What's New at Berlin
January, 2001
 Dear customers, suppliers and colleagues:
Happy New Year to you and your family. 2000 was an interesting year full of many changes. From politics, to manufacturing to the stock market, there was no shortage of things to discuss and analyze. It looks like 2001 will be an interesting year as well. We're hopeful that the Federal Reserve rate cut will be effective in lifting the economy out of the doldrums of 2000's 4th quarter.
2000 ended on a sad note as first Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel and then LTV Steel filed for bankruptcy protection from their creditors. At this point it's difficult to say what will happen, whether the mills will continue to operate as independent and viable entities or whether their assets will be sold to other steel companies who will pick and choose the best operations to continue production. In any case, we at Berlin Metals wish the best for all the many fine employees of both companies.
The steel market overall has been in a decline since the early summer, with the domestic steel producers taking it on the chin. Large end using industries such as the automotive and appliance industries made notable cutbacks in production at the end of 2000. The strong dollar and weak to flat demand for steel in Asia encouraged overseas producers to look for sales in the USA which put added price pressure on the domestic producers throughout the year. Tin Mill Products producers are bucking this trend with an announced increase for 2001 on the heels of the pending US Steel purchase of LTV's Tin Mill operation and the successful anti-dumping action against Japan. The flat rolled producers are hoping for relief with the pending Hot Rolled anti-dumping petitions against a number of overseas producers.
On the stainless steel front, the latest news reports have a potential merger between Usinor's Ugine and Arbed's ALZ being actively explored. With the merger of Avesta-Sheffield and Outukompu forming Polarit, the mid sized producers need to combine to effectively compete. AK Steel's acquisition of Combined Metals' new rolling mill and service center operations, while not having a big impact on the market, may be a harbinger of further consolidation in the US.
At Berlin Metals, our big news is that we are now QS 9000 certified. Many months of hard work were put in by all the employees to help make this happen. We look forward to growing our business and improving our service and quality with the help of this valuable system.
Thanks for your support in 2000. Let's grow together in 2001.
Regards,
Roy Berlin, President
Rberlin@berlinmetals.com
Other Newsletters:
July, 2006 July, 2005 March, 2004
September, 2003 January, 2003 April, 2002
September, 2001 May, 2001
August, 2000 April, 2000 |
