Friday, February 29, 2008
World Trade Center steel lives on in naval warship
It's nice to see at least part of the scrap steel being used for something appropriate. It seemed odd somehow that the scrap was mostly taken away to be reprocessed in Asia.
The Record (NorthJersey.com)
The brains behind the use of salvaged World Trade Center steel in a new Navy warship is a Rutherford volunteer firefighter excited about seeing his vision christened this weekend as the USS New York.
Her name is New York, but to Scott Koen, she is a phoenix.
The christening will take place Saturday at a Louisiana shipyard with a bottle of champagne smashed across her bow, which contains 24 tons of steel that once towered over Lower Manhattan.
Armed with air-defense missiles and two 30mm guns for close combat, the USS New York is designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It can carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines who can reach shore by helicopter and assault craft.
The Record (NorthJersey.com)
The brains behind the use of salvaged World Trade Center steel in a new Navy warship is a Rutherford volunteer firefighter excited about seeing his vision christened this weekend as the USS New York.
Her name is New York, but to Scott Koen, she is a phoenix.
The christening will take place Saturday at a Louisiana shipyard with a bottle of champagne smashed across her bow, which contains 24 tons of steel that once towered over Lower Manhattan.
Armed with air-defense missiles and two 30mm guns for close combat, the USS New York is designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It can carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines who can reach shore by helicopter and assault craft.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Canada's Budget promises relief for manufacturing sector
The news today in Canada is yesterday's budget, and the "headline" that there's a lot in there to help Canadian manufacturing, the "engine" of Ontario.
Well, is it true?
The federal government is providing $1 billion in tax relief for Canada's ailing manufacturing and processing sector by extending the accelerated capital cost allowance (CCA) for businesses.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Tuesday that the government will allow businesses to use the accelerated CCA, on a declining basis, until the end of the 2012-13 fiscal year.
The CCA is a non-refundable tax deduction that reduces taxes owed by permitting the cost of business-related assets to be deducted from income over a prescribed number of years.
On occasion, a CCA rate is "accelerated" to increase the incentive for investing in an asset by permitting it to depreciate more quickly.
The accelerated CCA plan introduced in the 2007 Budget allowed manufacturing businesses to fully write off investments in machinery and equipment within two years.
This says that, if you have the money to invest in new machinery, you can pay it off sooner, that is, write it down sooner, lowering your tax bill. Hopefully, you'll take some of the tax refund and use it to actually pay it down faster at the bank, thereby also reducing borrowing costs, another expense.
But let's think about this a bit. Many Canadian manufacturers are already on the ropes, hanging on by their fingernails. Are investments in new machinery uppermost in their minds? Are new machines even in the picture? I don't think so. They're doing everything they can to keep from laying off more people, to hang on to loyal employees.
While I applaud government efforts to reward newer, higher-productivity machinery, that shouldn't be the whole picture. How about a reduction on Workers Comp premiums for companies with good safety records? How about cost sharing on CPP for a year or two? These are costs every manufacturer, even those on the ropes, has, and so every manufacturer will benefit from them.
So what do other people thing?
Manufacturers say budget comes up short Reuters Canada says:
Canada's budget offered some financial help for the country's struggling manufacturing sector on Tuesday, but industry groups said it would not be enough to offset the impact of a strong domestic currency, a slumping U.S. economy and low-cost global competition.
[...]
Industry groups, however, said the one-year extension of the 50 percent rate would not give capital-intensive industries the time and funds needed to plan and execute the big investments they need to compete internationally.
"It's really a grab bag of goodies, some loose pocket change being thrown to the manufacturers," Jayson Meyers, president of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association, told Reuters.
[...]
Jim Stanford, an economist at the Canadian Auto Workers union, said the auto fund would not help workers who are losing their jobs as the industry cuts back.
"We would have preferred to see Mr Flaherty take a billion dollars out of that whopping 2007 surplus and create a real auto investment fund to match Ontario's billion-dollar fund," Stanford said.
The Toronto Star called it a show about nothing
Well, is it true?
The federal government is providing $1 billion in tax relief for Canada's ailing manufacturing and processing sector by extending the accelerated capital cost allowance (CCA) for businesses.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Tuesday that the government will allow businesses to use the accelerated CCA, on a declining basis, until the end of the 2012-13 fiscal year.
The CCA is a non-refundable tax deduction that reduces taxes owed by permitting the cost of business-related assets to be deducted from income over a prescribed number of years.
