2002 News Archives
10/14/02 CSI Posts Strong Third Quarter Results
7/18/02 CSI Reports Record Sales Volumes for Second Quarter
4/15/02 CSI Reports Strong First Quarter 2002 Results
3/5/02 CSI Expresses Support for President Bush's Decision on Section 201
1/22/02 CSI Reports Fourth Quarter 2001 Earnings
1/15/02 CSI Urges President to Exclude Slab from Section 201 Remedy
1/10/02 CSI Commends U.S. Department of Commerce for its Study on Steel Slabs
News Archives |
||||
| 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
CSI Reports Record Sales in 2002
January 6, 2003 -- California Steel Industries, Inc. (“CSI”) today reported record sales exceeding two million tons for 2002. As a result of strong sales performance and improved margins, CSI fourth quarter 2002 net income was $9.9 million. EBITDA for the quarter totaled $27.3 million. More...
BACK TO TOP
CSI Posts Strong Third Quarter Results
October 14, 2002 -- California Steel Industries, Inc. (“CSI”) today reported strong results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2002. Net income for the period was $11.9 million while EBITDA for the quarter totaled $29.6 million. More...
CSI Reports Record Sales Volumes for Second Quarter 2002
July 18, 2002 -- Today California Steel Industries, Inc. (“CSI”) reported record production and sales volumes during the second quarter ended June 30, 2002. Sales volume for the quarter was an all-time high of 537,338 net tons. More...
BACK TO TOP
CSI Reports Strong First Quarter 2002 Results
April 15, 2002 -- Today California Steel Industries, Inc. (“CSI”) reported its first quarter 2002 results with $1.8 million in net income and $13.6 million in EBITDA. More...
BACK TO TOP
CSI Expresses Support for President Bush's Decision on Section 201
March 5, 2002 -- California Steel Industries expressed support today for President Bush’s decision to exclude semi-finished steel slab from the tariffs being imposed on finished flat-rolled steel products. Lourenço Gonçalves, President and CEO, stated: “President Bush had a difficult decision to make in the Section 201 case. He was under a lot of pressure from organized labor and steel state Congressmen to do more, but he did what he thought was right. We are pleased that the President recognized that slabs are different from finished products and excluded slab from the tariff measure imposed on finished steel products.”
Pursuant to his authority under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974, the President announced that slab imports from all countries other than Canada and Mexico will be subject to a tariff-rate quota (or “TRQ”). The TRQ will exempt the first 5.4 million tons of imported slab from tariffs; imports above that level will face the same tariffs that are imposed on finished flat-rolled products. The exemption will increase to 5.9 million tons in year two, and 6.4 million tons in year three.
President Bush imposed tariffs of 30 percent on imports of plate and hot rolled, cold rolled, and coated sheet products from all countries other than Canada and Mexico. The tariffs will decrease to 24 percent in year two, and 18 percent in year three. In many respects the President’s decision adheres to a ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission in December that recommended tariffs on finished steel products and a TRQ on slab. In explaining its separate treatment of slab, the ITC said that it wanted “to avoid causing harm to domestic steel producers that have legitimate needs to continue to import slabs.” Vice Chairman Deanna Okun added that a tariff on slab “would have a potentially severe impact on the members of the domestic industry that need a reliable source of slab.”
Mr. Gonçalves also stated: “One of our concerns with a TRQ was that the tariff exemption would not have been large enough to satisfy the demand of domestic steel mills for slab imports as the economy recovers. Consequently, we fought hard to convince the U.S. government to treat slabs separately from finished steel. As a raw material that is virtually non-existent in the U.S. merchant market, slab is fundamentally different from finished steel products such as hot bands and plate.”
“We spent a lot of time and effort to convey CSI’s message to key officials in Washington. We are pleased that our message went through,” said Mr. Gonçalves. “The 201 decision is a clear sign of the Administration’s recognition of CSI as a strategic member of the domestic steel industry, especially to West Coast steel consumers. The President’s decision makes CSI confident that our company will continue its business as a healthy and reliable supplier of steel to the West Coast.”
California Steel Industries produces more than 1.8 million tons of steel products at its Fontana, California facility. Their customers include service centers, manufacturers and distributors throughout the West Coast of the United States. The company has about 1,000 employees.
BACK TO TOP CSI Reports Fourth Quarter 2001 Earnings
January 22, 2002 -- Today California Steel Industries, Inc. (“CSI”) reported $86,000 in net income for the fourth quarter with an EBITDA totaling $12.2 million. More...
CSI Urges President to Exclude Slab from Section 201 Remedy
January 15, 2002 -- Earlier today, California Steel Industries, Inc. urged President Bush to exclude imported semi-finished slab from the remedy he is expected to impose on certain steel products as part of the government’s on-going investigation under Section 201 of the Trade Act. Alternatively, California Steel asked the President to modify the tariff-rate quota on slab recommended last month by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC).
