Metals

摘要

Margin meltdown: For the third year in a row, steel demand remained at record highs, as shipments totaled 100 million tons. But spot prices dropped 19%, to $250 per ton, a 25-year low thanks to a flood of 42 million tons of cheap imported steel, a 35% increase from 1997. The protracted strike at GM, the country's largest steel consumer, devastated third-quarter results. Aluminum sank as low as 56 cents a pound, compared with 68 cents a year ago.