A better pricing environment for steel in North America in the third quarter of this year, as compared to the corresponding period a year ago, will boost the results of the company?s Flat-rolled Products segment, which accounted for two-thirds of the company?s revenues in 2013. Planned maintenance activity in the third quarter will affect production volumes and raise repair and maintence costs for the U.S. Steel Europe segment. Results for the Tubular Products segment will suffer in the third quarter, as competition from imported oil country tubular goods (OCTGs) has diminished realized prices and margins for this segment.
Source: Markets