WHEATLAND, PA. Wheatland Tube cuts back production

A company official said some operations are cut back to four days a week.
THE VINDICATOR
WHEATLAND, Pa. -- A shortage of steel and raw materials has forced Wheatland Tube Co. to scale back its production.
Bill Kerins, vice president of operations, said the company cut back all of its furnace production operations at its plants in Wheatland, Sharon and Warren, Ohio, to just four days a week, effective this week.
Finishing lines remain at five days right now, he said.
Kerins said the company decided to reduce production and cut back work hours rather than lay anyone off.
"We're taking it week by week, but it could be a while," he said, noting there is no improvement expected in the market over the next few months.
Factors
The problem is a shortage of steel in the United States that is beginning to be felt elsewhere in the world, Kerins said.
There also is difficulty getting coke for furnaces, he said, tracing that problem to a recent fire at a West Virginia coal mine that ships its coal to coke-producing facilities.
Further, there is an industrywide shortage of scrap steel, with China and other emerging steel producers buying up scrap and raw materials.
Those raw materials have seen double-digit price increases over the past couple of months, Kerins said.
Finally, a weak U.S. dollar is hurting efforts to buy those items, he said.