2018
Sep. 8 Executive Committee Meeting, Nashville, TN
Sep. 9 Board of Directors Meeting, Nashville, TN
Sep. 10-11 Fall Leadership Meeting, Nashville, TN
Sep. 18 Heavy Section/Quenching Meeting, Vancouver, Canada
Oct. 10-12 Heat Resistant and Future Leaders Meetings, TBD
Nov. 16 Specifications Committee Meeting, Washington, DC
Dec. 3-6 Defense Manufacturing Conference, Nashville, TN
Dec. 5 Marketing Committee Meeting, Chicago, IL
Dec. 5-8 National T&O Conference, Chicago, IL
Jul. 16-18 Research Review, TBD
AUGUST - 2018
This month’s Casteel Commentary is a review of the tariff actions of the US and then possible effects in the steel casting market. The 232 tariffs are not including steel castings. The 301 actions do include steel casting categories and are specific actions to address trade with China. Let me know if you need additional information or have questions.
There is still time to register to attend the SFSA Fall Leadership Meeting, September 8-11 at the 21c Museum Hotel in Nashville, TN. SFSA is pleased to offer another great program for members with a solid lineup of presenters that you will find informative and well worth the investment to attend. Moreover, this meeting looks to be well attended and with the social functions and optional activities, there will be plenty of networking opportunity with your industry peers. Meeting agenda, hotel, and group activities registration are available online here. Please note that the room block cutoff is August 17th at 5 pm. There is a $500 registration discount after 1st full registration rate for members attending from the same company. If multiple attendees are registering separately, they will need to use the discount code: 2ndRegFLM after the first full registration.
Our next subject-focused meeting will be on Quenching and held near Vancouver, Canada on September 18. Quenching, or the rapid cooling of a steel casting, can be part of the heat treatment process to prevent undesirable phase transformation, or as a means to harden the steel or drive desired mechanical properties. In support of the Heavy Section Product Group, the meeting will focus on quench tank design and modeling of the quenching process (with presentations from Dante and Airflow Sciences) - presentations and discussions will be relevant to all section sizes.
Meeting and Hotel Registration Information: https://sfsa.site-ym.com/event/quenching
The meeting and a tour of Highland Foundry will both be held on Tuesday the 18th; thus, attendees should plan to arrive on Monday and stay the whole day on Tuesday (Highland is providing transportation to the foundry along with lunch). There is no cost for the meeting - travel, hotel, meals, etc. are the attendees’ responsibility. Please bring your own safety shoes for the tour. Attendance is limited to 25 members (if we reach the limit, we will ask each location to prioritize participation to two individuals). Final details for the meeting will be sent to all registered attendees.
Make your plans now to attend the 2018 T&O in Chicago on December 5-8. The conference is the world’s only event on steel casting technical and operating papers, mostly by fellow SFSA members, and this year it will feature several papers on replacing silica sand. Additional details for registration will be sent to members soon.
RHeat resistant alloys are used in applications where service temperatures exceed 1200°F (650°C), and require strength (creep resistance and performance through cyclical stresses) but also the ability to resist attack from the environment. The heat resistant subject-focused meeting will cover the fundamentals of heat resistant alloys – metallurgy, manufacturing and welding; along with SFSA’s current research by Lehigh University on heavy section austenitics. The heat resistant meeting will be held in conjunction with a Future Leaders Group meeting. The meetings will be held on October 11-12 with a tour of Duraloy Technologies.
For May and June 2018, steel casting bookings and shipments reported by our members exceeded 25% of the levels last year. Wow!
High alloy casting bookings were over 10% and shipments were up 7% from a year ago. The reported backlog now is over 9 weeks indicating fuller order books.
This good report from members was consistent with the improved conditions in the steel mill industry as we report each week in the blog: https://raymondmonroe.wordpress.com. Steel mill shipments are up and prices are higher and stable. It is not clear how much of this improvement in the U.S. is the result of tariffs being imposed by the administration.
Shipments and orders for non-defense capital goods less aircraft, a key measure of capital spending that supports steel casting demand, is high and stable but does not show much growth so far in 2018. The plot of steel casting prices reported as the PPI or WPU shows the market conditions as well. Since the exposure of lack of global capacity in 2003/2004 pricing has move up significantly, more than 50%.
The spikes up in PPI reflect the total costs to customers where the smoother curve of the WPU shows the price of the casting itself. The casting costs as WPU have moved up more and have not seen the reductions that the total cost PPI have seen in 2009 and 2016 forward. PPI has seen a modest recovery through May from lows in early 2017. Pricing action reported to US Census obviously is lagging market conditions as new terms and arrangements are made reflecting current market conditions.
For an overall market perspective, the price of copper and oil remain high enough to support some investment and this should continue to be reflected in demand for steel castings. The continued improvements in markets for steel castings suggests strong conditions for the balance of 2018.
Possible impact of the US 232 and 301 actions on steel castings
Economic conditions, competitive pressures and globalization has resulted in the US having less capacity than required to fully supply the higher levels of demand for steel products. As seen in the graph below, U.S. steel shipments grew with the economy and with the rise in population from the beginning of industrialization until 1980. Imported steel was a small factor in the total demand required. After 1980 with a severe downturn in capital investment and steel demand, the US industry maintained their production with a peak capability of around 100 million tons. After the suppressed demand with resuming more typical trends after 2000, the US industry supplied their 100 million tons and imports supplied an additional 20 to 40 million tons. In 2016, which was not a period of strong demand, U.S. producers supplied about 80 million tons while imports provided the rest to meet the demand for 120 million tons.