On occasion, a CCA rate is "accelerated" to increase the incentive for investing in an asset by permitting it to depreciate more quickly.
The accelerated CCA plan introduced in the 2007 Budget allowed manufacturing businesses to fully write off investments in machinery and equipment within two years.
This says that, if you have the money to invest in new machinery, you can pay it off sooner, that is, write it down sooner, lowering your tax bill. Hopefully, you'll take some of the tax refund and use it to actually pay it down faster at the bank, thereby also reducing borrowing costs, another expense.
But let's think about this a bit. Many Canadian manufacturers are already on the ropes, hanging on by their fingernails. Are investments in new machinery uppermost in their minds? Are new machines even in the picture? I don't think so. They're doing everything they can to keep from laying off more people, to hang on to loyal employees.
While I applaud government efforts to reward newer, higher-productivity machinery, that shouldn't be the whole picture. How about a reduction on Workers Comp premiums for companies with good safety records? How about cost sharing on CPP for a year or two? These are costs every manufacturer, even those on the ropes, has, and so every manufacturer will benefit from them.
So what do other people thing?
Manufacturers say budget comes up short Reuters Canada says:
Canada's budget offered some financial help for the country's struggling manufacturing sector on Tuesday, but industry groups said it would not be enough to offset the impact of a strong domestic currency, a slumping U.S. economy and low-cost global competition.
[...]
Industry groups, however, said the one-year extension of the 50 percent rate would not give capital-intensive industries the time and funds needed to plan and execute the big investments they need to compete internationally.
"It's really a grab bag of goodies, some loose pocket change being thrown to the manufacturers," Jayson Meyers, president of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association, told Reuters.
[...]
Jim Stanford, an economist at the Canadian Auto Workers union, said the auto fund would not help workers who are losing their jobs as the industry cuts back.
"We would have preferred to see Mr Flaherty take a billion dollars out of that whopping 2007 surplus and create a real auto investment fund to match Ontario's billion-dollar fund," Stanford said.
The Toronto Star called it a show about nothing
Iron ore price rise could force China steel rationalization
China Daily
[...]higher costs might actually help rationalize the Chinese steel industry by pricing some smaller firms with obsolete technology out of business.
After Brazilian mining conglomerate Vale hammered out 2008 benchmark prices for iron ore fines with Japanese and Republic of Korea (ROK) steel makers last week, Baosteel Group, China's largest steel maker, agreed on the price for fiscal 2008, accepting the Brazilian miner's price hikes that ranged from 65 percent to 71 percent compared with 2007.
[...]
China's steel needs have soared, driven by rapid urbanization and many large infrastructure projects. China imports almost half of the world's seaborne iron ore, making it the largest iron ore consumer in the world.
[...]higher costs might actually help rationalize the Chinese steel industry by pricing some smaller firms with obsolete technology out of business.
After Brazilian mining conglomerate Vale hammered out 2008 benchmark prices for iron ore fines with Japanese and Republic of Korea (ROK) steel makers last week, Baosteel Group, China's largest steel maker, agreed on the price for fiscal 2008, accepting the Brazilian miner's price hikes that ranged from 65 percent to 71 percent compared with 2007.
[...]
China's steel needs have soared, driven by rapid urbanization and many large infrastructure projects. China imports almost half of the world's seaborne iron ore, making it the largest iron ore consumer in the world.
Steel Futures begin trading on London Metal Exchange
I am suspicious of stock market mechanisms being introduced further into steel making. I'm not convinced that shareholders, with their quarterly-profits mentality, mix well with an industry where investments are made for a decade or more. However, I'm also unconvinced by the steel industries response ... that consolidation is a better way forward.
International Herald Tribune
New steel futures contracts introduced Monday in London could fill an information gap for one of the world's largest industries and shed light on global economic health, a leading British fund manager said.
"You've got this area from iron ore to a whole range of steel products that aren't catered for on an exchange," Frances Hudson, global thematic strategist at Standard Life, said. "These are very cyclical markets, and any additional good-quality information we can get about overall economic health is welcome."
See also AFP via yahoo news
International Herald Tribune
New steel futures contracts introduced Monday in London could fill an information gap for one of the world's largest industries and shed light on global economic health, a leading British fund manager said.
"You've got this area from iron ore to a whole range of steel products that aren't catered for on an exchange," Frances Hudson, global thematic strategist at Standard Life, said. "These are very cyclical markets, and any additional good-quality information we can get about overall economic health is welcome."
