Steel Products Prices North America
USW Meets with Cliffs Retirees Regarding Health Care Premiums
Written by Sandy Williams
December 10, 2015
The USW met with workers at Cliffs Natural Resources in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to discuss warnings by the company of potential increases in health care premiums for retirees.
A letter sent to retired workers by Cliffs in November contained rate increases that the USW believes to be incorrectly calculated. The union has not been able to successfully address the changes with the company.
“As soon as we learned of the company’s letter, we scheduled a meeting with management in an effort to resolve this matter,” wrote USW District 2 Director Michael Bolton in a letter to retirees. “Unfortunately, the company continued to insist on moving forward with its planned premium increases and seemed determined to force the USW to go to arbitration over these rates.
“Unfortunately, Cliffs seems determined to force substantial cost increases onto the backs of its retirees rather than seeking a compromise that works for both sides,” said Bolton. “We understand that this is a difficult time for our industry, but causing harm to senior citizens who have worked hard their whole lives is not the answer to this crisis.”
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
CRU: Longs pricing trends diverge in North, South America
Most longs prices in the US were unchanged this month, except for rebar, which declined by $1.50/cwt ($30/short ton) m/m. While end-use demand is stable, inventories are well-stocked, keeping purchases limited. Domestic availability is sufficient to meet current demand, hindering the appetite for imported material. Meanwhile, prices for scrap remained under pressure in June, with […]
Nucor cuts plate prices by $125/ton, cites ongoing competition
Nucor Corp. announced that its plate mill group would cut prices for as-rolled, discrete, and normalized plate with the opening of its August order book.
Nucor cuts HR price for fourth straight week
Nucor lowered its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil by another $10 per short ton (st) for the first week of July. The steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Monday that its CSP base price for the week will be $670/st for all of its sheet mills with the exception of California Steel Industries (CSI).
Cliffs sets $720/ton HR price with opening of August books
Cleveland-Cliffs on Tuesday announced its monthly hot-rolled (HR) coil price of $720 per short ton (st) with the official opening of its August order book. The rate is down from last month’s price of $800/st.
CRU: Demand weakness continues to weigh on global sheet markets
Demand has remained persistently weak across the globe for sheet steel, weighing on prices. US HR coil prices fell the furthest this week as high-volume, low-priced deals were transacted as mills looked to fill order books and competed with one another amid relative demand weakness. Meanwhile, European prices were also down due to low demand […]