The company says the conveyor reduces jams and increases throughput.

Endura-Veyor Inc., a company based in Alpena, Michigan, recently unveiled its Top Flight Drag Conveyor, designed to handle a range of loose, problematic materials and challenging loading conditions.

The conveyor is equipped with guided chain-driven flights or paddles that are reinforced for tough applications. The flights push material along an abrasion-resistant, hardened-steel trough or channel, making it more durable than traditional belt conveyors, the company says. The machine also can handle high-volume infeed applications because the chain-driven flights are on the top of a conveyor bed and move in the same direction of material flow, supplying zero interference during top loading.

The machine is designed to handle various loading conditions, such as inclines, curves and surge loading, the company says.

Endura-Veyor Inc. is a company specializing in multiple forms of conveyors, including hinged steel belt, fabric belt and drag chains. The business also makes ancillary equipment used in scrap or loose material handling, recycling, manufacturing and distribution.

The American Iron and Steel Institute, numerous steel companies voice support for the proposed legislation.

U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, both of Ohio, have introduced Eliminating Global Market Distortions to Protect American Jobs Act, bipartisan legislation designed to strengthen U.S. trade remedy laws and ensure they remain effective tools against unfair trade practices and protect American workers. Their legislation would establish the new concept of “successive investigations” to improve the effectiveness of the U.S. trade remedy system in responding to repeat offenders and serial cheaters, helping to level the playing field for American workers, according to a news release from the senators.

“For too long, trade cheats have shuttered plants across our state, put Ohioans out of work and distorted global markets,” Brown says. “This bipartisan legislation will strengthen our trade remedy laws, make clear the U.S has the tools to fight back against these harmful practices and will help keep Ohio workers on the job.”

“This bipartisan bill will strengthen our antidumping and countervailing duty laws to challenge China’s unfair trade practices and protect American jobs in sectors that are important to Ohio,” Portman says. “Nowhere is China’s disdain for the free market more evident than in the steel overcapacity crisis. Twenty years ago, China produced 18 percent of the world’s supply of steel. Now it is roughly 50 percent. Today it is steel, but tomorrow it could be electric vehicles or semiconductors. This overcapacity is the result of deliberate choices by China to subsidize their industries and degrade the free market in pursuit of global market dominance, all at the expense of American jobs.”

The senators say the Eliminating Global Market Distortions to Protect American Jobs Act will strengthen trade remedy laws in part by:

The Eliminating Global Market Distortions to Protect American Jobs Act, has been endorsed by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), Washington, and is supported by a number of steel companies with operations in Ohio, including Nucor, SSAB Americas, Wheatland Tube of Niles and Warren, Ohio, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and ArcelorMittal North America. The legislation is also supported by other Ohio manufacturers, including Mullet Cabinets of Millersburg, Ohio.  

Kevin Dempsey, president and CEO of AISI, says, “The American steel industry is the backbone of the economy but has faced repeated surges of unfairly traded steel in recent years. Domestic steelmakers have successfully sought relief under the U.S. trade remedy system, only to face new surges of steel imports of the same products from other countries not subject to the original antidumping or countervailing duty orders. This bill will help address the ‘whack-a-mole’ problem, when new imports immediately replace the old ones, by creating successive investigations and allowing for quicker relief than under the current system. The bill also tackles subsidization across borders, such as when Chinese steelmakers—subsidized through China’s Belt and Road Initiative—build new export-oriented steelmaking facilities in other Asian countries, including Indonesia, Vietnam and others. This bill will go a long way in fighting against these unfair subsidies which can injure U.S. producers.”

Dempsey also applauds the provisions of the bill addressing the statutory timelines for anti-circumvention inquiries, clarifying the standards by which the Commerce Department will investigate allegations of currency undervaluation as a subsidy and other provisions to combat trade distortions in the steel market.

“By strengthening the effectiveness of the U.S. trade laws, this bill will help give the American public confidence that their government has every tool available to fight for a level playing field for every American worker. We appreciate the continued leadership of Sens. Brown and Portman in support of the American steel industry and urge senators to quickly support this bill,” he adds.  