Coincidental with the restraint of capacity increases in the U.S., China embarked since 2000 on a massive unprecedented investment and expansion of their steelmaking capacity. In 2000, China’s steel production was marginally higher than the U.S., 127 million tons to 102 million tons. In 2015, China’s steel production was 800 million tons to the U.S. production of 80 million tons in a world production of 1600 million tons. So the rapid expansion of China in steel production and their ownership, economic and business practices threaten the viability and capability of the US steel industry.
Steel castings producers in the U.S. have also suffered from the same conditions with China rapidly adding capacity from 2000 until today. In 2000, China’s steel foundry production was estimated at 1.5 million tons and the U.S. production was 1.0 million tons. In 2015, China’s production was reported to be 5.1 million tons and the U.S. made 1.5 million tons. China’s steel casting industry, however; is facing significant challenges not unlike the U.S. They are having a challenging time attracting workers willing to learn and stay in the foundry. The sharp drop in young population compared to the aging existing workforce adds to this problem. The difficulty of attracting workers has been made more difficult by rising wages in industrial areas making casting prices less competitive or forcing plants to operate unprofitably. Increasing concerns about air pollution and the systemic shortage of water has brought additional pressures on steel foundries.
In addition to China alone, globalization has resulted in consolidation and reduction of the remainder of the world’s supply for steel and steel castings. While globalization allows multinational firms to source worldwide and take advantage of economic diversity and dislocations, it also has the effect of driving second and third tier suppliers out of business in regional economies reducing the total supply.
This supplier consolidation is partially offset by the normal increase in capacity from process improvements that most firms make to remain competitive.
The challenges facing U.S. domestic suppliers has been an issue for the current administration, both from an economic impact and from a defense supply chain capability standpoint. To address perceived and real trade structures and practices that have disadvantaged domestic producers in the global marketplace, the administration has opened trade discussions with all major trading partners including NAFTA, the EU, and China. In an effort to strengthen the U.S. position and to provide some immediate relief to domestic sources, the administration has imposed tariffs under the section 232 provisions and is initiating efforts under the section 301 provisions.
The Section 301 actions target the trade practices of China that put the U.S. producers at risk. https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/USTR%20301%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf Steel products and steel castings are included in the proposed 301 tariffs to be imposed on China. Not all categories of steel castings are included but some of the major products are. While other regional economies may suffer as China diverts this capacity to other markets, domestic suppliers and non-China suppliers should gain benefits if these tariffs are imposed.
The section 232 actions targeted steel and aluminum products. The administration issued the presidential decision on March 22, 2018: https://www.cbp.gov/trade/programs-administration/entry-summary/232-tariffs-aluminum-and-steel. This decision did not cover all steel products and steel castings were not included in the list of items subject to tariffs. This decision left out a number of steel products and there is an effort to add additional steel items to the list. The presidential decision is a final document and it is not clear how it can be amended or modified. It looks unlikely at this point that additional items like castings will be added to the list. In any case, resolution of trade issues in the different regions should result in resolutions of the tariff issues as well. The ongoing discussions with NAFTA and EU parties should come to some agreement on these issues and the tariffs are a factor in aiding the US to get more favorable treatment.
In any case, the US steel industry in general and the steel casting industry in particular is not able to meet the anticipated requirements to support either the US domestic economy or its security needs. Exceptions and other accommodations will be available to allow non-U.S. suppliers to provide products that are not able to be supplied by domestic sources: https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/232-steel.
As a result of these challenges, many steel foundries have closed. The number of steel foundry plants in the U.S. has fallen from over 250 to around 150 from 2000 to 2015. The capacity peaked in 1982 around 2.7 million tons and has since fallen dramatically to around 1.5 million tons in 2015. Not only has the number of steel foundries and their capacity been reduced, particular expertise for special steel cast products has been lost as particular plants have been closed. For example, the closure of Falk meant the loss of expertise in the casting of large gear blanks. They were the only plant with that capability and were the only supplier of those castings.
Meeting the future requirements for domestic needs and especially defense needs is problematic. This will be exacerbated by increasing regulatory costs associated with compliance required by the new OSHA requirement on respirable silica. This regulation requires exposure levels not possible in many operations and non-compliant areas will need to be marked and medical monitoring and other practices used to meet the standard. The U.S. foundry industry is not yet certain of how this onerous regulation will affect the business.
