Chemical Guide

Mr John Surma chairman & CEO United States Steel Corporation, during the second day of the Association of Iron & Steel Technology conference, said that he sees the North American steel industry coming out of this recession in better shape than in previous downturns.

He said that one reason is the economic crisis that lead to the recession was not of the steel industry’s making but instead the industry was brought along for the ride.

He added that “Last year at this time, we all thought the world was going to end. It didn’t. The dark times will come, they always do, but so do the brighter times. This time, our sector was strong but the overall economy went bad. We’ve already gone through a good bit of restructuring earlier in the decade, so we are better prepared and better managed to come out of the abyss quicker than in other downturns.”

On the raw material front, he said that North American steel makers, such as US Steel, may have a competitive advantage since the continent can meet demand for coal and ore. He added that “The question remains: Will cap and trade, or something like it, really protect the environment?”

After his talk, Mr Surma expanded on the topic for reporters, saying cap and trade policies adopted in Europe haven’t yielded the emissions reduction results expected. He said that “It did nothing at all but make the utilities rich, in our minds.”

Source: bizjournals.com