“Cleveland-Cliffs greatly appreciates the strong leadership of Sen. Brown and Sen. Portman in championing this legislation, which will provide new tools to combat distortion and circumvention of our U.S. trade laws,” Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president and chief executive officer at Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., which is headquartered in Cleveland, says. “Cleveland-Cliffs is the largest producer of flat-rolled steel in the United States, employing more than 25,000 highly skilled workers. We rely on strong and modern trade laws to confront unfair trade practices in order to preserve and create more good-paying, middle-class union jobs in the United States.”

Eric Mitchell, vice president and general manager at Nucor Steel Marion in Marion, Ohio, says, “This bill would close many of the loopholes that have allowed foreign steel producers to circumvent our trade laws. It would give U.S. agencies clear authority to take proper enforcement measures against illegal subsidies, duty evasion and other practices that have injured U.S. steelmakers for years.”

Kevin Kelly, president of Wheatland Tube, says, “[O]ur company and employees have benefitted from remedies provided by the  AD/CVD laws and we thank the Senators for their ongoing work to ensure the laws remain accessible and strong. These laws ensure that Wheatland can continue to compete and be part of the nation's economic recovery.”

“This legislation will strengthen the tools available to U.S. manufacturers to fight foreign dumping and subsidies, including currency manipulation,” says John L. Brett, CEO of ArcelorMittal North America.

"Our company and our employees recognize the importance of having strong trade laws in place to challenge unfairly traded imports. As a U.S. kitchen cabinet manufacturer and a family-owned business, we know firsthand how the trade laws have worked to provide relief to our company and our employees,” says Vince Mullet, president of Mullet Cabinets of Millersburg, Ohio.

“In Kentucky, North American Stainless employs more than 1,500 American steelworkers who, if given a level playing field, can compete and win in the global market,” says Cris Fuentes, chief executive officer at North American Stainless. “Importantly, this bill closes a loophole in our trade law by giving Commerce the authority to investigate, consider and act on subsidies offered by countries to producers located elsewhere.” He added, “We must put an end to ongoing attempts to undermine America’s national security and destabilize our critical manufacturing industry.”

Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the AISI reported that the U.S. imported a total of 1.89 million net tons of steel in February 2021, including 1.42 million net tons of finished steel (down 22 percent and up 15 percent, respectively, compared with January final data). Through the first two months of 2021, total and finished steel imports are 4.31 million and 2.66 million net tons, down 7.5 percent and 11.1 percent, respectively, compared with the same period in 2020. Annualized total and finished steel imports in 2021 would be 25.9 and 16 million net tons, up 17.4 percent and down 1 percent, respectively, compared with 2020. Finished steel import market share was an estimated 18 percent in February and is estimated at 17 percent over the first two months of 2021, AISI says.

Key finished steel products with a significant increase in imports in February compared with January are tin plate (up 158 percent), cold-rolled sheets (up 69 percent), hot-rolled sheets (up 63 percent), line pipe (up 38 percent), mechanical tubing (up 19 percent) and wire rods (up 17 percent), AISI notes. A product with a significant year-to-date increase versus the same period in 2020 was structural pipe and tubing, which is up by 13 percent.

Information management clients shared their priorities when selecting a secure destruction, ITAD or records and information management provider.

When considering what secure destruction customers want most when picking a provider, cost might not be the most important factor. During the 2021 NAID & PRISM International Virtual Conference, which took place April 13-15, two information management clients participated in a panel discussion to highlight the traits and services they desire most from secure destruction, information technology asset disposition (ITAD) and records and information management (RIM) providers.

Both panelists noted that while cost is a consideration, it’s not their No. 1 consideration for picking a secure destruction provider.

“The biggest thing I look for is the relationships that I would build with a prospective business partner,” said Bill Bradford, program manager for privacy and compliance at Regional Transportation District (RTD) in Denver. “I refer to service providers as business partners because it is a partnership, and that’s the main focus I look for when I am going out to bid or make a proposal for any of the services or products in information governance."

He added, “Cost is a factor, but the relationship and transparency offerings that a business partner brings to the table are at the forefront for decision-making.”

Panelist Deborah Robbins, chairman of the Institute of Certified Records Managers (ICRM) Mentoring Committee, agreed with Bradford—cost is not the biggest consideration when picking a provider. But, she said, location and accessibility to provide service as well as trust, are key factors.

