[ZTWsquared]

2001 ZTS,Mar 8 2009, 12:12 PM Wrote:That Nanticoke plant isn't one of my customers so I don't know as much about what is going on there as say Dofasco which is one of ours. What I do know that whatever may have been the case in 2008 is ancient history, that is how much and how quick things have changed.

In the news today:

U.S. Steel consolidations continue

3/8 - U.S. Steel is consolidating all of its steelmaking at plants in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Fairfield, Alabama; and Gary, Indiana.

U.S. Steel will continue to concentrate production at its Mon Valley Works outside of Pittsburgh; Gary Works in Gary, Ind.; and Fairfield Works near Birmingham, Ala., the company said.

Its recent decision to shut down Lake Erie Works, in Nanticoke, Ont., a plant widely viewed as one of the most efficient in North America, surprised many in the industry.

"It's not just about the efficiency of the plant, it's about the efficiency of the overall system in terms of the transporting steel in different forms during the process," said U.S. Steel spokesperson Chuck Rice. "In terms of the travel logistics of rail and so on, well these three plants are the most efficient in that way.

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Sounds exactly like something that I would have written if US Steel was my client ... I've readjusted the italics, bold and underline to highlight a different perspective ... first: that the decision took even industry insiders by surprise, and second ... that by adding the modifying statement "... in that way" they are in fact admitting that the overall efficiency is in fact higher in the closed plants (emphasis on overall) and that a much narrower definition of "more efficient" is being used to justify the closings. I stand by my opinion that the decision was, at least in part, mandated by US political considerations.