Olympic Steel celebrated a particularly strong second quarter. Net sales jumped 30 percent year-over-year to $356.2 million on higher shipping volume and selling prices. Net income grew 35 percent for the quarter to $4.8 million. Carbon flat product sales increased 37 percent to $237 million from Q2 2016 sales of $173 million. Shipments increased 13 […]
U.S. Steel anticipates no delays in customer shipments following an explosion at its Great Lakes Works hot strip mill Monday night, which sent five employees to the hospital. Three of the injured were released, while two were admitted for further treatment. One employee was treated and released at the plant’s on-site medical facility. The incident […]
USS-POSCO Industries (UPI) has promoted MD. Amin to Vice-President of UPI’s Commercial Group. Amin will lead the company’s sales and marketing activities. “MD. is an exceptional sales leader with a long track record of success, and he is respected by colleagues and customers alike,” said Michael Piekut, UPI’s President. “I cannot think of a better […]
U.S. Steel turned around a series of losses to achieve net earnings of $261 million in second-quarter 2017. The company is focused on revitalizing operations and said it will invest an estimated $1.3 billion in its flat rolled assets in 2017. By 2020, U.S. Steel expects the revitalization program to increase hot rolled band production […]
U.S. Steel announced the appointment of Kevin P. Bradley as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Bradley will lead all aspects of the company’s financial enterprise, including internal and external reporting, credit, tax and treasury services, investor relations, internal controls and internal audit administrative oversight. He will also assist in developing and implementing the […]
ArcelorMittal’s NAFTA segment posted sales of $4.6 billion, a 3.3 percent decline from first quarter. Operating income decreased to $378 million from $396 million and EBITDA fell 3.3 percent to $506 million. Although average steel prices were higher in second quarter, they were offset by lower shipment volumes and higher costs, including planned maintenance at […]
Kloeckner Metals Corp., Roswell, Ga., reported a solid second quarter due largely to more favorable steel pricing in the U.S. Asked about the status of the Section 232 investigation during the second-quarter earnings call, Kloeckner CEO Bill Partalis said it’s unclear if or when President Trump will act on possible new tariffs on steel imports. […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. is expecting flat up to a 3 percent increase in pricing in third quarter after experiencing pricing pressure in second quarter. Recent price increases in June and July have held, and Reliance expects demand to carry prices higher, whether or not Section 232 action is taken. “The absence of meaningful […]
AK Steel is looking for a broad application of Section 232 that will address the continued increase in unfairly traded imports. CEO Roger Newport said during the second-quarter earnings conference call that trade cases are not working the way they were designed and hopefully Section 232 will address loopholes and those who figure out how […]
After the market closed on Friday, July 21, 2017, AK Steel became the fourth eastern flat rolled steel mill to raise prices on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steels. In a very short statement, which can be found in the “news” section of the mill’s website, AK told customers, “AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) said […]
Graphite electrodes used in electric arc furnaces are short in supply, causing concerns for EAF and ladle metallurgy (LMF) steel mills. Electrode manufacturers have reduced capacity in the past several years by an estimated 200,000 metric tons annually, according to some sources. China electrode producers had priced other companies out of the market by offering […]
Steel Dynamics, Inc., is excited about the second half and is expecting growth in all sectors through 2018. CEO Mark Millett says the flat rolled arena remains very strong despite a slight turning of the automotive market. Infrastructure is continuing to grow, as evidenced by cranes and road work funded by states, if not federal […]
Nucor CEO John Ferriola said that in the current challenging environment, he is encouraged by second-quarter results, but not satisfied. Illegally traded imports continue to be a problem in the United States for Nucor and the domestic steel industry, Ferriola said during the company’s second-quarter conference call. He cited a 15 percent year-over-year increase in […]
The growth of service center shipments in June beat the average performance since 2009, according to data from the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI). Inventories tend to be lower at mid-year, which is the case in 2017. Daily shipments in June were 0.8 percent higher than in May. On average since 2009, June has decreased […]
Kloeckner Metals is investing $11.3 million to expand its Greenville, S.C., operations. The expansion will add 50,000 square feet to the facility to house a new high-speed slitting line capable of processing aluminum and advanced high-strength steel. The company plans to begin operating the new line by Sept. 1. “We wanted a slitting line that […]