| STEEL FOUNDERS' SOCIETY OF AMERICA | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUSINESS REPORT | |||||
| SFSA Trend Cards | 12 Mo Avg | 3 Mo Avg | June | May | April |
| (%-12 mos. Ago) | |||||
| Carbon & Low Alloy | |||||
| Shipments | 16.0 | 26.7 | 11.9 | 10.9 | 57.2 |
| Bookings | 21.6 | 28.8 | 27.9 | 20.0 | 38.5 |
| Backlog (wks) | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 10.0 |
| High Alloy | |||||
| Shipments | 7.3 | 8.7 | 14.2 | 4.0 | 8.0 |
| Bookings | 13.1 | 18.7 | 32.5 | 8.7 | 15.0 |
| Backlog (wks) | 9.0 | 9.6 | 9.0 | 8.8 | 11.0 |
| Department of Commerce | |||||
| Census Data | |||||
| Iron & Steel Foundries (million $) | |||||
| Shipments | 1,336.8 | 1,375.0 | 1,354 | 1,374 | 1,397 |
| New Orders | 1,358.3 | 1,399.7 | 1,403 | 1,394 | 1,402 |
| Inventories | 1,996.5 | 1,974.7 | 1,988 | 1,976 | 1,960 |
| Nondefense Capital Goods (billion $) | |||||
| Shipments | 74.7 | 76.2 | 78.1 | 76.5 | 74.0 |
| New Orders | 75.6 | 77.9 | 78.3 | 76.8 | 78.6 |
| Inventories | 178.2 | 175.9 | 174.9 | 176.6 | 176.3 |
| Nondefense Capital Goods less Aircraft (billion $) | |||||
| Shipments | 66.5 | 67.5 | 67.8 | 67.3 | 67.2 |
| New Orders | 66.9 | 68.2 | 68.5 | 68.3 | 67.8 |
| Inventories | 123.8 | 123.2 | 123.6 | 123.2 | 122.7 |
| Inventory/Orders | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.80 | 1.80 | 1.81 |
| Inventory/Shipments | 0.0 | 1.8 | 1.82 | 1.83 | 1.83 |
| Orders/Shipments | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.01 | 1.01 | 1.01 |
| American Iron and Steel Institute | |||||
| Raw Steel Shipments | 7.7 | 8 | 8.1* | 8.1 | 7.8 |
| (million net tons) | |||||
| *SFSA’s best estimate – the final number was not available at time of publication. | |||||
The SFSA Research Review meeting was held on July 10-12 at Rosemont, IL. SFSA has a full portfolio of steel casting R&D underway, with a majority of the research sponsored under the Digital Innovative Design program.
UA (R. Fleischmann) is collaborating with UI (C. Beckermann) in designing test castings with different levels of quality factors such as porosity and inclusions. The aim is to quantify the effect of indications on the structural performance of steel castings. UI designed test castings with different rigging to obtain varying levels of quality factors. A member foundry will cast and inspect the castings to categorize the quality level of each. UA will conduct structural tests on these castings and will correlate the structural performance to design rules. UA and UI are also designing other specimen designs that will be tested at UA later on.
UA is also supporting SFSA’s goal to promote the use of steel castings to the building construction industry. UA will conduct structural tests on castings welded to hollow structural steel tubes, evaluating different weld interface to show how cast structural components would perform.
On behalf of John DuPont, David Poweleit presented Lehigh University’s research. Lehigh is conducting metallurgical characterization of welds in cast carbon steels to support SFSA’s proposal to include cast grades in AWS D1.1. Various tests and microstructural analysis will be done to evaluate cast-to-cast, cast-to-mill, and mill-to-mill welds. Lehigh will also investigate repair welding by characterizing the microstructure and properties of the welds in common cast steel grades.
PSU (B. Voigt) is developing a cast carbon steel grade with a minimum yield strength of 50ksi. Current casting specifications only require 36ksi YS for carbon steels even though most foundries can achieve higher yield strength. This research aims to address the concern of the building construction industry that current casting specifications have lower strength requirement compared to mill product specifications. Initial trials demonstrated that 50ksi can be achieved in C-Mn-V in the normalized and tempered condition. Several compositional variations will be produced at foundries to evaluate if properties can be consistently achieved.
ISU (F. Peters and D. Eisenmann) is in charge of evaluating NDT methods and assessing gage R&R. One of the main objectives of the DID program is to provide quantitative assessment of performance. ISU will investigate the effect of indications on properties of steel castings. As a start, ISU inspected weld plates that will be used in the Lehigh University welding studies. ISU will be working with a member foundry to make test castings with various levels of NDT indications.
UAB (C. Monroe, R. Foley, J. Griffin) is spearheading the material characterization of test castings under the DID program. They evaluated the effect of hot isostatic pressing (HIP) on the microstructure of AF96 (high strength low alloy). Wedge casting that was HIP-ed (2125F) were compared to castings that were normalized either at 1850F or 2100F. HIP lowers porosity but there was no difference in segregation of the HIP-ed samples and the samples normalized at 2100F. High temperature seems to dominate reduction in segregation in AF96 and not the pressure. UAB was also tasked to investigate low impact toughness in investment castings compared to sand cast specimens. There were some porosity and nitrides found on the fracture surfaces but further analysis needs to be done. The investment casting process will be evaluated in the DID program to determine if it is a quality factor.
In addition to designing the test castings for UA’s structural tests, UI designed 1”, 2”, and 4” thick wedges that would allow the team to extract tensile and Charpy V-notch specimens with similar properties. These wedges were cast in WCB and 8630 by two member foundries. There are some unexpected variations in the tensile and CVN test results particularly for the low alloy steel. Further analysis is needed to better understand the variation.
