| Term | Definition |
| AAR | The Association of American Railroads. This association acts in the capacity of general staff for the railroads as a whole and takes the initiative on all subjects relating to American Railroad progress and improvement of transportation service. Reference is usually made to the AAR as far as scrap is concerned, with regard to the Standard Specifications which the AAR has prescribed for various grades of iron and steel scrap.
|
| Abandonment | When a railroad decides that a portion of track is no longer useful, it decides to have the track torn up and removed. |
| Absorption | The charges of one carrier are being assumed by another without increase to the shipper. |
| AC Furnace | An EAF that has three electrodes and uses alternating current. |
| Accessorial Charges | Charges made for accessorial service. |
| Accessorial Service | Any charge other than the applicable freight charges advanced by one transportation line to another, or by the shipper, to be collected from the consignee or the company paying the freight bill. |
| Accumulation | The amount of material expected to be produced or generated by an industrial plant over a given period of time. Contracts are written on an "accumulation" basis usually for a calendar month but may cover other periods as well. |
| Actual Tare | The result of weighing a vehicle immediately before loading or immediately after unloading the specific material in the shipment with which we are concerned. |
| Advance | A payment for a portion of the anticipated value of a shipment forwarded to the shipper prior to our having ascertained mill weights and/or other details essential to a final settlement with him. |
| Advanced Charge | Any charge other than the applicable freight charges advanced by one transportation line to another, or by the shipper, to be collected from the consignee or the company paying the freight bill. |
| Agent | A railroad employee who undertakes the performance of functions in behalf of the railroad, in particular at the point of origin or at the destination, and usually having to do with either the instructions as to destination of a shipment or instructions as to issuance of freight bills. Instructions to railroad agents should always be confirmed in writing. |
| Agreed Weight | The weights agreed to by the shipper, consumer, and the carrier, in the event a car was not weighted by any of the above. This weight, in most cases, is obtained by the average weight of preceding cars to the same mill containing the same or like grade of scrap. |
| AISI | The American Iron & Steel Institute, a trade association comprising most of the steel mills in the United States, operating for the benefit of them all. Sometimes, chemical or physical specifications are stated which refer to an AISI number. |
| Alligator Shear | A type of equipment formerly in widespread use in scrap yards to cut steel into small pieces...consists of one immobile blade and one mobile blade. Alligator shears are now in use in some facilities but do not have the widespread use that they did some years ago. |
| Alloy Steel | An iron-based mixture is considered to be an alloy steel when manganese is greater than 1.65%, silicon over 0.5%, copper above 0.6%, or other minimum quantities of alloying elements such as chromium, nickel, molybdenum, or tungsten are present. An enormous variety of distinct properties can be created for the steel by substituting these elements in the recipe. |
| Alloying Element | Any metallic element added during the making of steel for the purpose if increasing corrosion resistance, hardness, or strength. The metals used most commonly as alloying elements include chromium, nickel, molybdenum, manganese, and titanium.
|
| Alloys | Typically iron-bearing materials added to the steel to produce certain physical properties. |
| Alumina | A slightly acidic refractory material usually used in ladles. (Al2O3)
|
| Arbitrage | Selling a commodities contract in one market and buying a contract for the same commodity in another market. For example, selling an LME contract and then buying a Comex contract, or vice versa. |
| Argon-Oxygen Decarburization (AOD) | What. A process for further refinement of stainless steel through reduction of carbon content.
Why. The amount of carbon in stainless steel must be lower than that in carbon steel or lower alloy steel (i.e., steel with alloying element content below 5%). While electric arc furnaces (EAF) are the conventional means of melting and refining stainless steel, AOD is an economical supplement, as operating time is shorter and temperatures are lower than in EAF steelmaking. Additionally, using AOD for refining stainless steel increases the availability of the EAF for melting purposes.
How. Molten, unrefined steel is transferred from the EAF into a separate vessel. A mixture of argon and oxygen is blown from the bottom of the vessel through the melted steel. Cleaning agents are added to the vessel along with these gases to eliminate impurities, while the oxygen combines with carbon in the unrefined steel to reduce the carbon level. The presence of argon enhances the affinity of carbon for oxygen and thus facilitates the removal of carbon. |
|
