By CRU Analyst Chris Bandmann CRU is launching weekly Turkish HR coil export prices, enhancing the existing suite of weekly Turkish long product and scrap prices. This Insight being offered for these other markets has now been brought to flats – and offers a window into the world of Turkish hot rolled coil exports. Turkey […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum reported net sales of $2.8 billion for the second quarter of 2019, a decrease of 2.5 percent from the first quarter. Net income totaled $183.1 million, down from $190.1 million in the prior quarter, while shipments totaled 1.5 million tons, up slightly (0.4 percent) from Q1. “We had a solid second […]
The wait is over—Steel Dynamics has announced it will build its new $1.9 billion flat rolled steel mill in Sinton, Texas, 30 miles northwest of Corpus Christi. The new steel mill will serve the four-state Texas area, the western U.S. and Mexico market regions, representing approximately 27 million tons of relevant flat rolled steel consumption—7 […]
Steel Dynamics is expecting modest growth for steel consumption in the second half of 2019 supported by the end of steel inventory destocking and further reduction of steel imports. “The team delivered a solid second-quarter performance in a challenging steel pricing environment,” said SDI President and CEO Mark Millett. “A weakening scrap price environment coupled […]
By CRU Analyst Jordan Permain Ironmakers are continuously seeking ways to increase production efficiency and reduce costs but, particularly when profitability is good, productivity is a focus area. To achieve this, ironmakers can increase their usage of metallics in the blast furnace (BF), and benefits include not only increased productivity but also a lower coke […]
SSAB Americas saw a drop in sales from first to second quarter due to lower volumes and prices. Sales of SEK 4.5 billion ($485 million) were down 6 percent from Q1 but were 13 percent higher than a year ago. The company reported good demand in several segments but cautious buying and destocking at service […]
EVRAZ NA announced the resignation of president and chief executive officer Conrad Winkler and the appointment of James “Skip” Herald as the new CEO. The change in leadership will be effective Aug. 5, 2019. Winkler, CEO since July 2013, is leaving to pursue other opportunities, said a press release from the company. Winkler led the […]
Nucor reported a decline in earnings for the second quarter of 2019 due to lower shipments and pricing. A build-up of inventory before the Section 232 tariffs resulted in aggressive destocking at the end of 2018 and into 2019, which impacted order rates, along with an increase in domestic steel supply and a declining scrap […]
Perhaps taking a page from automakers’ playbook, ArcelorMittal USA reportedly sent a letter to its suppliers last week stating that it planned to implement a 10 percent price reduction on all existing purchase agreements, effective July 31. S&P Global Platts reported that ArcelorMittal is calling on suppliers to help it cut costs as it works […]
AK Steel union members at Butler Works in Pennsylvania ratified a new three-year labor agreement last week. The agreement covers about 1,200 members of the United Auto Workers Local 3303 and will be in effect until June 15, 2022. “We are pleased to have reached a labor agreement at Butler Works for our employees,” said […]
NLMK USA’s second-quarter sales dropped 3 percent from the previous quarter to 580,000 metric tons due to lower shipments in anticipation of further deterioration of steel prices. Flat steel prices in the U.S. went down by 6-11 percent from first to second quarter and 23-30 percent on a year-over-year basis. Pricing was impacted by steel […]
NLMK USA is blaming Trump’s tariffs for layoffs at its Pennsylvania steel mill. Last week, 80 to 100 workers were laid off at the hot mill at NLMK’s Farrell steel plant. NLMK USA CEO and President Robert Miller called the tariffs a “failed policy.” “This is what I predicted a year ago,’’ Miller told the […]
Mill Steel Co., the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based distributor of flat-rolled carbon steel, has rebranded of its steel framing company, Steel Structural Products, to Mill Steel Framing. The rebranding of the steel framing and accessory operations under the parent trademark is well-timed, the company said, as this year marks Mill Steel’s 60th anniversary. Mill Steel Framing […]
Liberty Steel is continuing its rapid expansion with completion of the €740 million ($833 million) acquisition of ArcelorMittal’s European assets. The company, owned by Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliances, has been on a worldwide buying spree, including a June purchase of former Bethlehem Steel property Johnston Wire Technologies. The ArcelorMittal assets include ArcelorMittal Ostrava (Czech Republic), […]
Canada’s Samuel, Son & Co., Limited, has named Colin Osborne to replace the retiring Bill Chisholm as the company’s president and chief executive officer, effective Aug. 1. Osborne has been transitioning to the leadership role since late 2018 as Samuel’s president and chief operating officer. Chisholm has served as CEO since 2013. “On behalf of […]
