National Steel Corporation
The National Steel Corporation (1929–2003) was a major American steel producer. It was founded on October 1, 1929 through a merger arranged by Weirton Steel with the new Great Lakes Steel Corporation, which was then in the process of construction of its Ecorse steel works, certain subsidiaries of M. A. Hanna Company, namely the blast furnaces in Buffalo, New York and on Zug Island, the company's iron mining division and its fleet of ore carriers; and the Michigan Steel Corp, predecessor to Great Lakes Steel, which joined the group in 1931 before the adjoining plant of the Great Lakes Steel Corp was commissioned.
National Steel was headquartered in Pittsburgh. Despite a difficult market in Depression-setting 1930, the company reported USD 8.4 million in profits. Again, in 1931 the company was profitable unlike many other competitors. The company could attribute its success primarily to sales to the automobile industry. Large steel producing operations were located near Detroit, providing the company with low shipping costs. Throughout the Great Depression, National Steel obtained profitability every year.