Cash for clunkers - minus the clunkers

By Paul R. La Monica, CNNMoney
2009-6-22 9:18:27

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Congress has finally passed the so-called "cash for clunkers" bill and President Obama is expected to soon sign it into law. So if you have an old gas guzzler you've been wanting to trade in, you could wind up getting a voucher for a new car.

But even if you already own a fuel-efficient car -- or even no vehicle at all -- you might be able to benefit. Some analysts think that steel companies and scrap recyclers could get a bump in demand and be worth buying.

The cash for clunkers bill could boost new auto sales by between 200,000 and 400,000 vehicles in the second half of the year, according to some estimates.

That's not a huge amount. But any bit could help the depressed steel industry, which counts the auto companies among its biggest customers.

U.S. Steel (X, Fortune 500) ("Michael, we're bigger than U.S. Steel!"), AK Steel Holding (AKS, Fortune 500) and Arcelor Mittal (MT), the Luxembourg-based company that is the world's largest steel producer, could all see a boost.

	Investment Basic Investment Overview Investment Approache Fundamentals Data Investment Stories www.fxj108.com	Cash for clunkers - minus the clunkers By Paul R. La Monica, CNNMoney 2009-6-22 9:18:27 NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Congress has finally passed the so-called "cash for clunkers" bill and President Obama is expected to soon sign it into law. So if you have an old gas guzzler you've been wanting to trade in, you could wind up getting a voucher for a new car. But even if you already own a fuel-efficient car -- or even no vehicle at all -- you might be able to benefit. Some analysts think that steel companies and scrap recyclers could get a bump in demand and be worth buying. The cash for clunkers bill could boost new auto sales by between 200,000 and 400,000 vehicles in the second half of the year, according to some estimates. That's not a huge amount. But any bit could help the depressed steel industry, which counts the auto companies among its biggest customers. U.S. Steel (X, Fortune 500) ("Michael, we're bigger than U.S. Steel!"), AK Steel Holding (AKS, Fortune 500) and Arcelor Mittal (MT), the Luxembourg-based company that is the world's largest steel producer, could all see a boost.