UI and UAB also investigated heavy section test coupons provided by a member foundry. UI modeled the solidification of the 4” Y block based on process information from the foundry. UAB sectioned the test coupons into tensile specimens. The tensile properties of the WCB samples were similar throughout the 4” thickness. There seems to be a slight difference in mechanical properties of the 8630 samples. The model needs to be refined to match the measured properties. The model did not predict the porosity in the sample taken near the riser. It was suggested that evaluation should be shifted to castings thicker than 4”.
MS&T (L. Bartlett) is developing cast and wrought FeMnAl for military applications. FeMnAl is a high manganese, high aluminum austenitic steel. The goal is to improve the properties and the manufacturability of the alloy. They are currently investigating chemistry and heat treatment variations to improve strength and toughness.
Other on-going projects that are not funded under the DID program were also presented at the review. UAB is examining various alloys under the cast preforms project. They are characterizing the effect of reduced forging reductions on FeMnAl, AF96, and HY100. They are also investigating the feasibility of improving toughness in Ground Engaging Tools.
UAB has been developing a semi-automated image analysis for digital radiographs. Software still needs to be optimized as more x-rays are analyzed. They are also leveraging this image analysis method in measuring microstructural features such as dendrite arm spacing.
PSU (P. Lynch) is investigating carbide formation in AF96 and how it can be controlled in processing to achieve properties needed for certain DoD applications. Like most high strength low alloys, AF96 is susceptible to temper embrittlement (TE) and tempered martensite embrittlement (TME). PSU is also conducting a machinability study on this alloy which is difficult to process due to its high strength.
On behalf of S. Chumbley, G. Harrington provided updates on ISU’s research on ferrite prediction in duplex stainless steels and on cold spray. ISU established a ferrite prediction diagram for duplex stainless steels based on the relationship between measured ferrite content and homogenization temperature. Homogenization temperature seems to set the amount of ferrite. The cooling rate showed a small effect. This diagram needs to be validated using industry data from member foundries. ISU also is evaluating cold spray as a potential alternative to fill-up small porosity found on surfaces of machined castings. The cold spray trials have only been done on stainless steel and the process still needs to be developed to improve bonding of the cold spray powder to the casting. Currently, chrome carbide needs to be mixed with the steel powder for the cold spray material to stick to the part. Penetrant testing and corrosion testing of a cold sprayed part also need to be considered in the future.
UNI (J. Thiel) provided updates from their Additive Manufacturing Center. UNI is investigating 2 ceramic aggregates as potential alternatives to silica sand. They also presented work they are doing on robotic sand milling.
UI has developed a test set-up that allows them to measure air entrained by a plunging jet. This would generate data to further refine their air entrainment model which was presented at the T&O in 2016 and 2017. Initial development of this system was using water and they are working on transitioning to molten aluminum. Future work will be on molten steel.
New research projects funded under AMC’s Innovative Casting Technologies which kicked off early this year were also briefed at this year’s review. A list of SFSA’s research portfolio can be found on the SFSA website.
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august18.pdf (359kB) |
The August 2018 Casteel Reporter |
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june18.pdf (418kB) |
The June 2018 Casteel Reporter |
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march18.pdf (256kB) |
The March 2018 Casteel Reporter |
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january18.pdf (458kB) |
The January 2018 Casteel Reporter |
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december17.pdf (162kB) |
The December 2017 Casteel Reporter |
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september17.pdf (196kB) |
The September 2017 Casteel Reporter |
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june17.pdf (810kB) |
The June 2017 Casteel Reporter |
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appendices 06-2017.pdf (94kB) |
Appendices to Raymond Monroe's testimony to Section 232 Investigation: The Effect of Steel Imports on National Security - Closed Steel Foundries and Lost Capacity since 2000, and Steel Foundries Involved in Supplying Defense Castings |
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april17.pdf (306kB) |
The April 2017 Casteel Reporter |
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march17.pdf (201kB) |
The March 2017 Casteel Reporter |
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january17.pdf (587kB) |
The January 2017 Casteel Reporter |
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october16.pdf (393kB) |
The October 2016 Casteel Reporter |
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2017 SFSA Market Forecast.pdf (933kB) |
The 2017 SFSA Market Forecast.pdf |
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august16.pdf (532kB) |
The August 2016 Casteel Reporter |
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june16.pdf (880kB) |
The June 2016 Casteel Reporter |
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may16.pdf (794kB) |
The May 2016 Casteel Reporter |
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march16.pdf (250kB) |
