Bethlehem Steel mergers and forging records

In the 1950s, Bethlehem Steel Corporation and the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Comapny sought to merge their two enterprises. However, in United States v. Bethlehem Steel Corporation, 168 F. Supp. 576 (S.D.N.Y. 1958), this proposed merger was blocked in a District Court in New York on the grounds that this waould violate section 7 of the Clayton Act, an antitrust measure. The plaintiff, the United States of America, argued that a merger between these steel behemoths would lessen competition within the iron and steel industry. At the time of the proposed merger, in 1957, Bethlehem Steel Co. had 15.4% of the iron and steel industry in the United States, second only to United States Steel Corporation. Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. was fifth in the nation, producing 4.7% of the industry capacity. By combining the two, it was feared, could eventually lead towards a monopoly in the industry.