Steel Companies

Steelworkers, fearing they will lose their livelihoods as steel companies file for bankruptcy protection, will hold a rally this afternoon to support legislation in the House designed to protect the industry. The United Steelworkers of America, which is bringing in national President Leo Gerard for the event, hopes for a show of more than 1,000 this afternoon at the Sparrows Point union hall in Dundalk. They are rallying in support of the "Steel Revitalization Act." The legislation calls for tighter limits on imported steel, a $10 billion fund to provide loans to help companies upgrade their plants, and a 2 percent surcharge on all steel sold in the United States, with the proceeds going toward health insurance for retired Steelworkers and their spouses.

A shareholder proposal that Bethlehem Steel Corp. is supporting directs the company to aggressively pursue consolidation among U.S. steel producers. What the proposal does not do is tell Bethlehem's management how to accomplish that goal - one that is teeming with downsides and roadblocks. North America has about 10 major steel producers, and analysts and industry leaders agree that is too many. Businesses, be they airlines or banks, are consolidating and the steel industry needs to follow suit.

Bethlehem Steel Corp. reported fourth-quarter and year-end results yesterday that were far below analysts' expectations, but officials there said the company should be able to weather the challenging steel market that has driven at least nine of its competitors to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the past two years. The company had a loss of $118.2 million (97 cents a share) in the three months that ended Dec. 31. Analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial had expected, on average, a loss of 72 cents a share.

The company that nearly purchased Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s shipyard two years ago is back, but this time it is not clear whether it's trying to buy or sell.WHX Corp. said Monday that it had purchased 1.6 percent of Bethlehem shares. Rather than signaling a takeover bid, analysts said, the purchase might mean the New York firm is trying to lure Bethlehem into making a bid of its own for WHX's steel subsidiary."What it might be is a different approach; attack Beth hoping they'll turn around and take you out. It's the Pac-Man defense," said Charles A. Bradford of Bradford Research in New York.

Steel workers at Bethlehem Steel Corp. and USX Corp.'s U.S. Steel Group will begin voting within several days on new five-year labor contracts that would grant wage increases and boost pension payouts.Paper ballots should be mailed in the next day or so, according to the United Steelworkers of America union.Once they receive their ballots, union members will have 21 days to vote on the tentative contracts. The goal is to ratify the pacts before they expire at midnight July 31.The agreements -- which differ only in minor details -- include annual pay raises and significant increases in pension benefits, though officials with both companies and the union have declined to comment.

A U.S. trade panel cleared the way yesterday for the government to slap punitive tariffs as high as 67 percent on imported steel from Japan.By a 6-0 vote, the International Trade Commission ruled that U.S. steel mills have been hurt by cheap steel made by three Japanese companies and dumped on the U.S. market.The ruling allows the Commerce Department to impose the sanctions, which will effectively price Japanese steel out of the market. The department is expected to impose the tariffs within weeks.

U.S. steelmakers will ask the government to slap punitive tariffs on imports of cold-rolled steel, a traditionally high-profit product used in such wares as appliances and cars, executives of Bethlehem Steel Corp. and other American companies say.At its Sparrows Point Division in Baltimore County, Bethlehem Steel is spending an estimated $300 million to replace its outdated mill for making cold-rolled steel.Bethlehem, USX-U.S. Steel Corp. and Steel Dynamics Inc. executives allege that some foreign steelmakers are "dumping" cold-rolled steel on the U.S. market -- selling it here for less than in their home market.

Bethlehem Steel Corp. and U.S. Steel Group will be the first of the nation's steel companies at the bargaining table this round when they begin talks Monday with the United Steelworkers of America in hopes of reaching an early labor settlement.Both the industry and the union are hoping to reach a deal quickly -- as early as May 28, according to some sources -- because they want to present a united front to government trade officials who are expected to rule in June on allegations that foreign steel companies violated U.S. trade laws by "dumping" cheap steel on the U.S. market.

This is an excerpt of a Los Angeles Times editorial that was published yesterday:LAST month, Washington determined that Japan, Brazil and Russia were selling steel in the United States at less than fair value and causing injury to the domestic industry. The Clinton administration slapped prohibitive duties on Japanese and Brazilian steel and forced Russia to restrict its exports -- a tough but fair response. But it was not enough for the steel industry or for the House, which recklessly voted to limit all steel imports.

LOW-PRICED steel from Japan, Russia and Brazil is undercutting domestic producers and forcing them to cut prices. American steel companies have filed complaints accusing the countries of "dumping" -- selling the steel at less than the cost of making it. The House wants the Clinton administration to ban steel imports from 10 countries for a year. Bethlehem Steel says the flood of imports may cause layoffs at its Sparrows Point Division.But what does cheap steel mean to the manufacturers who use it?