“My trust in them and their ability to speak into my leadership are important,” she said.

Although cost is not their No. 1 concern, Bradford said he does watch out for providers that offer a “lowball” rate.

“Sometimes people want to lowball, and that’s not the way to go about building a relationship and earn the business,” he said. “Instead, I ask for and expect business partners to provide me with their best and most fair rates. I understand that they need to make money. But the goal for me choosing [a provider] is that they will be my provider for the full length of that contract. I don’t want them to price it so low so that in three years they have to raise their rates or be in a tough spot because they lowballed.”

The panelists also discussed the best ways for secure destruction companies to approach prospective clients. Bradford said he is usually open to having conversations with prospective providers anytime.

“I’m one that you can email me, call me, or I might meet you on an expo floor,” he said. “I am always open to having those conversations because I don’t know when I might need to make a change. … I also might not have a need for the service at that moment, but I know someone else [in information management] who does have a need for that service right now.”

For Robbins, her biggest considerations when selecting a secure destruction provider is the provider’s strategy, mission and vision as well as whether the provider can listen to understand her needs.

Bradford said his biggest considerations when selecting a provider are relationships, what references tell him about a provider, the number of service offerings provided and knowledge on the information management industry. Price is the final consideration, he said.

During the Aluminum Association’s Virtual Spring Meeting, The Recycling Partnership offered insights on challenges and opportunities related to curbside recycling and aluminum can recovery rates.

Aluminum cans are one of the most recycled—and most recyclable—commodities on the market today. According to the Aluminum Association, Arlington, Virginia, aluminum can be recycled directly back into itself over and over again in a closed loop.

While aluminum is very recyclable, there have been challenges in capturing that material in curbside recycling programs. Keefe Harrison, founder and CEO of Falls Church, Virginia-based The Recycling Partnership says curbside recycling programs capture roughly one-third of cans, while the other two-thirds end up in the trash.

“Aluminum in the U.S. has a low capture rate,” she said during the Aluminum Association’s 2021 Virtual Spring Meeting in a session on recycling policy, consumer education and outreach April 14.

She continued, “Right now, we see about 30 to 40 percent of our cans actively recycled, and that means we see 60 to 70 percent of our cans thrown away. How do we know that? We do active capture rate studies.”

Harrison said The Recycling Partnership’s capture rate studies are performed by going door to door in communities across the U.S. and looking at what ends up in trash versus what ends up in recycling. According to those studies, part of the problem is that not everyone in the U.S. has the same level of access to recycle their aluminum cans. She stressed that equal access is one of the main problems causing low aluminum can capture rates in curbside recycling programs.

She said, “Only about half of all people can actually recycle at home; the rest of people have to do more than just put their aluminum cans in their blue bins. So, barrier to access is the No. 1 challenge. You can preach recycling, but if people can’t do it, there is no outcome.”

Another problem is related to misinformation with community education efforts. She said the general public might be interested in recycling, but they sometimes receive the wrong information from the media or other community members about how to recycle.

Three main elements involved in boosting curbside recycling rates are working on public awareness, community education and finally prompting behavior change, Harrison said. She added that awareness means ensuring the public has a general understanding about the recycling program’s existence; community education means teaching the general public how to participate in the program; and prompting behavior change means taking action with individuals to teach them if they are recycling right. Regarding behavior change, she gave the example of The Recycling Partnership’s Feet on the Street cart tagging campaign.

“When we run Feet on the Street, we see behavior change,” she said. “We see increases in [recycling program] participation, reduction in contamination and more materials moving through.”

Another way to boost aluminum can recycling rates is to involve policy, she said.

“We have 9,000 local governments in this country running different recycling programs, and the U.S. does not have active policy to advance a uniform recycling system,” Harrison reported.

From 2015 to 2021, The Recycling Partnership was able to help distribute 1 million recycling carts to residents across the U.S. to boost recycling rates. However, Harrison said, about 38 million U.S. households still lack access to recycling. She said U.S. policy could help improve municipal recycling by providing better access and infrastructure investment to recycling; better education efforts; and better sorting technologies at material recovery facilities (MRFs).

