Strike at Mack Trucks adds to steel headwinds

A new strike at heavy truck maker Mack Trucks could add to existing headwinds buffeting the US steel industry.

The United Automobile Workers (UAW) union went on strike yesterday at Volvo-owned Mack Trucks over wage issues, job security and other contract-related complaints. The strike involves 3,600 workers across six locations in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida.

US heavy truck demand was already falling off and that the strike will not help the market, one participant said.

Mack Trucks delivered 7,948 trucks in the second quarter, with 93pc of those sales in North America. Second quarter sales were up by 26pc from the 6,300 delivered in the same period prior year.

The company was surprised by the walkout, chief executive Martin Weissburg said.

The UAW is in the fifth week of a strike at General Motors (GM) in an action involving more than 46,000 workers in the US that has rippled across GM's production chains in North America. Some in the steel industry have seen the shutdown of GM's production impact their business, with a potential reduction of up to 8,600st/day of steel consumption.