Shipments of all steel products by U.S. distributors in June totaled 3,423,500 tons, up 1.1 percent from June 2016, reported the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI). The 155,600 tons per day shipment rate in June was 300 tons per day lower than in the month of May. Both May and June had 22 shipping days. […]
Like the rest of the steel market, wholesalers of galvanized steel and other products used in HVAC applications are stuck in an uncomfortable wait-and-see mode as the Section 232 drama plays out in Washington. In the monthly steel conference call hosted today by the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International, HARDI members reported anxiety over […]
Steel shipments by Canadian service centers in June totaled 392,600 net tons, down 5.4 percent from the previous month, but up 5.0 percent from June 2016, reports the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI). On a daily basis, total shipments were 17,800 tons per day in June (a 22-day month), down from 18,900 tons per day […]
The saga of Essar Steel Algoma is continuing with a new wrinkle in its attempt to emerge from insolvency protection. The company was granted an extension to its debtor-in-possession financing on Monday, pushing the maturity date to March 21, 2018. USW Local 2724, which represents the salaried employees at Algoma, now wants MAGA Steel Corp […]
Essar Steel Algoma, rebranded as Algoma, is requesting a fourth extension to its financing as it continues toward emergence from bankruptcy protection. The last Debtor In Possession extension was denied by the court due to concerns that the financing would not cover the winter material build-up and could provide too much transaction leverage for the […]
Stelco has been officially acquired by Bedrock Industries as of June 30. The former U.S. Steel Canada entered protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act in September 2014 and will now stand on its own as Stelco Inc. “This is an exciting day for Stelco and for all of those who have worked so hard […]
Once its new Ruhrstahl-Heraeus (RH) degasser is fully commissioned in the next 30-45 days, Big River Steel will have all its steelmaking equipment up and running. Except for “a few hiccups,” the startup of the new EAF mill in Osceola, Ark., has gone smoothly, said Mark Bula, chief commercial officer, “above plan, plan-plus.” Speaking at […]
Worthington Industries posted a strong fourth quarter, setting record annual earnings per share and quarterly net earnings of $56.5 million. Net sales increased 18 percent year-over-year to $845.3 million. Steel processing sales rose 25 percent to $582.2 million, driven by higher average selling prices. Automotive demand is beginning to soften, said President and COO Mark […]
Schnitzer Steel, a metals recycler and steel bar producer, reported its best third quarter since FY 2012. Total revenue increased 36 percent sequentially and 25 percent year-over-year to $477 million. Net income was up 50 percent from second quarter and 51 percent from Q3 2016 to $17 million. The improvement was primarily in the company’s […]
Commercial Metals Co., Irving, Texas, plans to exit its International Marketing and Distribution Segment. As an initial step, on June 12, its CMC Cometals International subsidiary signed a definitive agreement to sell its raw materials trading division, CMC Cometals, to Traxys North America L.L. and Traxys Europe S.A., affiliates of The Carlyle Group. CMC Cometals […]
Daily shipments by service centers in May decreased by 1.4 percent from April’s result. On average since 2009, May has increased by 1.3 percent, therefore these latest numbers were a little worse than normal for this time of year. Carbon steel shipments were 148,500 tons per day in May and months on hand on the […]
The Metals Service Center Institute, Rolling Meadows, Ill., has elected Holman Head chairman of the MSCI board, effective July 1. Head is president and chief operating officer of O’Neal Industries, Birmingham, Ala. He replaces Richard A. Robinson, president of Norfolk Iron & Metal Co., Norfolk, Neb., who has served as chairman for the last two […]
JSW Steel (USA) has received approval from its board for a full-scale modernization of its Baytown, Texas, steel plate mill. The project is expected to take 20 months to complete and will result in a fully modern discrete plate mill with significantly more product offerings. “While perfecting the unique plate and contiguous pipe mill facility […]
ArcelorMittal and Marcegaglia have purchased Italian steel milll Ilva in a $2 billion deal expected to close June 30. The mill’s assets will be leased by the consortium AM Investco Italy Srl for $200 million per year with payments applied to the purchase price. AM Investco will receive the steel facility free of long-term debt […]
Service center shipments of all steel products totaled 3,420,300 tons for the month of May, up 7.0 percent over year-ago levels, reports the Metals Service Center Institute. MSCI released May shipping, inventories and month’s-on-hand (MOH) data for the United States on Thursday, June 15. The daily shipment rate for May was 155,900 tons, which is […]