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March 10th  - General Bridgeville Pennsylvania - Universal Stainless announces base price increases
Universal Stainless & Alloy Products, Inc. Monday announced base price increases of 3% to 5% on all stainless and low alloy grade products manufactured at its Bridgeville and Dunkirk facilities. The increase will be effective for all new orders entered March 15, 2010. Current material and energy surcharges will remain in effect. Chris Zimmer, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, commented, "We are committed to providing our customers high quality steel with industry leading delivery performance and lead times. This price adjustment is necessary to support our ongoing reinvestment into our facilities to better serve our customers."
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March 10th  - Projects Kuala Lumpur - First supply contract for Technip’s new flexible pipe plant in Malaysia
Technip has been awarded by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) a flexible pipe supply contract for the Lufeng 13-1/13-2 oil fields, located in the South China Sea. Technip's operating center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, will execute this contract, which includes the engineering and supply of a 6” riser, a mid water arch and a 6” flowline. Manufacturing of the flexible pipes will commence in the third quarter 2010 after completion of the factory qualification trials. Delivery is planned for February 2011. This award marks an important milestone for Technip, as it will be the first contract for commercial manufacture in its new flexible pipe plant, Asiaflex Products, located in the Tanjung Langsat industrial complex in Malaysia.
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March 9th  - Projects Aberdeen, Scotland - Technip awarded two contracts for field developments in UK North Sea
Technip has been awarded by Talisman Energy (UK) Limited two engineering, procurement and installation contracts, worth in excess of €40 million on a lump sum basis, for the development of the Auk North and Burghley fields. The fields will be tied back to Talisman's Fulmar A platform and the Premier Oil-operated Balmoral Floating Production Vessel respectively. The Auk North contract covers the fabrication and installation of a production pipeline, the installation of an umbilical*, a power cable and subsea equipment. The Burghley contract covers fabrication and installation of a production pipeline and a gas lift pipeline, as well as the installation of an umbilical and subsea structures. Both contracts include pre-commissioning and commissioning support. Technip's operating center in Aberdeen, Scotland will execute the contracts, which are scheduled to commence in the field in the second quarter of 2010. The pipelines will be welded at Technip's spoolbase in Evanton, Scotland. Two vessels from the Technip fleet will be used for the offshore installation campaign: the Orelia diving support vessel and the new pipelay vessel, Apache II.
March 9th  - General Brantford Ontario - Stainless steel buying returning but at lower level
Moderate growth in metalworking this year could boost supply of stainless steel by as much as 19% to 1.64 million net tons in the U.S., forecast Charles Turack, vice president of sales and marketing for Outokumpu Stainless in New Castle, Indiana. However, this compares with a 26% decline in 2009 to 1.37 million tons-and will keep purchasing well below the 2.27 million ton annual average in 2000-2008. "Stainless steel sales are showing some improvement as funding for maintenance and repair projects in such key markets as chemicals and plastics processing are being released," Turack tells the Toll Processing ‘10 conference in Orlando sponsored by the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association. "However, stainless steel buying by end users continues to be only for what's needed to fabricate against the end-product order books." Still he admits he is somewhat more bullish than a recent Steel Market Research forecast of 10% growth in purchasing by stainless steel buyers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico who cut their invoiced by 23% as a group in 2009.This editor suggests that the slow recovery may have it roots into the extreme prices for nickel some years ago that led manufacturers to redesign and look for material substitutes.
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March 9th  - Projects Serra ES Brazil - ArcelorMittal Tubarão sell excess energy to GDF SUEZ's subsidiary Tractebel
ArcelorMittal Tubarão shall reach gains of US$34 million with the sales of exceeding energy in 2010 to Tractebel and also traded in the spot market. This amount represents a growth of 62% on 2009. Self-sufficient in the production of energy since 1998, the steel producer has closed a contract of R$300 million with Tractebel for the sales of the exceeding energy up to 2011. This is a sustainable business: the energy produced is generated by the gas recovery from the production process, which, as a consequence, is not released into the atmosphere.
March 9th  - General Duesseldorf, Germany - Wire and Tube 2010 on successful course
Tube 2010 is sold out in terms of space. The event will occupy all available space in Halls 1 to 7.0. - almost 21,500 square feet more than at the Tube 2008 staging. The wire 2010 exhibitors will present their products on 553,630 square feet of net exhibit space in Halls 9 to 12 and 15 to 17. This represents a decrease of about 23,600 square feet due to booth size reduction by several companies. However, with 1,135 companies from 49 nations, the number of exhibitors at wire 2010 has already exceeded the final results of wire 2008. The participation of an aluminum manufacturer from Mexico will be a highlight. In addition, companies from Egypt, Estonia, Columbia and the United Arab Emirates will take part in the wire trade fair for the first time. More than 70,000 visitors from around the globe are expected to attend both events in order to establish new international contacts, conduct business and get inspiring stimulus for their companies in 2010 and beyond.
