Contributor: Ethan Bernard

Bula tapped as CEO of Finland's Blastr

U.S. Steel’s No. 8 blast furnace (BF8) at its Gary Works in northwest Indiana is undergoing a 45-day maintenance outage that started on April 4.

Domestic shipments of heating and cooling equipment soared in February, according to the latest data released from the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI).

Drilling activity decreased in the US but rose in Canada in the week ended April 12, according to the latest data from Baker Hughes.

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices both rose this week.

For something that wasn’t on the agenda in Washington this week, the proposed Nippon Steel deal for U.S. Steel is getting a lot of attention.

Steel buyers said mills are more willing to talk price on spot orders on all the products SMU covers, according to our most recent survey data.

President Biden said on Wednesday he would stand by his commitment to US workers regarding the proposed sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel.

The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap prices has widened this month after narrowing for three months, according to SMU’s most recent pricing data.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will be in Washington this week where one topic under discussion with President Biden will be U.S. Steel's proposed sale to Nippon Steel.

Steel Warehouse Co. has announced the rebranding of its Cold Mill division as “Specialty Strip,” a boutique cold mill.

Evraz North America said there was no impact on production from a fire that broke out at its Pueblo., Colo., steel mill on Friday.

Nucor said its new weekly hot-rolled coil spot price is not meant as a substitute for any current price indices.

They say all’s fair in love and war. But that doesn’t seem to be the case in steel. Being deemed “unfair” could get you slapped with shiny new Section 232 tariffs these days. Then again, “unfair” implies a judge. And people on opposing sides seldom agree with the judgment. Such seems to be the current case between the US and Mexico.

April scrap prices came in sideways in the US, sources told SMU.

The US Department of Energy has finalized Congressionally mandated energy-efficiency standards for transformers.

Reliance Inc. said it has completed its buy of Houston-based American Alloy Steel, effective as of April 1.

RHI Magnesita has announced its intention to acquire Pittsburgh-based refractory producer Resco Group for an enterprise value of up to $430 million.

AM/NS Calvert has announced Chris Richards as interim CEO during the company's transition period.

Midrex Technologies has named K.C. Woody as president and CEO, effective immediately.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has announced new roles for current executives James Anderson and Chad Bickford. SDI said James Anderson will take over responsibility and oversight for the company's long products group, effective May 1.

Cleveland-Cliffs’ Lourenco Goncalves said the company is still interested in acquiring U.S. Steel, though no bid is currently on the table, according to a local report.

Nucor has acquired Southwest Data Products (SWDP), a manufacturer and installer of data center infrastructure, for $115 million.

Bull Moose Tube (BMT) CEO Tom Modrowski passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on March 18. BMT said current CFO John Krupinski has been named interim CFO and CEO.

Algoma Steel said in guidance on Monday that an unplanned outage at its blast furnace in January will “significantly” impact its fiscal fourth-quarter results.

There’s that concept from Adam Smith we all learn about in our Econ 101 classes: The Invisible Hand. A simple Google search will provide a refresh, but if memory serves I would classify it as something akin to “the market is magic” or “the market’s gonna market.” Today, obviously, we live in a mixed environment. There are a lot of hands out there, and they’re not too difficult to see. In this election year of 2024, one of the most visible hands out there probably belongs to the federal government.

Worthington Steel’s profits jumped in its fiscal third quarter of 2024 vs. a year earlier, its first quarter as a standalone company.

CMC’s earnings slid in its fiscal second quarter vs. the same period last year as the company cited seasonal issues and challenging weather conditions in several key areas.

Varsteel, a Canadian steel and pipe service center, has announced the acquisition of Pacific Steel in Laval, Quebec.

The United Steelworkers (USW) union has endorsed President Joe Biden for a second term in office.