The March 2016 Casteel Reporter |
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january16.pdf (809kB) |
The January 2016 Casteel Reporter |
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SFSA - Information Form.pdf (178kB) |
SFSA Directory Information Form |
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october15.pdf (763kB) |
The October 2015 Casteel Reporter |
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Cast Carbon Steels in AWS D1.1.pdf (361kB) |
Exploring the Need to Include Cast Carbon Steels in Welding Procedure Specifications - A case is made for adding cast carbon steel grades in prequalified specifications to AWS D1.1 |
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september15.pdf (625kB) |
The September 2015 Casteel Reporter |
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july15.pdf (293kB) |
The July 2015 Casteel Reporter |
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may15.pdf (453kB) |
The May 2015 Casteel Reporter |
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april15.pdf (877kB) |
The April 2015 Casteel Reporter |
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february15.pdf (427kB) |
The February 2015 Casteel Reporter |
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2015-02-BestPapers2014.pdf (3MB) |
Award-winning papers presented at the 2014 SFSA Technical & Operating Conference |
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january15.pdf (214kB) |
The January 2015 Casteel Reporter |
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2015-01-CastingIndustryImage.pdf (867kB) |
IFF Presentation |
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2015-01-ChinaTrends.pdf (874kB) |
IFF Presentation |
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2015-01-SupplyChainImpact.pdf (971kB) |
IFF Presentation |
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2015-01-ValvePumpSteelCstgTrends.pdf (kB) |
IFF Presentation |
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november14.pdf (413kB) |
The November 2014 Casteel Reporter |
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october14.pdf (781kB) |
The October 2014 Casteel Reporter |
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august14.pdf (419kB) |
The August 2014 Casteel Reporter |
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may14.pdf (251kB) |
The May 2014 Casteel Reporter |
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february14.pdf (375kB) |
The February 2014 Casteel Reporter |
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december13.pdf (297kB) |
The December 2013 Casteel Reporter |
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october13.pdf (244kB) |
The October 2013 Casteel Reporter |
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august13.pdf (302kB) |
The August 2013 Casteel Reporter |
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may13.pdf (321kB) |
The May 2013 Casteel Reporter |
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april13.pdf (295kB) |
The April 2013 Casteel Reporter |
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february13.pdf (233kB) |
The February 2013 Casteel Reporter |
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january13.pdf (326kB) |
The January 2013 Casteel Reporter |
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Forecast2013.pdf (881kB) |
The 2013 SFSA Market Forecast |
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december12.pdf (275kB) |
The December 2012 Casteel Reporter |
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october12.pdf (158kB) |
The October 2012 Casteel Reporter |
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july12.pdf (256kB) |
The July 2012 Casteel Reporter |
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may12.pdf (420kB) |
The May 2012 Casteel Reporter |
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march12.pdf (482kB) |
The March 2012 Casteel Reporter |
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nffsseminar.pdf (247kB) |
NFFS Foundry Noise Exposure Seminar information |
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february12.pdf (301kB) |
The February 2012 Casteel Reporter |
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december11.pdf (243kB) |
The December 2011 Casteel Reporter |
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forecast2012.pdf (1.3MB) |
The 2012 SFSA Market Forecast as presented at the 2011 Technical & Operating Conference |
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october11.pdf (530kB) |
The October 2011 Casteel Reporter |
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september11.pdf (1.1MB) |
The September 2011 Casteel Reporter |
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july11.pdf (475kB) |
The July 2011 Casteel Reporter |
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june11.pdf (295kB) |
The June 2011 Casteel Reporter |
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april11.pdf (438kB) |
The April 2011 Casteel Reporter |
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march11.pdf (1.3MB) |
The March 2011 Casteel Reporter |
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january11.pdf (442kB) |
The January 2011 Casteel Reporter |
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november10.pdf (475kB) |
The November 2010 Casteel Reporter |
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october10.pdf (770kB) |
The October 2010 Casteel Reporter |
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august10.pdf (483kB) |
The August 2010 Casteel Reporter |
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201008eqp.pdf (37kB) |
Equipment available |
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july10.pdf (688kB) |
The July 2010 Casteel Reporter |
