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US Steel, once the largest corporation, agrees to sell to Nippon Steel

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Re: US Steel, once the largest corporation, agrees to sell to Nippon Steel

#101

Post by ska »

AlbertCory wrote: post #77
nickpinkston wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe Toyota @ NUMMI actually showed that they could win over the union and get everyone bought into their lean culture, but it took time / patience. Notably, this plant was considered a failure before because the of the antagonism between labor/mgmt led to really toxic behavior. GM blamed the union labor, but Toyota ended up firing the managers and got buy in from labor because of their long-term / labor-centric…

And yet NUMMI failed. https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a5514/4350856/ Then the building became Solyndra, which also failed. GM, of course, is one of the stupidest companies on Earth, so they'd have trouble selling free beer to college football fans. If you want to blame them you won't get any argument from me.

It's less clear that NUMMI failed to meet Toyota's goals for it.

Re: US Steel, once the largest corporation, agrees to sell to Nippon Steel

#103

Post by [deleted] »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #33
Supermancho wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Those “integrated” steelmakers soon lagged behind so-called “mini-mills,” nonunion competitors that use more efficient electric arc furnaces to turn old steel scrap from discarded cars and other products into new steel products This means "chinese" mini mills^1 which require a lot of manual labor to collect the steel. This is not a technology problem, but a manpower/safety race to the bottom, that the US couldn't e…

Most chinese workers (and foreigners working in China) are in a union, however run by the communist party.

[deleted]

Re: US Steel, once the largest corporation, agrees to sell to Nippon Steel

#104

Post by verdverm »

zbyte64 wrote: post #92
verdverm wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The gov't might support an industry, but it should not pick winners in it. Look at what's happening to GM, called Government Motors when they were bailed out, they seem to be headed down the same path US Steel is. Their thinking is broken

Are you saying GM's thinking is broken or the governments? GM did what was in their own best interests, the other was to declare bankruptcy - what company would have chosen different?

GM's thinking, not from the bailout, that is probably more a symptom

but look at the recent decisions that led to

- recent statements about EVs

- the Cruise debacle

- deciding not to allow Apple/Google car infotainment systems and opting for a homegrown solution, despite consumers repeatedly stating they want the system that aligns with their phone

They aren't listening and management seems to think they know better

Re: US Steel, once the largest corporation, agrees to sell to Nippon Steel

#105

Post by verdverm »

FredPret wrote: post #80
verdverm wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their fiduciary duty is to the investors first afaiui, perhaps they saw that selling to someone who can run the company better as a net benefit overall? I've heard Japanese steel is pretty great, or at least a common sentiment

Japan supplied sub-par metal for decades and lied about it. Aluminum, copper and steel. Something to think about next time you get anywhere near a car, train, airplane, skyscraper, or bridge. https://money.cnn.com/2017/10/16/news/companies/kobe-steel-s...

I hoped someone would have additional data to add, thanks!

Is a scandal at one company evidence for the entire industry in a country?

Is there similar information about other Japanese companies? What about the industry at large? The prevailing sentiment is that Chinese steel has similar issues.

Re: US Steel, once the largest corporation, agrees to sell to Nippon Steel

#106

Post by chaostheory »

nickpinkston wrote: post #51

I'm interested in how the United Steelworkers thinks about the generally better track record of Japanese companies with labor relations vs. American management. This makes it seem like it was purely an "American First" kind of sentiment, whereas I could imagine this being better for the workers themselves. This then makes me wonder if the Steelworkers is more company union (ie their leaders are bought off / cushy wit…

> This makes it seem like it was purely an "American First" kind of sentiment

This makes sense since Trump has aligned himself with the unions, transforming the still socially conservative Republican Party into an organization with an economically liberal agenda. This is probably why the Biden administration is mirroring the Trump administration’s policies

Re: US Steel, once the largest corporation, agrees to sell to Nippon Steel

#107

Post by transcriptase »

bombcar wrote: post #16
ryzvonusef wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

on why it failed: > US Steel and other steelmakers eventually followed those foreign competitors to upgrade factories and equipment, but they still largely used the older methods to make steel by melting raw materials such as iron ore in giant blast furnaces. > Those “integrated” steelmakers soon lagged behind so-called “mini-mills,” nonunion competitors that use more efficient electric arc furnaces to turn old steel…

The glaring issue I see is that if "integrated" mills start shutting down, where will the old steel scrap for the mini-mills eventually come from? Someone somewhere has to be making new steel.

I’m often amazed at the giant steel structures and vehicles that sit decaying along the side of highways for decades.

Whether it’s a case of nobody knows who owns them, regulatory hurdles, economics of breaking it down, or some other reason, I’ve often wondered why something like entire trains can just sit collecting graffiti after a railroad shuts down.

Does anyone have any insight? Is there not an abundance of material that’s recoverable low hanging fruit compared to creating new? Or is the metal recovered not as useful for chemical/physical reasons?

Re: US Steel, once the largest corporation, agrees to sell to Nippon Steel

#109

Post by araes »

Other supplementary info:

Steel Ind. Summary, 2021: https://www.trade.gov/sites/default/files/2021-03/exec%20sum...

World Steel Production, Last 50 Years: https://elements.visualcapitalist.com/50-years-of-global-ste...

Steel Crisis and Aftermath: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_crisis

World Steel Production since 1800's: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343071585/figure/fi...

How Steel Production Trends with GDP: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/St...

Current Numbers, 2023: https://worldsteel.org/steel-topics/statistics/steel-data-vi...

Above, Charted Geographically: https://worldsteel.org/steel-topics/statistics/annual-produc...

Re: US Steel, once the largest corporation, agrees to sell to Nippon Steel

#110

Post by tshirthoodie »

gunapologist99 wrote: post #98
ryzvonusef wrote: post #2

> US Steel has agreed to be bought by Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest steelmaker, in a $14.1 billion deal. > Earlier this summer the United Steelworkers union vowed to only support a proposed offer by another unionized American steel company, Cleveland Cliffs, to buy US Steel, in a cash and stock deal then valued at $32.53 a share, or 40% less than Nippon’s all cash offer. The US Steel board rejected that offer and sta…

> We remained open throughout this process to working with U.S. Steel to keep this iconic American company domestically owned and operated, but instead it chose to push aside the concerns of its dedicated workforce and sell to a foreign-owned company ... for more than twice as much! He kinda left the part out.

>He kinda left the part out.

It's irrelevant because the workers won't see a penny of any of it. You kinda left that part out.

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