For example, he can sell reinforcing bars, used in construction, about 50 percent cheaper than the big steelmakers.

A big steelmaker belches too much smoke into the air?

By the end of this year Japan's biggest steelmakers will have closed 34 blast furnaces and trimmed their work force by 50,000 workers.

The current average wage rate at the big steelmaker is about $12.50 an hour.

Yes, but the firm, now called USX, is still America's biggest steelmaker.

The agency earlier this week gave the $2 billion pension liability back to the big steelmaker.

Although the biggest steelmakers are losing money in this recession, there has been a marked improvement in efficiency and quality.

Eventually, the big American steelmakers got serious about survival.

Since then, the big steelmakers have vastly improved quality and productivity, with the number of man-hours required to produce a ton of steel cut in half.

With losses among the big steelmakers expected to surpass $1 billion this year, some expect a return to a modest profitability next year.