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SFSA Directory Information Form.pdf (180kB) |
The form used to update foundry listings in the Directory of Steel Foundries |
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june10.pdf (770kB) |
The June 2010 Casteel Reporter |
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may10.pdf (545kB) |
The May 2010 Casteel Reporter |
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march10.pdf (651kB) |
The March 2010 Casteel Reporter |
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february10.pdf (451kB) |
The February 2010 Casteel Reporter |
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january10.pdf (410kB) |
The January 2010 Casteel Reporter |
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FR74-209 CO2.pdf (573kB) |
CO2 Emissions reporting rule |
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Combustible Dust FR ANPR 10-21-09.pdf (319kB) |
Federal Register notice seeking input on development of a standard for combustible dust |
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december09.pdf (352kB) |
The December 2009 Casteel Reporter including graphs and attachments |
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toptenoshaviolations09.pdf (29kB) |
Top Ten OSHA Violations |
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october09.pdf (1.3MB) |
The October 2009 Casteel Reporter |
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steelbus1009.pdf (236kB) |
Business report and market trend graphs |
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september09.pdf (464kB) |
The September 2009 Casteel Reporter |
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MagmaSoft Tax Credit.pdf (112kB) |
MAGMATIMES article on Federal Research & Experimentation tax credit. |
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august09.pdf (1,008kB) |
The August 2009 Casteel Reporter |
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MIEEE.pdf (644kB) |
Midwest Industrial Energy Efficiency Exchange information |
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july09.pdf (896kB) |
The July 2009 Casteel Reporter |
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FEF CIC Ad 2009.pdf (532kB) |
Foundry Educational Foundation College Industry Conference |
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april09.pdf (868kB) |
The April 2009 Casteel Reporter |
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march09.pdf (924kB) |
The March 2009 Casteel Reporter |
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february09.pdf (1.2MB) |
The February 2009 Casteel Reporter including business trend information, graphs and attachments. |
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steelgurujan2009.pdf (744kB) |
Steel market condition information. |
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yrc0209.pdf (756kB) |
SFSA's Yellow Freight and Roadway discount program. |
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january09.pdf (1.3MB) |
The January 2009 Casteel Reporter including business trend information, graphs and attachments. |
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Company FMLA policy (federal).pdf (304kB) |
Federal FMLA Policy. |
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employee under fmla.pdf (104kB) |
U.S. Department of Labor poster on Employee Rights and Responsibilities under FMLA. |
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Certification of Illness or Injury to a Covered Service Memb.pdf (188kB) |
FMLA Leave Certification of Serious Illness or Injury for a Covered Service Member. |
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october08.pdf (140kB) |
The September 2008 Casteel Reporter including business trend information and graphs and attachments. |
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steelguruoct2008.pdf (636kB) |
Steel market condition information. |
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september08.pdf (272kB) |
The September 2008 Casteel Reporter. |
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steelbus0908.pdf (180kB) |
Business trend numbers and graphs only. |
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steelgurusep2008.pdf (76kB) |
Steel market condition information. |
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august08.pdf (644kB) |
The August 2008 Casteel Reporter |
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steelbus0808.pdf (396kB) |
Business trend numbers and graphs only. |
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steelguruaug2008.pdf (376kB) |
Steel market condition information. |
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july08.pdf (408kB) |
The July 2008 Casteel Reporter |
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steelgurujul2008.pdf (244kB) |
Steel market condition information. |
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ITAR-Info.pdf (268kB) |
Part 121 - The United States Munitions List |
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ITAR-Info-Violation.pdf (92kB) |
Part 127 - Violations and Penalties |
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DEEDGrantApp053006.pdf (108kB) |
Demonstation of Energy-Efficient Developments grant application. To be submitted by the utility company. |
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DEED-Members.pdf (80kB) |
Utility companies participating in the DEED program. |
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june08.pdf (64kB) |
The June 2008 Casteel Reporter |
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steelgurujune2008.pdf (80kB) |
Steel market condition information. |
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may08.pdf (64kB) |
The May 2008 Casteel Reporter |
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steelgurumay2008.pdf (92kB) |
