Prices contractors pay for construction materials jumped more than 20% in January versus the same period a year ago, reports the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) in its latest analysis of government data. The results have led AGC to urge federal officials to take additional steps to ease the industry’s challenges associated with volatile materials […]
Production at North American auto plants has begun to return to normal now that truckers protesting vaccine mandates have been removed from the Ambassador Bridge over the U.S-Canada border – a major supply route for the North American auto industry. Following a week-long blockade, traffic flow over the bridge Sunday night was a welcome sight for […]
For a fourth straight week, U.S. raw steel production has declined. Domestic mills produced a total of 1,758,000 net tons in the week ending Feb. 12, while mill capacity utilization last week averaged 79.8%, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. U.S. output was down 1.5% versus the prior week but 1.0% higher than the […]
Imports of less-expensive sheet and plate products continued to arrive on U.S. shores at the end of 2021, but at a slower pace. December marked the first decrease in overall flat product imports in eight months, according to Commerce Department data. Driven by the need for buyers to find relief from inflated steel prices in […]
Ford, Toyota and Honda continued to see production disruptions at various factories due to ongoing protests by anti-vaxxers blocking the Ambassador Bridge, the busiest international border crossing in North America. The auto industry has struggled to get parts over the U.S.-Canada border as the protest by truck drivers at the bridge had entered its fifth […]
Total mill shipments of steel products rebounded in December to 8.985 million tons, a 7.8% increase over November’s 8.334 million tons, and the highest monthly total for 2021. Apparent supply saw a 5.0% boost in December, rising for the second straight month following repeated decreases in September and October. This analysis is based on steel mill shipment […]
Mill Steel Co. now ranks among the most successful companies in the United States whose top executives are women. The Grand Rapids, Mich.based service center has been certified as an Exceptional Women’s Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. “We are always looking for ways to enhance our customer service and meet the needs […]
General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Honda and Stellantis have all been forced to temporarily halt production at assembly plants in the U.S. and Canada due to truckers that are blocking critical roadways in protest of COVID vaccine mandates. Detroit-based GM, the largest of the “Big Three” automakers in the U.S., was forced to cancel two production shifts […]
ArcelorMittal recorded earnings of $4.05 billion in fourth-quarter 2021, besting the same year-ago quarter by more than threefold, despite lower shipment volumes, due to sharply higher steel prices. For the year, global earnings for the Luxembourg-based miner and steelmaker reached $14.97 billion, up from a loss of $733 million in 2020 despite a 9.0% decrease in […]
North American auto assemblies expanded in January after falling to 2021’s second lowest monthly total in December. January’s production total was up 12.6% sequentially, but down 4.1% from the same month last year. Supply-chain and microchip limitations continue to impact the automotive sector despite broad production improvements across North American automakers. As a result, assembly […]
U.S. Steel Corp. has officially broken ground on the expansion of its Big River Steel electric-arc furnace (EAF) sheet mill in Osceola, Ark. The ceremony was attended by U.S. Steel President and CEO David Burritt as well as local and state officials. The project features an endless casting and rolling facility – the first of […]
Cleveland-Cliffs’ Ashland Works, once the lifeblood of four-generations of residents in the Kentucky community, is now a pile of rubble. The steel mill had operated for the better part of 100 years on the Ohio River. Its Amanda blast furnace was decomissioned in 2015. And the entire mill was permanently closed in 2019, shortly before Cleveland-Cliffs acquired […]
The Dodge Momentum Index fell in January by 7.0% and to a four-month low, according to data and analytics from the Dodge Construction Network. The index registered 152.9 last month versus a revised December reading of 163.7. In January, commercial planning fell 9.0% while institutional planning moved 1.0% lower. The index had a stellar 2021, […]
Raw steel production by domestic mills fell for the third consecutive week, totaling 1,785,000 net tons in the week ending Feb. 5, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). U.S. output was down 0.6% versus the prior week, but was 2.6% higher than the same period last year when production was 1,739,000 net […]
Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis N.V. – Chrysler’s European parent company – are temporarily halting or have recently halted production at some assembly plants because of the continuing global microchip shortage. Ford will idle production at its Chicago Assembly Plant and its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., from Feb. 3-13. The downtime will impact production […]
The U.S. labor market performed surprisingly well in January, adding 467,000 new jobs in the New Year, well ahead of the expected 150,000. The payroll boost was met by a marginally higher unemployment rate at 4.0%, up from 3.9% in December. The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that U.S. payrolls […]
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 […]