The steel price increases announced by the major mills have not had much effect on the HVAC sector yet, but members of the Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) are hopeful the market has bottomed and the value of their inventories has stabilized. “There hasn’t been much change in behavior on the street […]
Commercial Metals Company announced the retirement of Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mary A. Lindsey, effective Aug. 31. Lindsey joined the company in 2009 as Vice President-Tax, transitioning to Vice President-Tax and Investor Relations in 2015 and Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in January 2016. She was promoted to Senior Vice President […]
Bellville Tube Company has a new and, as yet, undisclosed owner. The manufacturer of steel tubulars for the commercial construction, industrial, and oil and gas industries will be reopened by a U.S.-based private investment group during the third quarter of 2019. The facility is expected to expand to full annual capacity of 130,000 tons and […]
Canada’s Stelco, Hamilton, Ontario, has begun shipping fully processed, annealed cold-rolled sheet after investing more than $30 million in a new batch annealing facility. With completion of this project, Stelco will now be able to offer these high-quality products to the automotive, appliance, service center and pre-painted steel markets. These products have historically commanded higher […]
Worthington Industries, Inc., reported net earnings of $153.5 million for its 2019 fiscal year ended May 31, down 21 percent from earnings of $194.8 million in the prior year. Earnings were hurt by inventory holding losses from declining steel prices, among other factors. Sales for the year totaled $3.76 billion, up from $3.58 billion last […]
Have steel prices finally hit bottom? Nucor is counting on it. The industry-leading steelmaker announced a $40 per ton price increase on it’s flat rolled products earlier today. Other mills are expected to follow suit. Effectively immediately, the Nucor Sheet Mill Group increased base prices on new orders of hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized […]
SteelSummit Holdings, a national metals service center and trading company, has acquired Magic Steel Sales. Magic Steel Sales is a supplier of cold rolled, hot rolled, and coated slit steel products to customers in the eastern United States. The company operates service centers in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Decatur, Ala., and posts sales of approximately […]
ArcelorMittal is taking the lead on a new steel industry certification standard called ResponsibleSteel, which will set a single, global standard for the “mine to metal” steel value chain. The standard will enable steel producers to prove their production processes and products meet rigorously defined standards across a broad range of social, environmental and ethical […]
Expansion at Commercial Metals Corp. is paying off with a 33 percent increase in revenue to $1.6 billion in the third quarter of FY 2019. In November, CMC acquired Gerdau’s four rebar mills and 33 fabrication facilities in the U.S., increasing its U.S. mill capacity by 75 percent. Net earnings for CMC totaled $78.6 million. […]
Australian steel producer BlueScope lowered its earnings estimate for FY 2019 based on margins and market conditions. BlueScope now expects an increase in underlying EBIT of 6 percent for the year, down from previous guidance of 10 percent. EBIT for FY 2019 is expected to be around $1.35 billion and $500 million for the second […]
A small fire at Clairton Coke Works on Monday caused no environmental damage in the Mon Valley area, confirmed U.S. Steel and the Allegheny County Health Department. U.S. Steel said that the fire was the result of an electric arc flash on a breaker panel that provides power to Control Room #1 equipment. The fire […]
U.S. Steel Corp. announced today that it will idle two blast furnaces in the United States and one in Europe to align with current market conditions. The B2 furnace at Great Lakes Works was idled last week for planned maintenance. U.S. Steel plans to keep the furnace idled following repairs, as well as temporarily idling […]
Two of the biggest steel companies in the U.S. are expecting earnings to decline in the second quarter. Nucor and Steel Dynamics both cite lower shipments and inventory destocking as contributing factors. In guidance released on Monday, Nucor forecast earnings in the range of $1.20 to $1.25 per diluted share compared to $1.63 per share […]
U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works suffered its second fire in six months when a small blaze broke out in electrical equipment early Monday morning, disrupting environmental controls. U.S. Steel released the following statement: “Early this morning, Monday, June 17, a small electrical fire was detected on an electrical breaker panel impacting power to the by-products […]
The CEO of ArcelorMittal says Europe has a “steel glut” because of U.S. tariffs and the EU needs to do more to limit imports. ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal told a German newspaper yesterday that safeguards initiated by the EU are not successfully protecting the European steel industry. “The EU has announced safeguard measures, […]