U.S. job growth saw an unexpectedly rapid expansion in January, outperforming expectations and nearly tripling early estimates. January payrolls rose by 467,000, well above the 150,000 anticipated by economists and a strong start to 2022 despite a new COVID-19 variant. Strong hiring aside, the unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.0%, a 0.1 percentage point increase despite rising labor […]
NLMK USA posted the best results on record in its fourth-quarter earnings, driven by historically high steel prices despite normalizing demand. The U.S. subsidiary of NLMK Group – Russia’s largest steelmaker – reported earnings of $373 million in Q4, up 5% sequentially and more than tripling the results seen during fourth-quarter 2020. Though U.S. sales […]
Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) swung to a net loss of $29.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 after posting a profit of $48.7 million in the prior quarter. The result was nonethless an improvement compared to the net loss of $1.121 billion posted by the Pittsburgh-based specialty materials producer in the fourth quarter of […]
U.S. construction spending edged up in December, though monthly outlays were down in nearly a dozen nonresidential subcategories. Construction spending rose 0.2% above the upward revised November figure and 9.0% above the same year-ago period, the Commerce Department reported. The Census Bureau’s report on construction shows spending on private construction projects rose 0.7% in December. […]
While the United States and the European Union have been working to resolve their dispute over punitive tariffs on steel and aluminum and re-establish historical transatlantic trade flows, their focus has shifted away from Section 232 duties and towards a carbon-based sectoral arrangement. The plan: to negotiate a global agreement to address carbon intensity and steel […]
Algoma Steel Group Inc. has awarded GE Gas Power (GE) the contract to upgrade its natural gas combined cycle power plant to support the power requirements of the steelmaker’s new electric arc furnace (EAF). The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based steelmaker said the upgrade, which includes the installation of two gas turbine packages, is expected to […]
U.S. Steel has named Daniel R. Brown as Senior Vice President of Advanced Technology Steelmaking and Chief Operating Officer of its Big River Steel Works. Brown, who held the position of vice president at BRS, will not only lead the flat rolled steel production presently in place at BRS, but also the new minimill in Osceola, Ark., […]
Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,796,000 net tons in the week ending Jan. 29, slipping for the second straight week, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. Domestic output was down 1.6% versus the prior week, but was still 3.5% higher than the same year-ago period when production was 1,736,000 net tons. Mill […]
Nucor Corp. today announced plans to invest $290 million to upgrade its Crawfordsville, Ind., steel sheet mill. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker will expand the mill’s product capabilities by adding a 300,000 tons per year (tpy) construction-grade continuous galvanizing line and a 250,000 tpy prepaint line, the company said. The project, which company executives alluded to during […]
When it comes to international trade policy regarding steel tariffs, it’s not one-size-fits-all, Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) President Philip Bell said. As the U.S. government seeks to sunset the 25% steel tariff levied on imports in 2018 by the Trump administration through Section 232, deals should be individualized and specific to each nation’s steel industry, Bell […]
The next three months look favorable for metalforming companies, according to the January 2022 Precision Metalforming Business Conditions Report. Only 7% of companies predict a decrease in economic activity during the period, down from 16% in December. The report shows that 37% of metalforming companies anticipate an increase in activity, up from 27% in the […]
Durable goods orders took a slight tumble in December, slipping for the first time in three months and suggesting a pause in capital investment as the fourth quarter ended. The decline in December – down 0.9% versus the prior month – reflected a drop in orders for commercial aircraft (transportation) and communications equipment, compounded by […]
Swedish steelmaker SSAB saw its best full-year earnings in company history in 2021 with all divisions posting record results thanks to high steel prices, the company said. SSAB Americas’ revenue was $6.153 billion Swedish krona ($650 million USD) in the fourth quarter of 2021, up 78% compared to the same year-ago quarter thanks to higher steel […]
U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at a much better than expected pace to close out 2021. At an annual 6.9% rate in the fourth quarter, growth was driven by sizeable boosts in inventories and consumer spending, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) advanced estimate. Despite signs that the acceleration may have tailed […]
Global steel production expanded last year as steelmakers around the world produced an estimated 1.905 billion metric tons, according to 2021 data from the World Steel Association (worldsteel). The total was 3.9% or 71.4 million tons above 2020’s COVID-stricken year. Last year’s total also outperformed the pre-pandemic sum from 2019 by 3.5% or 63.6 million […]