See also AFP via yahoo news
Labels: steel
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Portraits of past make up Bethlehem Steel keepsake
It's good that people are preserving the history of the Bethlehem Steel plant
The Morning Call
Bethlehem Steel photographer Peter Treiber went searching for his old negatives in company files in 1999, and he discovered something unsettling.
They were gone.
''There's a lot of photos, but they're spread all over,'' he said. ''No one knows where they all are. I was kind of upset no one was really preserving the history of Bethlehem Steel.''
As a result, Treiber set out to create a record of the Steel in his own pictures, which culminated in the book, ''Inside Bethlehem Steel: The Final Quarter Century.''
The Morning Call
Bethlehem Steel photographer Peter Treiber went searching for his old negatives in company files in 1999, and he discovered something unsettling.
They were gone.
''There's a lot of photos, but they're spread all over,'' he said. ''No one knows where they all are. I was kind of upset no one was really preserving the history of Bethlehem Steel.''
As a result, Treiber set out to create a record of the Steel in his own pictures, which culminated in the book, ''Inside Bethlehem Steel: The Final Quarter Century.''
Labels: steel
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Alabama House passes bill to regulate hauling of steel coils on trucks
We've talked before (1, 2, 3, 4) about steel coils falling off trucks, and legislative attempts to reduce the frequency (training) and severity (speed limits in some areas) of these incidents.
NewsFlash - al.com
The Alabama House has passed a bill that increases penalties for truckers or trucking companies that do not properly tie down large steel coils.
The House voted 99-0 to pass the bill that would fine a trucking company up to $10,000 for not properly tying coils on the backs of trucks. Drivers could be fined up to $5,000. Those violating the law would also face up to one year in jail.
NewsFlash - al.com
The Alabama House has passed a bill that increases penalties for truckers or trucking companies that do not properly tie down large steel coils.
The House voted 99-0 to pass the bill that would fine a trucking company up to $10,000 for not properly tying coils on the backs of trucks. Drivers could be fined up to $5,000. Those violating the law would also face up to one year in jail.
Steel prices squeezing industries
Steel prices keep rising, tarifs on cheaper off-shore steel remain on, and yet the finished goods, made from cheaper off-shore steel, are shipped into North America untarifed. So how can metal stampers survive when they can't even buy the raw materials, in some cases, for what the customer is asking for as a price for finished product?
The Times of Northwest Indiana
U.S. mills have increased spot prices for hot rolled steel to above $700 a ton for March delivery, a hike of about $50 per ton from the previous period and almost $200 a ton higher than in August. Prices for tubular steel have jumped to as much as $200 per ton from $75 a ton for March delivery. Bar and plate prices have been a bit more restrained.
Nucor recently reduced its raw material surcharge for rebar, merchant bar and structural products by $10 per hundred weight, but increased its base price by the same amount,
Rather than to increase profit margins, steelmakers contend they are raising prices to recover climbing costs for iron ore, ferroalloys, coke, scrap, energy and shipping.
At the $700-plus-per-ton level, the price of hot rolled sheet is at its highest point to date, said Tom Stundza, author of the monthly Steel Flash Report.
Despite poor demand from the housing, automotive and appliances steel-consuming sectors, steel companies appear confident that price hikes will stick.
I especially like this line, near the bottom of the article:
In a recent speech on the North American steel industry, AIIS President David Phelps said given the consolidation of the domestic steel industry, it's likely producers will succeed in defending their profit margins while squeezing those of steel users. [emphasis mine]
The Times of Northwest Indiana
U.S. mills have increased spot prices for hot rolled steel to above $700 a ton for March delivery, a hike of about $50 per ton from the previous period and almost $200 a ton higher than in August. Prices for tubular steel have jumped to as much as $200 per ton from $75 a ton for March delivery. Bar and plate prices have been a bit more restrained.
Nucor recently reduced its raw material surcharge for rebar, merchant bar and structural products by $10 per hundred weight, but increased its base price by the same amount,
Rather than to increase profit margins, steelmakers contend they are raising prices to recover climbing costs for iron ore, ferroalloys, coke, scrap, energy and shipping.
At the $700-plus-per-ton level, the price of hot rolled sheet is at its highest point to date, said Tom Stundza, author of the monthly Steel Flash Report.
Despite poor demand from the housing, automotive and appliances steel-consuming sectors, steel companies appear confident that price hikes will stick.
I especially like this line, near the bottom of the article:
In a recent speech on the North American steel industry, AIIS President David Phelps said given the consolidation of the domestic steel industry, it's likely producers will succeed in defending their profit margins while squeezing those of steel users. [emphasis mine]
Labels: steel
Long journey of Freedom Tower steel
Some behind-the-scenes information about rebuilding where the twin towers stood.
