US construction companies hit the pride of domestic manufacturers

In search of a steel supply company for the Verrazano Bridge project in the United States, New York-based Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) turned to Chinese steel. The MTA said it "could not find an American manufacturer." This was a blow to the pride of the US steel industry, as reported in http://promaster.by/page .

The MTA went over to claims that no US steel company could provide the required specifications and timelines for the Verrazano project. However, the ArcelorMittal steel mill in the United States was chosen for the Tappan Zee Bridge project. The CEO of AK Steel, spoke out against foreign steel: "We just can't stand by and watch our great America become a dumping ground for such products."

While the US anti-dumping crusade will help the American steel industry financially, American pride will not. This raises an offensive question: What is American metallurgy?

Both AK Steel and ArcelorMittal use blast furnaces extensively, which is a more expensive process than manufacturing plants that use electric arc furnaces and scrap steel. This put AK and Arcelor in a bad position because the excess pushed steel prices down.

AK Steel has performed poorly, recording losses annually for the past five years. Its cumulative loss during this period was more than $ 12 per share.

ArcelorMittal in the US posted a two-year loss and a loss of $ 0.12 per share in the first quarter of this year, which continues the trend.