Contributor: Ethan Bernard

Flack Global Metals (FGM) has closed on its majority ownership stake in Pacesetter Steel Service.

Wheatland Tube, a subsidiary of Zekelman Industries, is closing a tube facility in Chicago, with nearly 240 workers being laid off.

Nucor is closing its Nucor Tubular Products Chicago facility and will be laying off 47 workers.

Netherlands-based automaker Stellantis has lowered its guidance for 2024 due to woes in the North American market and weakening worldwide industry dynamics.

Washington loomed large in our surveys this week. Two things actually: the upcoming presidential election and the trade case against imported coated products from 10 nations.

The Global Steel Climate Council (GSCC) has taken a step forward in standardizing the decarbonization process with the publishing of its labeling for a certified science-based emissions target.

Worthington Steel’s earnings tumbled in its fiscal first quarter of 2025. The company cited a drop in selling prices and tons sold for the sales dip for the three months ended Aug. 31.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is launching a pilot project to measure the greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of certain energy-intensive industrial products, including steel.

A board of arbitration has ruled in favor of U.S Steel vs. the United Steelworkers (USW) union in a dispute regarding Nippon Steel’s more than $14-billion proposed deal for the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker.

U.S. Steel is the first steelmaker in the world qualified to sell its products as “ResponsibleSteel Certified Steel” at its Big River Steel operation in Osceola, Ark.

Former President Donald Trump has said he will place a 200% tariff on John Deere products imported into the US if the company makes good on previously announced plans to move some production to Mexico.

Whether it’s the twists and turns of the presidential election, the U.S. Steel deal, or just what’s happening with the movement of steel pricing, there has been no shortage of stories for us to cover.

The White House decision on blocking Nippon Steel’s play for Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel might be pushed back until after the upcoming presidential election, according to a report in the Washington Post.

The price spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap widened again in September, according to SMU’s most recent pricing data.

I think all of us know that sometimes courtships go wrong. A misplaced word or deed and soon things can go sideways, and not in the prices sense. Such could be the case with Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel’s play for U.S. Steel.

September scrap prices came in a soft sideways, with only mild hopes for a higher October, market sources said.  

Hybar said that contracting services firm Quanta Services has made a “strategic” investment in the company as it build its sustainable rebar mill in northeast Arkansas.

Automaker Stellantis said it will invest more than $406 million in three Michigan facilities.

Industrial recycler PADNOS announced its acquisition of three scrap operations in the Midwest.

U.S. Steel has rolled out “ZMAG,” a flat-rolled coated steel product intended to endure harsh weather conditions.

Raw steel output by US mills ticked up slightly last week, according to the latest data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

Nucor has raised its weekly consumer spot price (CSP) by $10 per short for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $720/st.

The phrase “political football” has been tossed around a lot lately. (Pun probably intended.) For the humble journalists at SMU who thought the week following Steel Summit would prove a quiet one… the news cycle had other ideas

The US Securities and Exchange Commission said it has settled charges with Esmark and company founder Esmark James P. Bouchard regarding a tender offer for U.S. Steel last year.

SMU Senior Analyst and Editor David Schollaert sat down with leading steel service center executives at the SMU Steel Summit 2024 in Atlanta to discuss the issues affecting the industry.

Trade is always front and center in an election year. And 2024 is no different. There is no shortage of issues, with questions like the sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel, potential cracks in the USMCA, and Chinese overcapacity dominating the headlines. But how do you distinguish between issues that might just last until November, and what are the crucial questions that could affect your business for years to come?

Domestic steel shipments remained nearly flat in July month over month but fell from a year earlier.

Much like the classic EF Hutton commercial, when Barry Zekelman talks, people listen. Add in an audience at Steel Summit 2024… and people’s ears seem to perk up even more.

https://www.brown.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/sherrod-brown-casey-fetterman-biden-administration-level-playing-field-american-octg-industry

Nippon Steel and other Japanese steelmakers are lobbying for the Japanese government to limit imports of Chinese steel, according to a report in Reuters.