"Brian Lawson" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 05 Apr 2004 14:52:11 GMT, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:

SNIP

So it will level off and probably turn around. The Western steelmakers
are
making hay while the sun shines.

Ed Huntress



Geez Ed, then how come Stelco has gone belly up? I believe most of
their problems came about with the US steel tariffs. Should Canada
have insisted that the Taconite be processed "at home"?

I don't know, Brian. I don't follow the industry closely enough these days.
There's probably a retrospective on it somewhere, in the Wall Street Journal
or elsewhere. 33 Magazine (the magazine of metal-producing) may have covered
it.

In general, North American steel companies are too small to survive in the
world market. That is, basic steel. Minimills thrive in much smaller sizes
because the economies of scale in the remelt business are much less. And
flexibility, which favors smaller companies, has some advantage in the
remelt business.

US basic-steel companies have done some consolidating over the last few
years. They're still marginal businesses. The current price runup probably
is giving them the first healthy profits they've seen for years. I hope they
take good advantage of it and position themselves for the changing
marketplace.

Ed Huntress