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March 8th  - Projects Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota - Kobe steel commissions new furnaces that may revolutionize iron making
To the untrained eye, it was just a pile of metal. But a shipment of iron nuggets that arrived at Kobe Steel Limited's Tokyo head office in late January may have heralded a revolution in the world's steel industry that some are hoping will help save the planet. The unremarkable looking nuggets, each 5 to 25 millimeters in diameter, were the fruition of 15 years of research and development, originally sparked by a botched experiment by Kobe Steel workers in 1994 that does not use the blast furnaces that have dominated the industry for centuries. The new furnaces are nearly 50 times faster and can use cheaper coal and lower quality iron ore than the traditional process. Crucially, Kobe Steel says, carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by about 20%. Industry insiders hope the technology can help square the circle of reducing carbon dioxide emissions while allowing rapid industrialization in emerging economies such as China and Brazil.
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March 6th  - General West Tongling China - Copper demand is ‘Weak’ in China now, Tongling says
Copper demand in China, the world’s largest consumer of the metal, is “weak” because of lackluster consumption from the power industry, Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co. said.“From what we learned from our customers, copper demand is now weak,” Chairman Wei Jianghong said today in an interview in Beijing. Tongling is the country’s second-largest copper smelter. Demand “isn’t very strong,” Li Yihuang, chairman of bigger rival Jiangxi Copper Co., also said today. Slowing demand in China may indicate stockpiles in the country may continue to climb after reaching the highest level in more than seven years in February. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. last month ended its recommendation to bet on higher copper prices because of concern that economic recovery in developed markets isn’t on “solid footing.” “About 60 percent of copper is used in the power industry, and our sales to wire-and-cable users reflected that demand is rather weak,” Wei said, while attending the National People’s Congress.
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March 6th  - Projects Nairobi Kenya - Toyota proposes Kenya-Juba oil pipeline bypassing Port Sudan
Toyota Tshusho Corporation has proposed to Kenyan officials to construct a 1,400-kilometer (870-mile) pipeline to transport crude oil from the landlocked South Sudan capital city to Lamu, a port on the Indian Ocean. If constructed, the pipeline would provide an alternative to the country’s only current oil exporting point, Port Sudan, potentially having major economic and political implications on the whole of Sudan. The idea was presented before in 2006 by Kenya Pipeline Corporation officials to Southern Sudan government officials. They said that Kenya’s regional position would give Southern Sudan unparalleled advantage in lead-time and sealing important business deals.
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March 5th  - General Moscow Russia - ChTPZ and Metalloinvest ink cooperation agreement for 2010
One of the largest Russian pipe producers, ChTPZ Group, has announced that it has signed a strategic cooperation agreement for 2010 with the Russian iron ore and steel producing company Metalloinvest Holding. The agreement was inked at the coordinating council held at ChTPZ within the framework of the long term partnership agreement between the companies. Accordingly, the main topic of discussion at the council was the increase of output and the improvement of the production technology for large diameter continuous cast billets and for strips for tubing to be used for the second phase of Transneft East Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline project. ChTPZ statement said "We see the future of our business relations in efficient joint activity for the development of new products. Both companies are currently implementing large-scale projects with state aid for the modernization of existing and construction of new production facilities. In the future this will give us additional opportunities for cooperation."
March 4th  - Reports Hamburg Germany - Enlarged Aurubis Group stands up well in the crisis and generates positive results in fiscal year 2008/09
The Aurubis Group which has grown as a result of the integration with Cumerio stood up well in the crisis. „We were able to stand our ground overall as a stronger group in the crisis and generate positive results“, declared CEO Dr Bernd Drouven at the Annual General Meeting on Wednesday in Hamburg in front of about 1,800 shareholders. The business model as an integrated copper producer and processor had proved to be robust and stable, the synergy and improvement effects had made a significant contribution to results and Aurubis had become an international group with Europe-wide presence and global weight, stated Drouven. In addition, a uniform strategy had been developed under the Aurubis roof and implementation had begun throughout the group.
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March 3rd  - General Brantford Ontario - “Happy days are here again”
There have been some good news lately. Malaysia we read is booming. Australia’s central bank raised interest rates to combat possible inflation and Australia’s resource sector is digging and shipping its resources to Asian customers. In North America and Europe unemployment is still a concern as employers are reluctant to increase the work force. Canada is in a state of post Olympic euphoria having seen its athletes pocketing more gold medals than any other nation firmly entrenching the country’s position as the world’s leading Hockey Nation. Wire & Tube 2010 is shaping up to be a record event. Currencies, or rather the value there of, is a concern as sovereign debt load and the prospect, that austerity measures may kill the prosperity before we had a chance to enjoy it. But on the balance tomorrow looks better than yesterday.
March 3rd  - General Las Vegas Nevada - CSI CEO says steel industry needs to watch 'False Starts'
In a state-of-the-industry address at the National Association of Pipe Distributors’ annual convention in Las Vegas, CaliforniaSteel Industries CEO Vicente Wright said the most important thing for the American steel industry to monitor right now is real demand. Unfortunately, he said, no one has a clue how good real demand is, Steel Business Briefing reports. “I believe distributors pushed inventories to excessively low, low levels,” he said in a presentation to the gathered NASPD members. “If there’s any improvement in real demand, we could see a buying surge that will lead to a general scarcity in raw steel.” Disappointing news from the construction industry signals more rough times ahead, though a rising rig count and automotive demand could mean hope on the horizon, he said. “I do believe the bottom has passed us. I do believe we must be cautious moving forward. And I do believe we must beware of false starts.”