U.S. steel industry falls on soft times

U.S. steel mills have trimmed production but continue to slog through a quarter that many companies say will be the low point of the year and a dramatic drop from the third quarter of 2004, when the market hit what many now see as an artificial high.

Six weeks into the third quarter, steel makers are struggling to balance lower prices and still-sluggish demand with the soaring costs of scrap and natural gas.