Steel market condition information. |
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april08.pdf (200kB) |
The April 2008 Casteel Reporter including business trend information, graphs and attachments. |
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steelbus0408.pdf (28kB) |
Business trend numbers and graphs only. |
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steelguruapr2008.pdf (84kB) |
Steel market condition information. |
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march08.pdf (124kB) |
The March 2008 Casteel Reporter including business trend information, graphs and attachments. |
|
steelgurumar2008.pdf (96kB) |
Steel market condition information. |
|
MoldThickness2.pdf (56kB) |
Calculation of Minimum Mold Thickness in Steel Casting - Jacob Thole, Dr. Christoph Beckermann, University of Iowa. |
|
february08.pdf (736kB) |
The February 2008 Casteel Reporter |
|
steelgurufeb2008.pdf (88kB) |
Steel market condition information. |
|
january08.pdf (880kB) |
The January 2008 Casteel Reporter |
|
steelgurujan2008.pdf (208kB) |
Steel market condition information. |
|
AFSAreaSourceSummary.pdf (128kB) |
AFS Summary of the EPA Area Source Rule. |
|
FR-AreaSourceFinal.pdf (524kB) |
40 CFR Part 63 - EPA National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Iron and Steel Foundries Area Sources; Final Rule |
| Due to the Technical & Operating Conference, no newsletter was published for December 2007. | |
|
november07.pdf (448kB) |
The November 2007 Casteel Reporter |
|
futureleaders1107.pdf (96kB) |
Future steel foundry industry leaders meeting notice. |
|
eqp-auction1207.pdf (96kB) |
Equipment available - auction ends Dec. 6 2007 |
|
october07.pdf (240kB) |
The October 2007 Casteel Reporter |
|
steelguruoct2007.pdf (188kB) |
Steel market condition information. |
|
ofr2007-1257.pdf (4.7MB) |
Cr, Cu, Mn, Mo, Ni, and steel price drivers. US Geological Survey |
|
september07.pdf (64kB) |
The September 2007 Casteel Reporter |
|
steelgurusep2007.pdf (72kB) |
Steel market condition information. |
|
Docket2007N-0330.pdf (12kB) |
Docket 2007N-0330 Presidential Interagency Working Group on Public Safety (Import Safety) |
|
fr17se07P.pdf (224kB) |
Proposed EPA Area Source Rule for Iron and Steel Foundries |
|
august07.pdf (36kB) |
The August 2007 Casteel Reporter |
|
steelguruaug2007.pdf (112kB) |
Steel market condition information. |
|
IEEE Workshop1007.pdf (28kB) |
IEEE Industrial Energy Efficiency Workshop information |
|
july07.pdf (55kB) |
The July 2007 Casteel Reporter |
|
steelgurujul2007.pdf (96kB) |
Steel market condition information |
|
june07.pdf (64kB) |
The June 2007 Casteel Reporter |
|
steelgurujune2007.pdf (44kB) |
Steel market condition information |
|
may07.pdf (92kB) |
The May 2007 Casteel Reporter |
|
steelgurumay2007.pdf (88kB) |
Steel market condition information |
|
finemanbio.pdf (44kB) |
Biography of Howard Fineman, speaker at the 2007 SFSA Annual Meeting |
|
SBB Steel Markets.pdf (304kB) |
Steel - Global Impacts to North American Minimill Competitiveness, by Thomas A. Danjczek, President, Steel Manufacturers Association - speaker at the 2007 SFSA Annual Meeting |
|
april07.pdf (152kB) |
The April 2007 Casteel Reporter |
|
steelguruapr2007.pdf (380kB) |
Steel market condition information |
|
march07.pdf (1.5MB) |
The March 2007 Casteel Reporter |
|
steelgurumar2007.pdf (240kB) |
Steel market condition information |
|
hexcr-fiore.pdf (112kB) |
Information on Hexavalent Chromium |
|
february07.pdf (52kB) |
The February 2007 Casteel Reporter |
|
steelgurufeb2007.pdf (192kB) |
Steel market condition information |
|
january07.pdf (56kB) |
The January 2007 Casteel Reporter |
|
steelgurujan2007.pdf (260kB) |
Steel market condition information |
|
december06.pdf (544kB) |
The December 2006 Casteel Reporter |
|
internapp.pdf (56kB) |
SFSA Internship sponsorship information and form |
|
steelgurudec2006.pdf (220kB) |
Steel market condition information |
|
november06.pdf (136kB) |
The November 2006 Casteel Reporter |
|
steelgurunov2006.pdf (352kB) |
Steel market condition information |
|
october06.pdf (48kB) |
The October 2006 Casteel Reporter |
|
september06.pdf (331kB) |
The September 2006 Casteel Reporter |
|
august06.pdf (420kB) |
The August 2006 Casteel Reporter |
|
steelbus0806.pdf (28kB) |
Industry business numbers and graphs only |
|
july06.pdf (660kB) |
The July 2006 Casteel Reporter |
|
steelbus0706.pdf (124kB) |
Industry business numbers and graphs only |
|
China6-22-2006.pdf (296kB) |
Evaluation of Chinese Economy and Trading Practices |
|
Chinese Steel Subsidies Paper.pdf (396kB) |
The China Syndrome: How Subsidies and Government Intervention Created the World's Largest Steel Industry |
|
RL32333.pdf (184kB) |
CRS Report for Congress - Steel: Price and Policy Issues. Update June 26, 2006 |
|
june06.pdf (132kB) |
The June 2006 Casteel Reporter |
|
China tour tentative list-0606.pdf (16kB) |
Tentative list of plants to be visited on the tour of China |
|
may06.pdf (540kB) |
The May 2006 Casteel Reporter |
|
steelbus0506.pdf (28kB) |
Industry business numbers and graphs only |
|
HexCr monitoring.pdf (76kB) |
Exposure Monitoring Guidance for Compliance with the new OSHA Standard fro Hexavalent Chromium |
|
KFTA comments.pdf (400kB) |
U.S.-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement: Written Comments Concerning the Probable Economic Effect of Providing Duty-Free Treatment for Imports |
|
AMMEX EERE-ITP.pdf (28kB) |
EERE's Industrial Technologies Program: Proven Returns on Federal and Industrial Investments |
|
april06.pdf (80kB) |
The April 2006 Casteel Reporter |
|
emsguide.pdf (1MB) |
Environmental Management Systems Implementation Guide for the foundry sector, USA EPA |
|
AreaSourceUpdate.pdf (168kB) |
Iron & Steel Area Source rule |
|
