EuroWire May 2016

Transatlantic cable

† In the USA, Ford Motor Co is carving out a speciality within a speciality: a bicycle device for people who do not have full use of their legs. The carmaker has taken out a patent for an automatic kickstand, described as a “telescopically deployed support arm,” that would mean cyclists would never need to put their feet down. As reported on CNBC.com (1 st March), a disabled cyclist noted that the Ford kickstand could also bene t the elderly and others with balancing problems while stationary, who now depend on adult tricycles. “Trikes” are an increasingly common sight in retirement communities. Ford’s application to the US Patent O ce says its automatic device could help as well with problems encountered by able-bodied cyclists. For example, it reads, “A shoelace can get tangled on a pedal shaft or a foot can get stuck in a toe clip, causing the rider along with the bicycle to fall to the ground.” † Two British companies have teamed up to create the world’s rst 3D-printed titanium bike frame. Renishaw, a Gloucestershire manufacturer of additives, joined forces with Empire Cycles (Lancashire) to build the titanium MX-6 Evo mountain bike. Empire already o ers a production aluminium version of the MX-6. As reported by Ben Coxworth of the technology site Gizmag (8 th February), the frame was built using a laser-melting machine manufactured by Renishaw. A high-power ytterbium bre laser selectively fused particles of a titanium alloy powder. Layers of the fused-together particles were then built up to form the nished sections of the frame. The sections were bonded together with an adhesive. At three pounds the nished Evo frame was reported as weighing 33 per cent less than an aluminium counterpart, for a very

high strength-to-weight ratio. When its seatpost bracket was tested, it reportedly exceeded the EN 14766 mountain bike strength standard by six times.

Steel

Anti-dumping action gives USA steel producers a boost – and additional help appears to be on the way

For the second time this year, the USA issued preliminary duty orders on foreign steel producers following its determination of unfair pricing on their cold-rolled steel sold in the United States. On 1 st March, the Department of Commerce (DOC) imposed tari s of 266 per cent on those imports from China, with lesser penalties on product from Japan (71 per cent), Brazil (39 per cent), India, Korea, Russia and the United Kingdom. After the announcement, AK Steel (West Chester, Ohio) led a domestic steelmaker rally, surging 7.2 per cent to a seven-month high while shares in Pittsburgh-based US Steel Corp (USS) climbed 6.6 per cent. But according to John Morgan, a contributor to the investment newsletter Seeking Alpha , they are only the rst of the USA producers set for “a renaissance of sorts” as a result of the anti-dumping duties. In Mr Morgan’s view, with the domestic steel companies already trimmed down by extensive cost retrenchments and plant closings, the entire “lumbering” USA industry stands to bene t. Accorded relief from a surge of imports that helped push down domestic prices to six-year lows, the steelmakers should see improvement in their negative operating margins; their heavy debts should ease. The optimism seems justi ed. According to the United Steelworkers union, foreign producers captured an estimated one-third of the US steel market in 2015. The gains of the domestic producers – newly and suddenly competitive – could be impressive. And Mr Morgan noted that more anti-dumping protection is in the wings. Even as the duties on cold-rolled steel were imposed, a second steel trade case pending with the DOC alleges dumping of hot-rolled steel by some of the same nations, with a nal determination expected in late May. Yet a third case alleges subsidisation and dumping of corrosion-resistant steel onto the American market by foreign producers, also with a decision set for May. (“It’s Not Too Late to Shop for a Basket of Steel,” 9 th March) † In addition to USS and AK Steel, likely gainers mentioned by Seeking Alpha include Steel Dynamics (Fort Wayne, Indiana); Schnitzer Steel (Portland, Oregon); and Cli s Natural Resources – not in fact a steel producer but a Cleveland, Ohio-based supplier of iron ore pellets to the North American steel industry. Steel Dynamics will be bolstered by its emphasis on sales to the busy housing and construction industries. As for Schnitzer, a recycler of scrap metal, the disappearance of low-priced foreign steel should mean a real boost to margins and customer demand. While AK Steel should continue bene ting from its emphasis on sales to the strong automotive market, USS may see shrinking gains because of its heavier reliance on business from ailing energy drillers and its larger percentage of sales in Europe. † In another hopeful sign for the domestic industry noted by Mr Morgan, in mid-March hot-rolled sheet prices in the USA had apparently reversed their decline from a recent bottom of $340 per ton.

26

www.read-eurowire.com

May 2016