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 […]
How can domestic mills expect to increase prices when their lead times are so short and foreign steel is still so plentiful? In the monthly steel conference call hosted today by the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International, HARDI members commented on the contradictions in mill behavior that have left them confused and concerned about […]
BlueScope Steel, the parent of North Star BlueScope, will have a change in command. Mark Vassella has been appointed the new managing director and chief executive officer following retirement by outgoing CEO Paul O’Malley effective Dec. 31, 2017. O’Malley has been at the helm of BlueScope Steel the past 10 years of his 12-year tenure. […]
Service center shipments took the normal dip in July, but the decline was slightly more than the historical average. Months on hand at the end of July were up sharply, partly because of a decline in shipping days, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Metals Service Center Institute data. Daily shipments in July […]
Lenders pursuing the purchase of Canadian steel mill Algoma have reached an agreement with the City of Sault Ste. Marie regarding payment of Algoma’s back taxes. We have settled the tax issue,” Mayor Christian Provenzano told The Sault Star. “We are satisfied that we recovered enough moneys in our negotiations to ensure that we were […]
Based on the Metals Service Center Institute’s (MSCI) July metals activity report, carbon flat rolled inventories rose in July while the daily shipment rate dropped resulting in an increase in the number of months’ supply being held at flat rolled steel service centers. Total Steel Shipments Total shipments of all steel products equaled 2,960,700 net […]
Sherwin Williams, a major supplier of paint and coatings to coil coaters and other industries, announced a price hike on Monday, citing the need to recoup the escalating costs of raw materials. The company notified its customers to expect a 5 percent increase on all shipments of PVDF and FEVE topcoats, a 7 percent increase […]
Steel shipments by Canadian service centers in July totaled 346,500 net tons, down 11.7 percent from the previous month, but up 8.7 percent from July 2016, reports the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI). On a daily basis, total shipments were 17,300 tons per day in July (a 20-day month), down from 17,800 tons per day […]
Thyssenkrupp CEO Heinrich Hiesinger told analysts this week that the Tata merger would be an important milestone for the company, but other options are available if it doesn’t occur. The German CEO hopes to concentrate on Thyssenkrupp’s diversified industrial portfolio by folding its steel business into a joint venture with India’s Tata Steel. Hiesinger said […]
Algoma is looking for 63 good people. With retirement looming for 25 percent of its workforce in the next three years, Algoma is looking to attract new employees for production positions that include general labor, production operations and production shipment. “We have 700 employees eligible to retire today. As these people transition into retirement, there […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) has been expanding our analysis of flat rolled steel service center inventories in an effort to provide a second opinion on this key subject for both buyers and sellers. We continue to review inventory levels through the use of our flat rolled steel market trends questionnaire that we distribute twice per […]
In their pursuit of free and fair trade, U.S. steelmakers are often called protectionist—a label they increasingly resent. Steel industry trade groups, including the American Iron and Steel Institute and the Steel Manufacturers Association, have urged the Trump administration to take a harder stance on steel imports. Trade action, including new tariffs or quotas under […]
Ryerson Holding Corp. turned in a strong performance in Q2 despite conflicting business and industry conditions, said President and CEO Eddie Lehner. Margins took a hit as steel import levels rose and nickel and carbon hot rolled prices moved lower. “Ryerson saw some mix-shift impact to margins,” said Lehner, “as sheet and stainless related demand […]
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 […]
China cut crude steel capacity by 42.39 million metric tons in the first half of 2017–about 84 percent of its 50 million metric ton goal for the year–but steel production rose 4.6 percent to 419.75 million tons during the same period. Shutdowns to capacity do not include the removal of 100 million tons of illegal […]
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 […]
Last week, the MSCI reported carbon flat rolled inventories as being 1.9 months of supply as of the end of June 2017. Steel Market Update (SMU) conducted a detailed analysis of steel service center inventories last week via our survey and our results had flat rolled inventories as averaging 2.3 months. The data provided in […]
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 […]