| AK Steel Second Quarter Loss 2009 |
| Wednesday, May 6, 2009 9:22:17 AM - Middletown Ohio |
 By: Tara Kunkle
Problems with Chrysler and General Motors have trickled down to suppliers like AK Steel Corp. AK now projects an operating loss of $75 million to $80 million in the second quarter. With the results from the first quarter there was an estimated loss of $50 million for the quarter but the company had still improved over the company’s first-quarter operating loss which was $99.9 million.
In an interview with Jessica Heffner from the Middletown Journal AK Steel officials said the drop is a consequence of several factors. One being GM announcing plans to idle more than half of its North American plants for up to nine weeks. Additional factors include Chrysler filing a bankruptcy petition and announcing it will idle all of its plants pending completion of the proposed sale of its principal assets to a new company. Between GM and Chrysler they make up less than 10 percent of AK’s customer base. The automotive industry contributes around 30 percent of the portfolio.
Automakers’ issues will still effect the reduction of AK Steel’s direct shipments to the customers and others who supply GM and Chrysler. As a result the company is ready for the second quarter shipments that will likely be closer to 725,000 tons other than the 800,000 tons that was estimated in the initial guidance.
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