Steel Markets

Chrysler Sticking With Steel
Written by Sandy Williams
August 23, 2014
The buzz about aluminum replacing steel as the material of choice in automobiles isn’t holding true everywhere. Chrysler will be using steel body panels for its Ram pickup when it updates the vehicle in 2017, according to sources cited by Reuters, and will likely remain that way until the Ram receives a full redesign in 2020.
Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat and Chrysler Group, told investors in May that aluminum is “better suited in other vehicles than pickup trucks.”
German steel producer ThyssenKrupp says the next generation electric BMW i3 will use high strength steel. Hebert Eichelkraut, a manager with ThyssenKrupp, said the company has negotiated with BMW to build an “important component of steel” for the new i3 although he declined to specify which component. Although aluminum and carbon fiber will still be predominant in the i3, the Life Drive Module is a good candidate for light weight high strength steel. The Life Drive is currently two separate modules—an aluminum chassis and a carbon fiber passenger cell.
Mercedes Benz has decided to offer steel pistons for passenger cars starting with the 2015 V6 E350 BlueTec sedan. Mercedes has typically used aluminum pistons in the past because of their light weight but found that aluminum is less efficient because of its high rate of thermal conductivity. Because of its thermal nature, the higher combustion chamber temperatures necessary for high efficiency can’t be reached. Mercedes engineers found that the steel pistons also improve fuel efficiency by 3 percent and can reduce untreated emissions due the smaller piston size and reduced gap between the piston and its cylinder housing.

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Markets

UAW Has Upper Hand vs. Automakers: Schenker
The United Auto Workers (UAW) union has more leverage than the Detroit Three automakers in the current strike that started Sept. 15, according to Jason Schenker, president of Prestige Economics.

UAW Expands ‘Stand Up’ Strike to All Parts Distribution Plants at GM, Stellantis – Ford Spared
The United Auto Workers (UAW) significantly escalated its strike against General Motors and Stellantis on Friday.
Register for Oct. 4 Community Chat With AGC chief economist Ken Simonson
Ken Simonson, chief economist for The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), will be the featured speaker on the next SMU Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 11 a.m. ET. The live webinar is free. A recording will be available free to SMU members. You can register here. We’ll talk about the outlook […]

UAW Workers Strike Parts Supplier ZF’s Plant in Alabama
United Auto Workers (UAW) union members in Alabama at a parts supplier to Mercedes-Benz have gone on strike.

Ford, Unifor Reach Tentative Labor Deal in Canada
Ford's Canadian subsidiary and auto workers represented by Unifor - roughly the Canadian equivalent of the UAW - have reached a new, tentative labor agreement.