KIEV, April 10 – Interpipe Pipe and Wheel Company (Dnipropetrovsk) has faced a shortage of scrap metal for the past four months, and the operation of the company will be under threat and workers could be laid off if ferrous scrap metal is not supplied, the company has told Interfax-Ukraine.

The company said that 12,000 people work at the company's enterprises.

"Scrap metal is a strategic raw material for Interpipe's companies. It is used to produce steel feed that is used to make finished products – steel pipes and wheels. A total of 1.2 tons of scrap metal is required to produce one ton of steel," the company said.