Lourenço Gonçalves, President and CEO, stated: “These were probably our final formal comments in the pending Section 201 investigation. It has been a long process, but we are determined to see this case through to a successful conclusion. Slab is our raw material and we depend on imports to produce flat-rolled products at our facility in Fontana, California. Domestic slab is simply not available, especially on the West Coast.”
In describing today’s submission, Mr. Gonçalves stated: “We made a strong push for no restrictions on slab imports or, in the alternative, a tariff-rate quota that would allow at least 9 million tons of slab to enter the United States tariff free during the first year of coverage.”
Last month, the ITC recommended that the President impose a 20 percent tariff on carbon steel plate and sheet products. The Commission, however, recommended a tariff-rate quota on slab, that would place a 20 percent tariff on slab imports over 7 million tons. In explaining its separate approach on slab, the Commission said that it wanted “to avoid causing harm to domestic steel producers that have legitimate needs to continue to import slabs.” Vice Chairman Deanna Okun added that a tariff remedy on slab “would have a potentially severe impact on the members of the domestic industry that need a reliable source of slab.”
In the submission filed today, California Steel and other slab-purchasing mills argued that information not considered by the Commission demonstrates that the need for non-Canadian slab imports over the next 12 months may reach 10 million tons. As a result, California Steel urged the President not to adopt the Commission’s recommendation without increasing the tariff-rate quota by at least 2 million tons (i.e., to 9 million tons). California Steel also urged the President to limit the duration of the quota to no more than 3 years and to reduce the above-quota tariff to no more than 10 percent.
According to Mr. Gonçalves, “the economy is beginning to pick up. This will increase the demand for foreign slabs. Also, a number of domestic producers are scheduled to reline their furnaces over the next several years, and likely import restrictions on plate and sheet will increase the need for foreign slabs.” Mr. Gonçalves said that “U.S. steel producers will need more than 7 million tons. A quota of only 7 million tons would impede the industry’s recovery.”
The President recently asked the Commission for certain findings in addition to the ones it made last December. Assuming the Commission takes the full 30 days accorded to it under the law to answer, the President has until March 6, 2002 to make his final decision. Under the law, he may accept, reject, or modify the Commission’s recommendation.
California Steel Industries produces more than 1.8 million tons of steel products at its Fontana, California facility. Their customers include service centers, manufacturers and distributors throughout the Western United States. The company has about 1,000 employees.
BACK TO TOP
CSI Commends U.S. Department of Commerce for its Study on Steel Slabs
January 10, 2002 -- California Steel Industries, Inc. today commended the Department of Commerce for its finding that imports of semi-finished steel slabs do not pose any threat to the national security of the United States.
Lourenço Gonçalves, President and CEO, stated: “During the ITC hearings in the Section 201 case on steel imports, there was a lot of rhetoric, especially after the tragic events of September 11, that imports of steel slabs were threatening the national security. The Commerce Department’s Section 232 study and findings should put an end to the false rhetoric and make it clear to everyone that slab imports do not come anywhere close to adversely affecting the national security of the United States.”
Following an exhaustive nine-month investigation, the Department concluded that the United States produces three times the maximum amount of semi-finished steel that might be required for national security purposes. Moreover, imports of semi-finished steel account for only 7 percent of total U.S. consumption of semi-finished steel and come from “safe” suppliers such as Canada, Mexico, and Brazil. Finally, the Department found that imports do not threaten the ability of domestic producers to satisfy national security requirements.
The Commerce Department found that “very little semi-finished steel is available on the U.S. merchant market.” According to Mr. Gonçalves, “that is precisely why California Steel has no alternative but to import its slab requirements. Slab is simply not available from domestic sources, especially on the West Coast. That is why we have imported slab since we commenced operations in 1984.”
The Commerce Department also found that U.S. semi-finished steel production capacity increased over 10 percent from 1991 to 2000. Mr. Gonçalves said that this finding confirms that “the hot end of the U.S. steel industry is alive and growing. The argument that slab imports are causing capacity shutdowns in the U. S. are simply false.”
The Department further found that “certain U.S. steel mills that do not produce raw steel, or whose steelmaking capacity does not meet its rolling capacity, indicated that they are dependent on imported semi-finished steel for some portion or all of their semi-finished steel needs”. This finding confirms that imports of semi-finished steel, are beneficial to U.S. steel producers, including California Steel. Because of slab imports, California Steel is able to provide 1,000 jobs that would not otherwise exist.
Mr. Gonçalves concluded, “We are very pleased with Commerce’s exhaustive study and findings on steel slab, which support California Steel’s position that the President should not restrict slab imports in the parallel import investigation under Section 201.”
California Steel Industries produces more than 1.8 million tons of steel products at its Fontana, California facility. Their customers include service centers, manufacturers and distributors throughout the Western United States.
BACK TO TOP
News Archives |
||||
| 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
NEWS ALERT
To receive automatic notification of CSI updates, and other pertinent steel developments via email simply enter the following information and click on the submit button.