. Li told officers as they sought to disperse the workers. “How can you do this?”

As China’s economy slows after more than two decades of breakneck growth, strikes and labor protests have erupted across the country. Factories, mines and other businesses are withholding wages and benefits, laying off staff or shutting down altogether.

Diversification needed in steel industry: EDC – by Elaine Della-Mattia (Sault Star – March 9, 2016)

March 10, 2016

http://www.saultstar.com/

Any economic development initiative created in Sault Ste. Marie should include some form of plan that includes the steel industry, but the others cannot be forgotten.

Tom Dodds, CEO of the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corp. said the steelmaker is still the most important employer in Sault Ste. Marie and the most important local Gross Domestic Product producer (GDP).

Dodds believes the future of the steelmaker lies in developing its products with a focus on advance manufacturing and value-added products that can help offset the cyclical nature of the steel industry.

Coupled with the development of the Port of Algoma and the push to reduce carbon footprints, Essar Steel Algoma is in the right place to diversify within its own industry.

Bidders Said to Seek U.S. Steel Canada, Essar Steel Tie-Up – by Scott Deveau and Sandra Mergulhao (Bloomberg News – February 29, 2016)

March 2, 2016

http://bloombergtv.ca/

Some of the bidders for U.S. Steel Canada Inc., the former unit of U.S. Steel Corp. under creditor protection, are looking at combining its operations with those of Essar Steel Algoma, which is also in creditor protection, according to people familiar with the matter.

Combining the operations of U.S. Steel Canada and Essar Steel Algoma would create the kind of scale and synergies that would allow a new company to compete, the people said.

Those bidders include Bedrock Industries, a New York-based private equity firm focused on mining; the parent company of Essar Steel Algoma, a global fund backed by India’s Essar Capital Ltd.; and ERP Compliant Fuels, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.

Protectionism overstated as threat to China steel exports – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – March 2, 2016)

March 2, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

LAUNCESTON, AUSTRALIA – One of the big questions surrounding China’s embattled steel sector is whether it can continue to ramp up exports or will protectionism around the globe curb one of the few bright spots for mills in the world’s largest producer.

The current market consensus would seem to be leaning toward the view that China will battle to increase steel exports, and may experience declines as more countries put import taxes and other measures in place to protect their domestic industries from the Chinese juggernaut.

So far, India, the United States and Indonesia have imposed some increased duties on steel imports from China, and measures are under consideration in other jurisdictions, including the European Union (EU) and Australia.

Canada needs to play tough, old-time hockey to protect domestic industries [Steel sector] – by Christian Provenzano (Globe and Mail – February 27, 2016)

February 29, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Christian Provenzano is mayor of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

If international trade were a hockey game, it would be one that is rife with clutching, grabbing and underhanded tactics. As a player, Canada is trying its best to ignore this. We’re committed to playing by a code of politeness that our opponents choose to ignore. It’s time to muscle up, go into the corners again and have “fair trade” re-enter the lexicon alongside “free trade.”

The best way to begin doing this is by modernizing our trade-remedy system. Our current, antiquated system is putting our domestic industries at a competitive disadvantage, with the steel sector being particularly hard hit in recent times.

China Tries to Tackle Its Commodities Crisis – by Dexter Roberts (Bloomberg News – Feburary 25, 2016)

February 26, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

The steel industry suffers from a severe glut—but will resist cuts. China has had an overcapacity problem in its aluminum, chemical, cement, and steel industries for years. Now it’s reaching crisis levels.

“The situation has gone so dramatically bad that action has to happen very soon,” said Jörg Wuttke, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, at a press conference in Beijing on Feb. 22, where a chamber report on excess capacity was released. That report’s conclusion: “The Chinese government’s current role in the economy is part of the problem,” while overcapacity has become “an impediment to the party’s reform agenda.”

Many of the unneeded mills, smelters, and plants were built or expanded after China’s policymakers unleashed cheap credit during the global financial crisis in 2009. The situation in steel is especially dire. China produces more than double the steel of Japan, India, the U.S., and Russia—the four next-largest producers—combined, according to the European Union Chamber of Commerce.

COLUMN-China should follow Elvis’s advice for more action, less conversation – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.K. – February 24, 2016)

February 24, 2016

http://uk.reuters.com/

Feb 24 – If you were to pick one thing that would do the most to help embattled commodity producers around the world, dealing with China’s massive over-capacity would probably rank highest.

It’s no secret that China’s surplus capacity in steel, aluminium, cement, flat glass and other intermediate commodities is keeping prices low and threatening the viability of global resource companies, as well as the health of the Chinese economy.

There certainly have been repeated statements from Beijing that the issues are being tackled, and it appears the authorities have realised that excess capacity is a far bigger threat than what it was during the prior boom years, when double-digit economic growth rates masked mounting problems.

U.S. Steel Canada Said to Draw Interest From ERP, Other Suitors – by Scott Deveau and Sonja Elmquist (Bloomberg News – February 19, 2016)

February 23, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

U.S. Steel Canada Inc., the former unit of U.S. Steel Corp. under creditor protection since 2014, has drawn interest from ERP Compliant Fuels and Essar Steel Algoma Inc., people with knowledge of the matter said.

ERP Compliant has submitted a bid for the steel operations in Hamilton and Nanticoke, Ontario, and Essar Steel and several others are expected to submit offers by the Feb. 29 deadline, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The assets are valued at about $1.5 billion, including debt, the people said.

“The sales and investment solicitation process continues under the supervision of the court and it would not be appropriate for U.S. Steel Canada to comment outside of the process,” said Joel Shaffer, a spokesman for the company.

