Steel Mills
US Steel to Idle Lone Star and Fairfield Tubular
Written by Sandy Williams
March 18, 2016
US Steel says it will idle tubular operations in Alabama, Texas and Ohio, laying off nearly 800 workers. The steelmaker will temporarily idle Lone Star Tubular Operations in Texas and Fairfield Tubular Operations in Alabama in response to market conditions in the energy industry.
“As we adjust operations throughout our tubular organization, we are right-sizing our staffing needs as well,” said US Steel spokeswoman Sarah Cassella. “These actions are part of an ongoing adjustment in operations due to challenging market conditions, including fluctuating oil prices, reduced rig counts, depressed steel prices and unfairly traded imports. All of these factors continue to reduce demand for tubular goods.”
The actions will affect about 450 union workers at Lone Star, 200 at Fairfield and another 120 non-union workers at plants in Fairfield, Ala.; Lorain, Ohio; and Lone Star, Texas; along with Oilwell Services and sales office in Houston, Texas.
Declining sales of oil country tubular goods have cut substantially into revenue and contributed to US Steel’s 2015 net loss of $1.5 billion.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills
Nucor lowers 2024 output estimate for Brandenburg plate mill
Nucor has lowered the 2024 production estimate for its Brandenburg, Ky., plate mill due to soft market conditions.
SSAB adjusts output in weak Q3, readies for Q4 rebound
SSAB said lower plate prices in the US were the primary reason for reduced results in the second quarter. With a dismal Q3 outlook, the Swedish steelmaker is adjusting production across its facilities. That includes moving up its annual US mill outage in anticipation of a better Q4. SSAB Americas Revenues in the Americas segment […]
Topalian puts focus on “unfair” trade, eyes USMCA partners
Nucor’s top executive expressed concerns over unfair trade practices, highlighting increased steel imports from Mexico and Canada.
Cliffs sees close of Stelco buy, bottom to steel tags, and Mexico out of USMCA
Cleveland-Cliffs expects its acquisition of Canada’s Stelco to close later this year, which will help the the Cleveland-based steelmaker as a bottom to steel tags nears.
Nucor posts lower Q2 earnings, predicts tough Q3 too
Nucor recording lower second quarter earnings on falling steel prices. And the Charlotte, N.C.-based predicted that profits would be lower still in the third quarter, primarily because of weaker results from its steel mills divisions.