Monday, October 30, 2006
Industries at odds over steel tariffs
There's nothing in here that long time readers of this blog don't already know, but I find it interesting that these things are now making it to places like the LA Times.
Cutting costs has become a way of life at Aggressive Engineering Corp., a Southern California metal stamping company.
Over the last decade, President Dan Bridges has slashed his workforce from 52 to 25, capped wages and retooled the assembly line to increase its output of metal parts.
But Bridges said he might have to close his doors if the U.S. government doesn't lift the duties imposed in 1993 on foreign firms accused of dumping cheap steel in the U.S. market.
Those duties, he said, have contributed to a doubling in the price of galvanized steel, which accounts for 70% of his company's costs.
Cutting costs has become a way of life at Aggressive Engineering Corp., a Southern California metal stamping company.
Over the last decade, President Dan Bridges has slashed his workforce from 52 to 25, capped wages and retooled the assembly line to increase its output of metal parts.
But Bridges said he might have to close his doors if the U.S. government doesn't lift the duties imposed in 1993 on foreign firms accused of dumping cheap steel in the U.S. market.
Those duties, he said, have contributed to a doubling in the price of galvanized steel, which accounts for 70% of his company's costs.
