Contributor: Ethan Bernard

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices both declined this week, with Current Sentiment tumbling over 10 points, according to our most recent survey data.

Last week we wrote about a brief lull in price movement, labeling it a period of wait and see. It did, in fact, turn out to be pretty brief. This week... things are little bit different. Perhaps right now we are more in a period of "hope and pray" or "Here we go, hold on to your hats."

Hot rolled, cold rolled, and plate buyers said mills are more willing to talk price on spot orders this week, while the overall negotiation rate for products SMU surveys remained level, according to our most recent survey data.

Most steel products tracked by SMU saw lead times contract this week from two weeks earlier, according to SMU’s most recent survey data.

Klöckner & Co. logged a wider net loss in the first quarter on-year, but the Duisburg, Germany-based service center group expects higher shipments and sales in the upcoming three months.

United Steel Supply plans to invest up to $10 million to open a steel processing and painting facility at the Ports of Indiana-Jeffersonville near Louisville, Ky.

US raw steel output ticked up last week, according to the latest American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) data.

The EU has approved Tokyo-based Nippon Steel Corp.’s (NSC’s) proposed buy of U.S. Steel, a report in Reuters on Monday said.

United Auto Workers (UAW) members have ratified a work contract with Daimler Truck North America.

Olympic Steel logged lower earnings in the first quarter of 2024, but the company said all three of its segments contributed to profitability.

Everybody has a plan… until they’ve dealt with volatility in the HRC market. While Mike Tyson’s original quote was about getting punched in the mouth, it’s unlikely the ex-champ has gone many pricing rounds with hot-rolled coil.

US steel mill shipments dropped in March on-year but were up from February, according to the most recent figures from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

Northwest Pipe’s profits more than doubled in the first quarter on-year, as the company expects a strong remainder of the year in both its steel pressure pipe and precast segments.

Russel Metals’ earnings fell in the first quarter, but the Toronto-based metals distributor sees steel prices stabilizing in the near term and staying above historical averages.

SunCoke's earnings soared in the first quarter, with the company citing strong performances in its cokemaking and logistics segments.

Ryerson swung to a loss in the first quarter of 2024, but the company’s chief executive sees less volatility in the sheet steel market.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has certified the results of the election of Volkswagen workers to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) union in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Daimler Truck North America and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union have reached tentative bargaining agreements covering over 7,000 US workers at various locations in the South.

Solar tracker maker Nextracker and steel processor JM Steel announced the completion of an expansion of Nextracker-dedicated manufacturing lines at JM’s Leetsdale steel facility near Pittsburgh.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. would still be interested in acquiring some or all of U.S. Steel’s assets, if the proposed deal by Nippon Steel stumbles, according to an article in Bloomberg.

Hot-rolled coil and plate lead times contracted this week, with most other products remaining flat, according to SMU's most recent survey data. Cold-rolled products, however, saw lead times extend 0.1 weeks to an average of 7.5 weeks vs. two weeks earlier. Hot rolled and plate lead times both contracted 0.3 weeks from our last market check.

Reliance Inc.’s earnings slumped in the first quarter of 2024, but the company expects better than normal seasonal recovery in demand in the second quarter.

Sheet steel buyers said mills are more willing to talk price on spot orders, according to our most recent survey data.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) executives said the company's Sinton, Texas, sheet mill should be able to increase melt capacity after an outage earlier this month. Sinton should see "additional improvements in production" after taking "several maintenance days in April," Barry Schneider, SDI president and COO, said in a Q1 earnings conference call on Wednesday.

Steel Dynamics Inc.'s (SDI's) earnings fell in the first quarter of 2024 as the company cited steel order volatility early in the quarter and lower scrap prices.

Nucor executives explained their recently introduced hot-rolled (HR) coil consumer spot price (CSP) is a way to serve their customers and deal with market volatility.

Cleveland-Cliffs’ chief Lourenco Goncalves and US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm stressed the importance of the US steel industry and domestic manufacturing at Cliffs' Butler Works in Pennsylvania on Monday.

Nucor’s earnings slipped in the first quarter of this year, but the company said it launched key growth initiatives during this time period.

Zekelman Industries will invest up to $120 million to expand the manufacturing capabilities and product offerings of its Atlas Tube subsidiary in Mississippi County, Ark.

Nucor has appointed Nicole B. Theophilus to the newly created position of EVP of talent and human resources, effective April 29.