U.S. Steel profit falls, sees better 4Q

Weaker spot prices, production outages hit bottom line
By Jim Jelter, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - United States Steel Corp. reported Tuesday a steep drop in third-quarter profit, their margins squeezed by production outages, higher energy costs and lower spot prices.

The company nevertheless managed to pass along much of the higher cost to customers, enabling them to top Wall Street expectations.

Concerns about how long the nation's biggest steelmaker could continue to pass on costs, however, triggered a pullback in the company's share price that ate away all of its early gains.

Read the rest of the article: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/yhoo/story.asp?source=blq/yhoo&siteid=yhoo&dist=yhoo&guid=%7B0212C141%2DEA04%2D41A2%2D98FC%2D5CBD9E0B4550%7D

Producer price surge biggest in 15 years

By Tim Ahmann

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. producer prices shot up by an unexpectedly large 1.9 percent last month, the biggest gain in more than 15 years, as energy costs surged in the wake of hurricanes that devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast, a government report showed on Tuesday.

However, outside of volatile food and energy costs, prices received by farms, factories and refineries were relatively restrained, advancing just 0.3 percent, the Labor Department said.

Read the rest of the article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051018/bs_nm/economy_dc

Alcoa earnings hit by declining metal prices

Alcoa, the world's largest aluminium producer, said on Monday third-quarter net profit dropped 38 per cent from the previous quarter, confirming earlier warnings of a squeeze between rising energy costs and falling metals prices.

Read the rest of the article: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9657285/

Austin Looking Good For New $3.5 Billion Samsung Plant

There's a buzz in the business world today that the Samsung electronics company has zeroed in on where to locate a new $3.5 billion dollar chip plant. And the winner could be Austin.Samsung already has a strong presence in Northeast Austin and has plenty of land for possible expansion. A spokesman for Samsung Austin says the South Korean company's site selection committee has recommended the capitol city be chosen for the project.A decision from Samsung's board is expected in a few weeks. The plant will employ about 900 people and the average salary for many of those jobs will reportedly be $60 thousand dollars a year.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/

Year-to-Date Steel Imports Down

Year-to-Date Steel Imports DownSteel-consuming companies should be concerned by the 14-percent decline in imports of hot- and cold-rolled steel for 2005 compared to 2004 YTD figures, “especially since service-center inventories are now at or below normal levels,” says PMA President William E. Gaskin. Add in the possible boost in demand from hurricane-rebuilding efforts and the result could be supply shortages and price volatility. One positive note: imports of cold-rolled steel increased in August 2005 by 11 percent over July 2005 figures.

Source: http://www.metalformingmagazine.com/HOTP/press_display.asp?category_id=1&start_date=10%2F7%2F2005

Copper Rises to a Record, Heads for Third Weekly Gain in London

Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose to a record in London, heading for its third consecutive weekly gain, as smelter closures and dwindling stockpiles curbed supplies of the metal used to make wiring and plumbing.
Glencore International AG's Mufulira smelter in Zambia closed Oct. 3 because of a shortage of fuel. On Oct. 2, Asarco LLC, the second-largest U.S. copper, shut its Hayden smelter in Arizona for repairs. Inventory monitored by the London Metal Exchange has slumped 15 percent this week.

Read the entire article at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000086&sid=avZVsch8hTQU&refer=latin_america

Manufacturing Sector Expands in September

Manufacturing Sector Expands Despite Impact of Katrina; Construction Spending Hits New High
By EILEEN ALT POWELL AP Business Writer
The Associated Press
NEW YORK Oct 3, 2005 — The nation's manufacturing activity expanded strongly in September, lifted by a surge in new orders that allowed the industrial sector to at least temporarily shake off the impact of Hurricane Katrina.

Read the entire article at: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=1179516

Hydrogen gas deficit may affect steel firms

Fort Wayne-based Steel Dynamics Inc. announced Friday that it is no longer accepting orders for some steel products that require the use of hydrogen gas. Supplies of hydrogen gas have been hit by killer Katrina. Air Products Corp., one of the primary suppliers of hydrogen gas to the domestic steel industry, informed Steel Dynamics and other customers of a temporary outage at its New Orleans hydrogen-gas production plant because of Katrina. --- Fort Wayne Journal Gazette --- Sep 3, 2005

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/business/12553563.htm