“Without policy, it’s a long road” to ensure everyone in the U.S. has access to recycling, Harrison concluded. “But with policy, we see a positive shift to work toward.”  

Panelists at "Fastmarkets AMM" session foresee demand for ferrous scrap remaining buoyant in the near term.

The high per-ton prices that have characterized the ferrous scrap market in the first trimester of 2021 may be here for a while longer, panelists at an online industry session speculated in mid-April.

The 70 percent market share for scrap-fed electric arc furnace (EAF) technology in the United States is a key reason for the prediction, according to the panelists at the session held by Fastmarkets AMM titled “Steel market dynamics and raw material demand in the United States.”

Alan Kestenbaum, CEO of Hamilton, Ontario-based steelmaker Stelco, said demand for steel from North American producers is strong during the rebound from COVID-19 and its restrictions.

He said the fact that EAFs now have 70 percent of the market means they increasingly dictate steel prices in North America, and high scrap prices thus likewise lead to higher steel pricing. “The [strained supply] raw material situation, which is what drives price in North America, is real,” said Kestenbaum. “It’s something that can be seen, it’s happening and it’s going to get more acute.”

Kestenbaum pointed to the export market and potential increased buying from China as another factor that could prolong the bull market for scrap, as did two of his fellow panelists, one of them from the scrap processing sector.

“Now that China has come back into the market again, you’re seeing demand outweigh supply,” said Sean Daoud, a vice president with Clackamas, Oregon-based PNW Metal Recycling. “I think, as their regulations develop, they are going to come into this market and buy a lot of ferrous scrap to feed their EAFs.”

Jeffrey Lorch, a partner with consultancy McKinsey, said European mill buyers may also develop a wider global presence, as the European Union and national governments there enact decarbonization policies that will favor the melting of scrap over other iron units.

On the supply side, CEO Allan Goldstein of Pittsburgh-based scrap processing and trading firm AMG Resources said of prompt scrap—currently enjoying a wide price premium over obsolete scrap—“No matter what price you put on that scrap, you’re not putting more of it out—only so much is produced.”

He said the supply of obsolete grades has risen with the increase in prices, but some of this scrap is not favored by domestic steel buyers. “People forget that the U.S. does export around 18 million tons per year of ferrous scrap. A lot of that can’t be used by domestic steelmakers.” Goldstein added, “Then again, there is shred and P&S [plate and structural] being exported, so there is a little bit of a reservoir there” that could go to domestic mills.

Daoud characterized the current state of supply on the West Coast as tight, saying lockdown restrictions in all three Pacific Coast states during COVID had pinched supply. As of April, “More demolition work is going on now, so that scrap supply is going back up.”

Lorch of McKinsey expressed long-term bullishness for scrap, portraying the low-carbon aspects of the material as meaning “scrap is going to move from 30 to 50 percent of total metal units in the market by 2045. As a result of that, never bet against scrap.”

Despite all the signs of bullishness, Goldstein quipped, “I’ve been in the business over 40 years. Every time the scrap market goes high, it’s a paradigm shift. And then three years later, I can’t sell my scrap.” He added, “I think the market will come down eventually. I wish it wouldn’t, but it will. I’m selling my scrap, not holding it. So, the next conference [topic might be] ‘When will the market perk up?’” Shifting back to optimism, he concluded, “It is always a gradual shift for the better, and I think it will continue.”

Session moderator Vince Pappalardo of investment banking firm Brown Gibbons Lang & Co. LLC also asked panelists about the emphasis on ferrous scrap quality and chemistry in 2021. Goldstein commented, “At AMG we guarantee chemistries. On our shredders we use smaller grates so we can separate better. We use a lot of technology, and that will continue so you’ll see higher grades coming about and you’ll see steel mills being able to blend in the lower grades to produce their heats. It’s a huge capital expense, [and] by the time we put a new piece of equipment in, it’s almost obsolete. But that’s how mills can use more scrap—when they can be guaranteed of the chemistries. When you can guarantee the chemistries, you’ll always have better sales.”

Daoud said, “Quality standards are almost par at this point all over the world,” with processors increasingly working with equipment vendors to use “sensors in your ferrous sorting equipment to take the copper and impurities out of your steel shred.”