World crude steel production grew in December, expanding for only the second time in seven months. Steelmakers around the world produced an estimated 158.7 million metric tons of crude steel in December, surging 10.7% or 15.4 million tons from the prior month, according to World Steel Association (worldsteel) data. Steel production had been trending down […]
Industry veteran Chris Shipp has joined Reibus, the online metals marketplace, as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships. Shipp most recently served as Vice President of Supply Chain at Priefert Manufacturing in Mt. Pleasant, Texas. “As an incredible industry leader, it is fantastic that Chris is coming to Reibus to help us continue to build our strategic […]
Flack Global Metals (FGM) has hired industry veteran Keith Shuttlesworth as the new Executive Vice President of Flack Metal Bank (FMB). With over two decades of commercial and procurement experience, Shuttlesworth will spearhead FMB’s efforts to increase market awareness of its financial tools, which help customers implement risk management and hedging strategies to complement their […]
Construction employment in December remained below pre-pandemic levels in more than half of U.S. states as firms struggle to find enough workers to hire, reports the Associated General Contractors of America in its latest analysis of government data. AGC hopes that this week’s decision by the Biden administration to withdraw its emergency vaccine mandate will ease […]
Domestic raw steel production totaled 1,803,000 net tons in the week ending Jan. 22, down 1.6% versus the prior week and slipping for the first time in three weeks, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. Despite the decrease, last week’s output marked a 3.9% gain over the same period last year when production was […]
JSW Steel (USA) Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Indian steelmaker JSW Steel Ltd., reported pretax earnings of more than $55 million in its third quarter of fiscal 2022 ended Dec. 31, 2021, outperforming year-ago results. JSW Steel’s EAF sheet mill in Mingo Junction, Ohio, reported third-quarter earnings of $42.12 million on sales of 92,557 net tons of hot […]
U.S. consumer confidence fell in January, the first decline in four months, reported The Conference Board. The headline index lost momentum at the onset of 2022 after staging a small recovery during the fourth quarter, rebounding from a summer lull. Sentiment towards current business and labor market conditions was slightly improved in January even though […]
U.S. auto sales fell further in December to 1.2 million units, down 26.4% versus the same year-ago period, according to LMC Automotive. The results caused the selling rate to decelerate to 12.4 million units annually, compared to 12.9 million units the month prior. Low inventories continued to plague the market and were the chief cause […]
Though supply-chain bottlenecks, semiconductor scarcity and labor issues have improved for North American automakers, experts anticipate pockets of disruption lingering for much of H1 2022. Stellantis – Chrysler’s European parent company – said the automaker’s assembly plants in Belvidere, Ill., and Toluca, Mexico, are back up and running after recent downtime. Yet, its assemblies in Brampton […]
U.S. metals distributor and service center Olympic Steel Inc. promoted David Gea as president of its Carbon Flat Rolled Division. Gea joined Olympic Steel in 2002 and has progressed through roles of increasing commercial and leadership responsibility, the company said, including most recently serving as regional VP for Olympic’s carbon flat rolled business in the […]
Existing-home sales contracted in December, snapping a streak of three consecutive months of gain, reported the National Association of Realtors. Although sales fell in all four U.S. regions last month on both a month-over-month and a year-over-year basis, overall sales for 2021 were up 8.5% versus the prior year. December sales fell 4.6% from November […]
Demand for design services from architecture firms in the U.S. improved for the 11th straight month in December, according to the latest report from the American Institute of Architects. AIA’s Architecture Billings Index rose from 51.0 in November to 52.0 in December. The ABI expanded each month in 2021 except for January. The index for […]
Raw steel production by domestic mills improved for the second straight week, totaling 1,833,000 net tons in the week ending Jan. 15. The increase marked a 5.6% gain over the same period last year and up 1.1% from the prior week when production was 1,813,000 tons, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. Mill capacity […]
Builder confidence slipped in January, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Growing inflation concerns and ongoing supply-chain disruptions snapped a four-month rise in home builder sentiment even as consumer demand remains robust. January’s HMI reading moved one point lower to a reading of 83. “Higher material costs and […]
Business activity in the state of New York abruptly declined in January, as the headline index fell by nearly 33 points, according to the Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The headline general business conditions index is now at -0.7 compared to 31.9 the month prior. The downward move suggests that growth in manufacturing stalled in New […]