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Article Excerpt
Editor's note: Following is an edited transcript of remarks by Andrew G. Sharkey III, president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute, who spoke at the Metals Service Center Institute's Carbon Conference Feb. 17 in La Quinta, Calif.
First, no one saw 2004 coming. If they tell you they did, they're lying. 2003 was a tough year for North American steel producers. Prices were depressed, demand was fiat, there was excess global steel capacity, raw materials prices were moving up (no one knew quite why), and we were focused on the midterm review of the Section 201 tariffs. In hindsight, had we seen this freight train coming, we could have saved ourselves a lot of time and money.
Second, a confluence of forces created the perfect storm. Strong steel demand was seen almost everywhere, creating attractive markets other than the United States for the 40 to 45 percent of global steel production now typically exported in any given year. Exchange rates, industry consolidation, China's rapid growth as a steel producer and consumer, and the constraints on metallics supply were the drivers.
Third, the president's Steel Program was critical...
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