U.S. Steel, Nucor, Others Beat Antitrust Lawsuit Over Steel Slab

U.S. Steel Corp., Nucor Corp., AK Steel Corp., and Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. dodged federal antitrust litigation in Houston over their alleged scheme to cut off a rival’s access to steel slab, a critical component of finished steel products.

Judge Keith P. Ellison threw the case out Thursday, saying JSW Steel (USA) Inc. didn’t offer enough circumstantial evidence to make collusion—rather than parallel strategies by similar companies—the most likely explanation for the breakdown in its dealings with the other manufacturers.

“JSW fails to offer factual allegations that would reasonably substantiate an inference of conspiracy,” Ellison wrote for the U.S. ...