P.M. BRIEFING : USX, Kobe Steel Plan Joint Venture
<i> From Times wire services</i>
PITTSBURGH —
USX Corp. said today it plans to establish a joint venture with Kobe Steel Ltd. of Japan to operate the U.S. company’s specialty bar and tubular products plant at Lorain, Ohio.
Each partner will own 50% of the joint venture, which will buy the Lorain plant and become the new employer of the approximately 3,000 workers who operate the plant.
USX withheld the proposed purchase price in a printed statement.
The deal will be the first investment in the U.S. steel industry for Kobe, Japan’s leading producer of steel bar products. A Kobe official in Tokyo said the partnership will help the company adjust to steel product requirements of Japanese vehicle makers in the United States.
