Steel Industry, in Slump, Looks to Federal Stimulus
Dilip Vishwanat for The New York Times
The Granite City Works U.S. Steel mill in Granite City, Ill., cost more than 2,000 people their jobs when it closed.
By LOUIS UCHITELLE
Published: January 1, 2009
The steel industry, having entered the recession in the best of health, is emerging as a leading indicator of what lies ahead. As steel production goes — and it is now in collapse — so will go the national economy....
Not since the 1980s has American steel production been as low as it is today. Those were the Rust Belt years when many steel companies were failing and imports of better quality, lower cost steel were rising.
Foreign producers no longer have an advantage over the refurbished American companies. Indeed, imports, which represent about 30 percent of all steel sales in the United States, also are hurting as customers disappear.
The industry, in response, is lobbying the Obama transition team for infrastructure projects that would require big amounts of steel. Mass transit systems are high on the list, and so is bridge repair....
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When the FREE MARKET CAPITALISTS (LOL) are in trouble they become socialists with amazing speed LOL. |
