Bethlehem Steel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on October 15, 2001, after years of financial losses and declining competitiveness.
Founded in 1857 as the Bethlehem Iron Company, Bethlehem Steel became one of America’s most important steelmakers. Its products were used in bridges, skyscrapers, ships, and other major infrastructure. The company helped build the Golden Gate Bridge and New York’s George Washington Bridge, among many other projects.
By the late twentieth century, Bethlehem faced aging facilities, strong foreign competition, high labor and retiree costs, and weak steel prices. It entered bankruptcy protection in 2001 and ceased its remaining steelmaking operations in 2003.
International Steel Group acquired Bethlehem’s assets in 2003. The company’s historic name remains strongly associated with American industrial history, but Bethlehem Steel is not the same entity as U.S. Steel, which was founded in 1901 and continues as a separate corporation.