Report: Low demand for steel drags down iron ore shipments on Great Lakes

September 1st, 2009 PANAJI - Iron ore exporters in Goa say Australia's Yandi mines have emerged as a tough competition. According to Goa Mineral Ore Exporters Association (GMOEA) executive director S.

August 13th, 2009 Minister: China wants more say over iron pricesBEIJING — China affirmed its determination Thursday to tighten control over its huge steel industry and press foreign miners to cut iron ore prices, announcing a three-year ban on new mills and saying it wants more influence over costs. Industry Minister Li Yizhong complained that "disorderly competition" has pushed up iron ore prices, caused a glut of production capacity and caused "serious losses." China's steel industry is the world's largest but has failed to translate that into clout in negotiating iron ore prices.

July 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India will speed up the process of granting iron ore mining licenses to various steel companies, including South Korea's Posco, Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh said here Wednesday. "We are planning to almost double the production of steel and for that we have to speed up greenfield projects," Singh told reporters on the sidelines of a steel conference.

July 7th, 2009 German iron, steel output falls 45 percentFRANKFURT — German iron and steel output for June fell sharply as the world recession continued to cut into demand for the country's machinery and car exports, the Federal Statistical Office reported Tuesday. The Wiesbaden-based office said Germany's producers made 1.44 million metric tons (1.59 US tons) of iron for the month, a 45 percent decline over the same month last year, while they made 2.5 million metric tons (2.76 US tons) of steel, a 41 percent decline.

July 1st, 2009 China iron ore pricing talks miss deadlineSHANGHAI — Pricing talks between Chinese steelmakers and global iron ore suppliers dragged on Wednesday after they failed to reach agreement by a June 30 deadline, reports and industry officials said. China's steel industry group has rejected iron ore price agreements negotiated between Australian mining giant Rio Tinto and Japanese and South Korean mills.

June 30th, 2009 Great Lakes wolves returning to endangered listTRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — More than 4,000 gray wolves in the upper Great Lakes region are going back on the federal endangered species list — at least temporarily.

June 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Geologists have discovered 'Asia's largest' iron ore deposit in northeast China's Liaoning province, with an estimated reserve of more than 3 billion tons. The newly-found deposit, mainly between 1,200 meters and 1,860 meters underground and spanning a four-km-long, three-km-wide area, is at the Qiaotou Township, Pingshan District, Benxi city, according to Yu Wenli, head of the Liaoning Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources Exploration.

June 21st, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - The iron and steel industry in Orissa has recorded negative trends in its performance parameters between October 2008 and March 2009, compared to the previous two quarters of 2008-09, an industry report released Sunday said. "There has been a decline in the industry's production by 10-12 percent," the first bi-annual industry monitor report by the regional chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said.

June 16th, 2009 American Axle sues steel maker to resume shipmentsNEW YORK — Auto parts supplier American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. is seeking a court order to get one of its steel suppliers to resume deliveries, saying that by cutting off supplies it threatens the entire auto supply chain.

June 11th, 2009 MUMBAI - Any hike in steel prices is unjustifiable as the cost of iron ore and coking coal have come down since last year, Steel Secretary P.K. Rastogi said here Thursday.

June 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh Wednesday pushed for divestment of stake in companies under his ministry and said he would take up the issue of adequate supplies of feedstock for steel units with the states concerned. "If the policy of disinvestment is approved, we have some companies on our mind, Singh told reporters while presenting his ministry's agenda for the next 100 days.

June 9th, 2009 EU steel makers seek probe into BHP-Rio dealBRUSSELS — European steel makers called Tuesday for European Union antitrust regulators to probe a joint mining project between the world's No. 2 and No. 3 iron ore miners BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto PLC.

June 4th, 2009 EPA appoints czar for Great Lakes clean upTRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — A Chicago-based environmentalist has been appointed to oversee President Barack Obama's initiative to clean up the Great Lakes.

April 27th, 2009 US Steel posts 1Q loss as demand dropsPITTSBURGH — United States Steel Corp. says it lost $439 million in the first quarter as the recession pinched demand for the metal.

April 21st, 2009 AK Steel posts $73M loss in 1QPITTSBURGH — AK Steel Holding Corp., a supplier of steel for cars and trucks, on Tuesday reported a first-quarter loss compared with a year-earlier profit, as the recession continued to dampen demand for the metal. The West Chester, Ohio-based company's loss of $73.4 million reflected lower shipments for the metal used in everything from cars and dishwashers to high-rise buildings.