AP via Yahoo! News
The steel bound for the Freedom Tower at ground zero travels thousands of miles, from a plant in Luxembourg where columns are rolled through casting machines at temperatures approaching 2,340 degrees.
Scrap metal melted into liquid steel in an electric furnace is cast, heated, cooled and heated again at the ArcelorMittal steel mill in Differdange.
The steel makes its way to a plant in Virginia where the huge columns are cut to size. Eventually, it is shipped to New York City, where the columns are lifted by crane and painstakingly set on top of each other at ground zero.
The jumbo steel columns — foot by foot, ton by ton — are forming the skeleton of the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, designed just after the 2001 attacks to replace the destroyed World Trade Center. Each column makes a 4,700-mile journey, taking weeks and sometimes months to arrive at ground zero.
AP via Yahoo! News
The steel bound for the Freedom Tower at ground zero travels thousands of miles, from a plant in Luxembourg where columns are rolled through casting machines at temperatures approaching 2,340 degrees.
Scrap metal melted into liquid steel in an electric furnace is cast, heated, cooled and heated again at the ArcelorMittal steel mill in Differdange.
The steel makes its way to a plant in Virginia where the huge columns are cut to size. Eventually, it is shipped to New York City, where the columns are lifted by crane and painstakingly set on top of each other at ground zero.
The jumbo steel columns — foot by foot, ton by ton — are forming the skeleton of the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, designed just after the 2001 attacks to replace the destroyed World Trade Center. Each column makes a 4,700-mile journey, taking weeks and sometimes months to arrive at ground zero.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Poole begins Senate filibuster over steel coil legislation
This issue of steel coils rolling off flatbeds and damaging roads and potentially injuring people seems like a pretty straightforward "clear and present danger", yet legislators are still playing political football with it. He didn't widen the road last year, so I'm not going to increase fines this year. Sheesh! Sounds like public school, not a state legislature.
GadsdenTimes.com
Sen. Phil Poole, D-Tuscaloosa, started another filibuster last week over a bill sought by Gov. Bob Riley that would up penalties to truckers and companies that allow those gigantic rolls of steel to bounce off their trucks, damaging roads and endangering motorists.
[...]
Waggoner said it costs $200,000 to fix each hole in pavement when a steel coil rolls off a truck.
GadsdenTimes.com
Sen. Phil Poole, D-Tuscaloosa, started another filibuster last week over a bill sought by Gov. Bob Riley that would up penalties to truckers and companies that allow those gigantic rolls of steel to bounce off their trucks, damaging roads and endangering motorists.
[...]
Waggoner said it costs $200,000 to fix each hole in pavement when a steel coil rolls off a truck.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Bamboo, dubbed 'vegetal steel,' superb for building
Ah, but can you stamp it?
Charleston Daily Mail
Forget steel and concrete. The building material of choice for the 21st century might just be bamboo.
This hollow-stemmed grass isn't just for flimsy tropical huts any more - it's getting outsized attention in the world of serious architecture. From Hawaii to Vietnam, it's used to build everything from luxury homes and holiday resorts to churches and bridges.
Boosters call it "vegetal steel," with clear environmental appeal. Lighter than steel but five times stronger than concrete, bamboo is native to every continent except Europe and Antarctica. And unlike slow-to-harvest timber, bamboo's woody stalks can shoot up several feet a day, absorbing four times as much world-warming carbon dioxide.
"The relationship to weight and resistance is the best in the world. Anything built with steel, I can do in bamboo faster and just as cheaply," said Colombian architect Simon Velez
Charleston Daily Mail
Forget steel and concrete. The building material of choice for the 21st century might just be bamboo.
This hollow-stemmed grass isn't just for flimsy tropical huts any more - it's getting outsized attention in the world of serious architecture. From Hawaii to Vietnam, it's used to build everything from luxury homes and holiday resorts to churches and bridges.
Boosters call it "vegetal steel," with clear environmental appeal. Lighter than steel but five times stronger than concrete, bamboo is native to every continent except Europe and Antarctica. And unlike slow-to-harvest timber, bamboo's woody stalks can shoot up several feet a day, absorbing four times as much world-warming carbon dioxide.
"The relationship to weight and resistance is the best in the world. Anything built with steel, I can do in bamboo faster and just as cheaply," said Colombian architect Simon Velez
