Steel tariffs are still likely from the Trump administration, said Nucor CEO and President John Ferriola. In an interview with Bloomberg, Ferriola said a White House official that regularly meets with the president told him that the topic is brought up by Trump several times a week. Ferriola said he was told that two or […]
In its comments on President Trump’s “Buy America” executive order, California Steel Industries (CSI) makes a convincing case for steel companies that process slabs not “melted and poured” in the United States. In April, President Trump instructed all federal agencies to assess their compliance with Buy America/Buy American policies (which have an important distinction, as […]
Olympic Steel announced three executive changes this week. James D. Post is promoted to the position of Regional Vice President and General Manager, Kevin L. Miller to the position of General Manager, Cleveland Division, and Zachary J. Siegal is promoted to the new position of Vice President of Strategic Development. The appointments take effect Oct. […]
Two new hot strip mills are in the works for the Mexican steel industry. Both ArcelorMittal and Ternium announced plans this week to make investments in their facilities to meet growing demand. The announcements coincide with decrees by Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto creating three special economic zones that offer tax breaks to companies investing […]
Steel Market Update has been working with steel buyers and the domestic steel mills in order to provide a better understanding of what outages/maintenance is scheduled above and beyond normal mill maintenance. Even though there are a number of outages scheduled, we are being told by both mills and their customers that the downtime has […]
ArcelorMittal USA will idle its rolling mill in Conshohocken, Pa., within the next year and consolidate its plate operations. Production from the mill will be transferred to the Coatesville and Burns Harbor facilities. The heat treat and inspection operation will continue at Conshohocken using steel rolled by the sister facilities. The decision to idle the […]
Union members at AK Steel Rockport Works have ratified a new four-year labor agreement. The agreement covers 319 hourly production employees of the United Auto Workers (UAW) and will be in effect until Sept. 30, 2021. Rockport Works produces a full range of cold rolled carbon, coated and stainless steels, with many of the products […]
Despite a run of disruptions during its first quarter, Worthington CEO and Chairman John McConnell is optimistic about the new fiscal year. “We believe that most of the markets we serve are healthy with some showing more strength than others,” said McConnell. “We are off to a good start in fiscal 2018.” Worthington Industries’ earnings […]
Canadian steel producer Stelco Holdings will go public with the sale of at least $150 million in shares. The company filed for an initial public offering on Wednesday with security regulators in Canada. Stelco, the former U.S. Steel Canada, was acquired out of bankruptcy by Bedrock Industries in June. The restructuring relieved Stelco of $3 […]
U.S. Steel and Kobe Steel announced plans to expand the galvanizing line at their joint venture PRO-TEC Coating Co. in Leipsic, Ohio. Construction will begin in the fourth quarter on a new continuous galvanizing line in response to demand for advanced high-strength steels. The $400 million CGL will have a yearly capacity of 500,000 tons […]
Rumors were flying on Tuesday morning that U.S. Steel Corp. has agreed to sell its Kosice operations in Slovakia to China’s Hesteel. The sale is expected to close in the coming weeks with Hesteel taking over operations at the beginning of the year, according to the Slovak Spectator. However, securing approval from anti-monopoly authorities in […]
A contractor at Nucor Steel in Decatur, Ala., died at the mill on Saturday afternoon after falling into a vat containing waste product from finished rolled steel. Nucor issued the following statement from Mike Lee, vice president and general manager of Nucor Steel Decatur: “Nucor Steel Decatur and Atlantic Recovery Services, Inc., a specialized industrial […]
A minor fire at the ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor plate mill caused a shutdown in operations on Friday. The fire began in the control room for one of the 160-inch shear lines. Firefighters responded to the incident from five area fire departments, said spokeswoman Mary Beth Holford. Paramedics evaluated two employees for smoke inhalation, but both […]
Steel Dynamics expects third-quarter financial results to be similar to the second quarter. Higher shipments during the quarter were somewhat offset by metal spread compression. Average quarterly pricing is expected to be consistent with the second quarter, but average scrap prices will be higher. SDI notes continued high import levels are impacting the ability of […]
Despite recent price increase announcements from major domestic mills and imports that are trending lower, wholesalers and distributors who sell galvanized steel products to the HVAC market don’t expect much change in lead times or pricing until there’s some resolution to the Section 232 and Vietnam circumvention trade actions pending in Washington. In the monthly […]
The Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) reported carbon flat rolled steel inventories as growing in August compared to the end-of-July 2017 data, but still below August 2016 levels. MSCI data shows the number of months of flat rolled supply at very low levels. This week, MSCI reported total steel shipments (all products) during August out […]
European steel producers are worried about tight supply conditions for carbon graphite electrodes used in electric arc furnace steelmaking, but it may not be as big a problem in the U.S. A global shortage of high quality needle coke has spiked prices and squeezed supply of electrodes in Europe in recent months, said Axel Eggert, […]
Steel shipments by Canadian service centers in August totaled 387,500 net tons, up 11.8 percent from the previous month, and up 6.2 percent from August 2016, reports the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI). On a daily basis, total shipments were 17,600 tons per day in August (a 22-day month), up from 17,300 tons per day […]
Editor’s note: Mario Briccetti of Briccetti & Associates, a supply chain consulting firm, offers the following commentary: I had the opportunity to interview the CEO of Big River Steel, David Stickler, at Steel Market Update’s Steel Summit Conference in August. Much of the conference was focused on trade issues, but Mr. Stickler’s remarks struck me […]
Nucor expects earnings to be lower in third quarter compared to second quarter. Although Nucor sheet mills are operating at high utilization rates, pricing is not keeping pace with raw material costs due to pressure from imports. Plate demand has been tepid in end-use markets following a restocking of inventory in the supply chain earlier […]
Long-term success requires strategic succession planning, said David Wolfort, president of Olympic Steel, who addressed members of the Association of Steel Distributors at their September regional meeting in Pittsburgh. Olympic Steel was founded with $17,000 in 1954 by brothers Sol Siegal and Sam Sigel (yes, the spellings are correct) as a family enterprise focused on […]
ArcelorMittal is on a mission to make sure that steel remains the material of choice for a modern world. The steelmaker invited state and local dignitaries, staff and members of the media to an open house on Wednesday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the ArcelorMittal Global Research and Development Center in East Chicago, Ind. […]
The Metals Service Center Institute is urging the Trump administration to take “swift, decisive action on the Section 232 steel investigation to bring certainty to the marketplace.” In a letter to President Trump last Thursday, MSCI President and CEO Robert Weidner, III, and Chairman R. Holman Head, stated that “problems posed by foreign government-sponsored capacity […]
Japan-based Metal One Corp. has agreed to acquire Cargill’s U.S. metals business. The two companies expect to close the sale later this year. The agreement includes Cargill’s U.S. metals supply chain business, which includes commercial activities based in Minneapolis and Houston, as well as eight processing facilities in seven U.S. cities: Windsor, Colo.; Panama City, […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., Los Angeles, reports that its operations in the Houston area suffered no material damage to facilities, equipment or inventories because of Hurricane Harvey. Many facilities were closed and unable to ship for most of last week due to the catastrophic flooding, but are now reopened and operational. Reliance operates 13 […]
Thyssenkrupp finalized the sale of Brazilian steel mill CSA Cia Siderúrgica do Atlántico to Ternium this week. The sale takes effect retroactively from Sept. 30, 2016. The $1.3 billion deal was hammered out in February. Completion of the transaction ends a long process for Thyssenkrupp to divest all of its Steel America assets. In 2014, […]
Kloeckner Metals Corp. announced the appointment of a new chief executive officer and chief operating officer on Thursday. Beginning Jan. 1, John Ganem will serve as CEO and Bart Clifford as COO. Ganem will succeed Bill Partalis who will retire at the end of this year. Partalis is a 34-year veteran at Kloeckner and served […]
Last Friday, NLMK USA advised customers of their intention of increasing their zinc coating extras by approximately 10 percent. The higher extras are due to a surge in zinc spot costs on the LME. Zinc spot prices reached $1.42 per pound as of the end of trading today (Thursday). We have put together a quick […]
The No. 7 blast furnace at Algoma Steel is currently undergoing maintenance in order to rebuild one of the four furnace stoves. The project was begun in July and is expected to take four months to complete. Steel production will be reduced by approximately 78,000 tons during the maintenance period. As a result, Algoma expects […]
More than a billion dollars of financing is headed to Big River Steel. The Osceola, Ark., steel company announced Thursday that it has closed on $1.225 billion of financing that will be used to refinance a substantial majority of its outstanding debt and for general corporate and working capital purposes. The financing includes $600 million […]