Finland’s Outokumpu plans cost cuts to stem losses (Reuters India – February 11, 2016)

February 11, 2016

http://in.reuters.com/

Feb 11 Outokumpu, the Europe’s largest stainless steel maker, on Thursday posted an underlying loss from the fourth quarter and forecast more losses in the first quarter, adding it aims to improve profitability with new cost cuts.

Outokumpu, 26 percent owned by the Finnish state, has suffered as a steep drop in the price of nickel, an ingredient in stainless steel, has made distributors hold back orders, while production problems have also harmed the business.

The fourth-quarter underlying operating loss was 11 million euros ($12 million), compared to analysts’ average expectation of a loss of 38 million euros in Reuters poll.

Time to step up for steel – by Mike Verdone (Sault Star – February 3, 2016)

February 4, 2016

http://www.saultstar.com/

Sault Ste. Marie MPP David Orazietti urged the federal government Wednesday to adopt a new trade policy to ensure fair trade for Canadian steel workers.

He said the current federal trade remedy system is antiquated and must be changed. “It’s more than 20 years old, it’s outdated. This system does not reflect the global realities of trade today,” Orazietti said.

He called on Ottawa to immediately embrace the Trade Remedy Modernization plan as outlined by the Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) during a press conference Wednesday afternoon at his constituency office while flanked by local industry stakeholders, including union and company representatives from Essar Steel Algoma and Tenaris Algoma Tubes Algoma, as well as reps from retiree groups.

China’s Top Leadership Driving Steel Output Cuts, Cliffs Says – by Jasmine Ng (Bloomberg News – February 2, 2016)

February 2, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Steel production in China will extend declines this year as the country’s top leadership has endorsed a concerted push to cut back on overcapacity in the country that accounts for half of global supply, according to the head of Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.

“If the central government has said they want 100 to 150 million tons of steel capacity shut down, they may not get that much but I’m sure they’ll get some,” Lourenco Goncalves, chief executive officer of the largest U.S. iron ore producer, said in an interview. “It’s a decision and it’s a task force led by the Premier Li Keqiang, who’s the number-two guy.”

China’s leaders have vowed to reduce excess capacity in state enterprises including steel even as they battle the slowest growth in a quarter century, announcing targets last month to shutter more factories and help workers cope with layoffs.

Stelco’s takeover by U.S. Steel no net benefit for Canada – by Jennifer Wells (Toronto Star – January 30, 2016)

February 1, 2016

http://www.thestar.com/

The 2007 takeover ended in insolvency and is now mired in the courts. It’s hard to imagine a sorrier corporate saga than U.S. Steel’s disastrous foray into Canada.

I refer, of course, to the 2007 takeover of Stelco, just one of a spree of foreign takeovers that substantially contributed to a diminishment of Ontario’s profile on the world economic stage. (Think Falconbridge, Inco, Rio Algom.)

At the height of the foreign takeover mania, the federal government of the day offered repeated assurances that the Investment Canada Act provided all the protections necessary to ensure such transactions would be of “net benefit” to Canada.

In remaking Stelco into U.S. Steel Canada Inc., the Pittsburgh parent committed to a number of binding undertakings, 31 in all.

Essar restructuring on time and on budget – by Elaine Della-Mattia (Sault Star – January 29, 2016)

January 29, 2016

http://www.saultstar.com/

Kalyan Ghosh said Essar Steel Algoma’s restructuring plan is on a tight timeline and the public will see the process keep moving forward, especially over the next couple of weeks.

The CEO of the financially strapped steelmaker said the timelines set for the restructuring plan by the debtor in possession (DIP) financers and the courts has some strict deadlines and specific milestones that must be met along the way.

Essar Steel Algoma received US $200 million from a syndicate of lenders led by Deutsche Bank to continue its operations throughout the restructuring process.

Ghosh said he expects that loan to be enough money to finance the company until the end of the restructuring program, provided that there is no other major economic impact the steelmaker has to contend with.

A Canadian Steel Industry Is Vital for Our 21st-Century Economy – by Marty Warren (Huffington Post – January 19, 2016)

January 21, 2016

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/

Marty Warren is a lifelong social and labour activist and United Steelworkers Director for Ontario and Atlantic Canada, representing 74,000 working people.

As the crisis in Canada’s steel industry deepens, tens of thousands of working families and pensioners grow increasingly anxious for support from their political leaders.

These families and pensioners are now being joined by their fellow citizens, community groups, labour and municipal leaders in mobilizing to bring attention to the steel crisis and urge our federal and provincial governments to act now — before it’s too late.

Unless our governments take decisive, meaningful action, not only will the livelihoods of so many be jeopardized, we could soon witness the irrevocable loss of a cornerstone of the 21st-century manufacturing economy that Canada needs.

Remember This? Helen Mine started it all [Algoma Steel] (Soo Today – January 17, 2016)

January 18, 2016

https://www.sootoday.com/

It was named after its original owner’s sister

At the end of the 19th century, local prospectors Benjamin Boyer, Jim Sayers and Alois Goetz found what they thought was gold while searching for minerals in the Algoma area.

The men took their sample to Francis H. Clergue who recognized the mineral as iron ore, not gold. The three men offered the land to Clergue for $500. Upon purchase Clergue created the Helen Mine which he named after his sister.

Mining began at the new Helen Mine and on July 1, 1900 the Canadian Blast Furnace Company (of Midland, Ontario) purchased and processed the first iron ore. The payroll at that time was just $107,535 for almost 400 employees.