march06.pdf (124kB) |
The March 2006 Casteel Reporter |
|
monroe-outlookSpring2006.pdf (756kB) |
Economic outlook presentation given by Raymond Monroe at the SFSA Spring Management Meeting on March 9, 2006 |
|
lashinsky-outlook2006.pdf (36kB) |
Economic outlook presentation given by Bernard Lashinsky at the SFSA Spring Management Meeting on March 9, 2006 |
|
keramida-annual compliance calendar.pdf (148kB) |
Regulatory Compliance Calendar for Steel Foundries by Keramida |
|
keramida-Env Audits.pdf (48kB) |
Environmental Audits in the Primary Metals Sector - Jim Schifo, Keramida |
|
keramida-Regulatory Calendar - 2006.pdf (1.1MB) |
Common Environmental Compliance Deadlines - Keramida |
|
February06.pdf (496kB) |
The February 2006 Casteel Reporter |
|
china exports surge.pdf (20kB) |
China steel exports surge due to domestic overcapacity |
|
2005CHINASD_0106.pdf (68kB) |
Chinese Steel Industry - Record Steel Output with Big Decline in Net Imports in 2005 |
|
Measurement Error - ISU.pdf (388kB) |
Measurement Error of Visual Casting Surface Inspection - Iowa State University |
|
january06.pdf (51kB) |
The January 2006 Casteel Reporter |
|
december05.pdf (495kB) |
The December 2005 Casteel Reporter |
|
USCCCHINAexec_summ_05.pdf (82kB) |
USCC Executive Summary on China Trade |
|
november05.pdf (83kB) |
The November 2005 Casteel Reporter |
|
hexcr-nov05.pdf (1,041kB) |
Congressional letters on Hexavalent Chromium |
|
october05.pdf (79kB) |
The October 2005 Casteel Reporter |
|
rdtaxcredit.pdf (77kB) |
Presentation on the R&D Tax Credit given at the 2004 SFSA Annual Meeting |
|
september05special.pdf (15kB) |
Special September 2005 Casteel Reporter about the possible impact of a natural disaster on the steel casting industry |
|
september05.pdf (81kB) |
The september 2005 Casteel Reporter |
|
testbars.pdf (1,043kB) |
"Test Coupons and Casting Quality" and "Mechanical Properties of Test Bars Compared to Castings" |
|
august05.pdf (455kB) |
The August 2005 Casteel Reporter |
|
MoriciSteelPrices.pdf (62kB) |
Manufacturing and Steel Prices, by Peter Morici, February 2005 |
|
China prices 7-2005.pdf (385kB) |
Prices of Castings, Foundry Raw and Auxiliary Materials in Some Regions of China |
|
pub3771.pdf (3,110kB) |
US ITC Publication 3771, Foundry Products: Competitive Conditions in the U.S. Market |
|
july05.pdf (70kB) |
The July 2005 Casteel Reporter |
|
WFO2005 Paper.pdf (305kB) |
World Foundry Organization paper on the last 20 years of steel casting research |
|
june05.pdf (54kB) |
The June 2005 Casteel Reporter |
|
SFIC Washington Forum OSHA.ppt (164kB) |
Presentation on OSHA Proposed PEL for Hexavalent Chrome, in PowerPoint format |
|
SFIC Washington Forum OSHA.pdf (453kB) |
Presentation on OSHA Proposed PEL for Hexavalent Chrome, in PDF format |
|
may05.pdf (197kB) |
The May 2005 Casteel Reporter |
|
MACT-Scrap.pdf (159kB) |
Amendments to the Scrap metal and Inspection provisions of the Iron and Steel Foundry MACT |
|
april05.pdf (115kB) |
The April 2005 Casteel Reporter |
|
IntlTradeEvents.pdf (38kB) |
International Trade Events |
|
equipment0405.pdf (49kB) |
Equipment Available |
|
march05.pdf (590kB) |
The March 2005 Casteel Reporter |
|
february05.pdf (624kB) |
The February 2005 Casteel Reporter |
|
january05.pdf (483kB) |
The January 2005 Casteel Reporter |
|
afs-gac.pdf (568kB) |
AFS Government Affairs Conference Information |
|
december04.pdf (292kB) |
The December 2004 Casteel Reporter |
|
november04.pdf (445kB) |
The November 2004 Casteel Reporter |
|
october04.pdf (223kB) |
The October 2004 Casteel Reporter |
|
september04.pdf (489kB) |
The September 2004 Casteel Reporter |
|
august04.pdf (414kB) |
The August 2004 Casteel Reporter |
|
antitrust.pdf (59kB) |
General Rules of Antitrust Compliance & Antitrust Policy Statement of Steel Founders' Society of America |
|
july04.pdf (278kB) |
The July 2004 Casteel Reporter |
|
june04.pdf (242kB) |
The June 2004 Casteel Reporter |
|
may04.pdf (840kB) |
The May 2004 Casteel Reporter |
|
Nolan_Dollars.pdf (6,013kB) |
Dollars and "Sense" presentation by John Nolan, Vice President, Steel Dynamics, Inc. |
|
Nolan_Dollars_Sequel.pdf (3,103kB) |
Dollars and "Sense" "The Sequel" presentation by John Nolan, Vice President, Steel Dynamics, Inc. |
|
april04.pdf (333kB) |
The April 2004 Casteel Reporter |
|
march04.pdf (428kB) |
The March 2004 Casteel Reporter |
| Due to our office move, the February 2004 Casteel Reporter was not produced. | |
|
january04.pdf
(211kB) |
The January 2004 Casteel Reporter |
|
december03.pdf (522kB) |
The December 2003 Casteel Reporter |
|
november03.pdf (253kB) |
The November 2003 Casteel Reporter |
|
october03.pdf (232kB) |
The October 2003 Casteel Reporter |
|
september03.pdf (322kB) |
The September 2003 Casteel Reporter |
|
august03.pdf (219kB) |
The August 2003 Casteel Reporter |
|
july03.pdf (550kB) |
The July 2003 Casteel Reporter |
|
june03.pdf (175kB) |
The June 2003 Casteel Reporter |
|
may03.pdf (175kB) |
The May 2003 Casteel Reporter |
|
april03.pdf (277kB) |
The April 2003 Casteel Reporter |
|
march03.pdf (377kB) |
The March 2003 Casteel Reporter |
|
february03.pdf (256kB) |
The February 2003 Casteel Reporter |
|
january03.pdf (266kB) |
The January 2003 Casteel Reporter |
|
december02.pdf (500kB) |
The December 2002 Casteel Reporter |
| Due to circumstances beyond our control, the November 2002 Casteel Reporter is not available online. | |
|
october02.pdf (204kB) |
The October 2002 Casteel Reporter |
|
september02.pdf (251kB) |
The September 2002 Casteel Reporter |
|
august02.pdf (159kB) |
The August 2002 Casteel Reporter |
|
june02.pdf (324kB) |
The June 2002 Casteel Reporter |
|
may02.pdf (497kB) |
The May 2002 Casteel Reporter |
|
april02.pdf (518kB) |
The April 2002 Casteel Reporter |
|
march02.pdf (255kB) |
The March 2002 Casteel Reporter |
