The ongoing chip shortage continues to impact Toyota Motor North America’s production rates, and now the company is facing additional issues from a potential energy crisis impacting the state of Texas. Extreme hot weather is driving record power demand, putting pressure on the state’s electric grid. Recall that in February 2021, snow, ice, and record-low […]
Steel plate supplier Leeco Steel has completed an expansion at its facility in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The expansion added 30,000 square feet to the existing 45,000 square feet of warehouse space, which was originally opened by Leeco in January 2020. “Leeco’s Canadian customer base is rapidly expanding, and we outgrew our existing warehouse space,” Leeco […]
Startup company Altex Tube LLC is setting up shop on the campus of Steel Dynamics Inc.’s flatrolled sheet mill in Columbus, Miss. Altex’s new, $100 million HSS and mechanical tube mill will manufacture black and pre-galvanized steel tubing ranging in size from 1–6 inches square and 1.25–7.625 inches round, up to 48 feet in length […]
Members of the USW Local 8782-03, responsible for Canadian steelmaker Stelco’s pickling operations at its Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke, Ont., have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike authorization, according to a USW update. The strike mandate vote revealed 98.6% of Local 8782-03 in support of their negotiating committee, which is currently in collective […]
With markets becoming more regional and localized, having a solid supply chain is critical in business today, and Majestic Steel’s latest acquisitions are helping the company create just that for its current and future customers. Majestic, a Cleveland-based prime flat-rolled steel service center and processor, has just completed the acquisition of two more companies to […]
US imports of corrosion-resistant steel products from five origins will continue to be subject to antidumping and countervailing duties for at least another five years. The US International Trade Commission concluded five-year sunset reviews of the duties on the imports from China, India, Italy, South Korea, and Taiwan, determining that allowing the duties to expire, […]
Combining its recent acquisitions in pallet rack manufacturing and manufacturing and integration services, Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker Nucor Corp. has launched its newest division, Nucor Warehouse Systems. In August 2021, Nucor purchased Hannibal Industries, a national provider of steel racking solutions headquartered in Los Angeles, for $370 million. In April of this year, Nucor added Elite […]
TA Services has opened a new location on the site of Nucor Steel Hertford in Cofield, N.C., providing immediate access to truckload capacity for plate products produced at the mill. The logistics provider broke ground on the mill site in January of this year. The Nucor Steel Hertford mill, with an annual capacity of 1.7 […]
Contract negotiations between Stelco and the United Steelworkers union are progressing slowly, and as a result, a third group of Stelco steelworkers has filed for conciliation and scheduled a strike mandate vote, a union official said. Members of the USW Local 8782-03, responsible for Stelco’s pickling operations, have now joined the USW Local 8782 and […]
ArcelorMittal Mexico has started up a new hot skin pass mill at its new hot rolling mill in Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán. The hot skin pass mill has come into operation seven months after the new $1 billion, 2.75-million-short-ton-per-year hot rolling mill produced its first coil. “We are very happy to reach today an important step […]
As it prepares to take over the two blast furnaces at US Steel’s Granite City Works in Illinois, SunCoke Energy is joining the contract negotiations in Pittsburgh that started this week between US Steel and the United Steelworkers union. It was announced last month that SunCoke and US Steel have signed a non-binding letter of […]
Evraz North America has completed fracture toughness testing of its high-frequency welded line pipe for use in hydrogen transmission. The tested line pipe was produced from steel melted at Evraz’s EAF steel mill in Regina, Sask., Canada, and the welded pipe was also completed at the Regina mill. The company expects to complete full qualification […]
This week’s SMU survey results show a big jump in the number of respondents reporting dwindling demand. When asked how they are seeing demand for their products, 40% of respondents said demand is declining. That was a jump from the 26% reporting falling demand in the prior two surveys and from only 5% early in […]
Luxembourg-based steel tube producer Tenaris SA is set to purchase Benteler Steel & Tube Manufacturing Corp. from Benteler North America Corp. in a deal valued at $460 million. Benteler Steel & Tube is a seamless pipe producer with production facility in Shreveport, La., that has annual capacity of 400,000 metric tons. The acquisition, which is subject […]
More respondents to SMU’s latest survey now think hot-rolled coil prices will bottom in the fourth quarter of this year, with a majority anticipating prices to fall into the range of $800-899 per ton ($40-44.95 per cwt) by early September. As of last week, SMU’s average HRC price was $995 per ton. Just a month […]
Nucor is keeping plate prices flat with the opening of its August 2022 order book. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said it would maintain plate prices, effective with new orders. All published adders and extras will be applied, the company said in a letter to customers dated June 30. In its previous letter to customers dated June 13, Nucor […]
Business is booming for global metals plant technology and equipment provider SMS group Inc. amid growing demand for decarbonization and recycling technologies. Order intake during 2021 for the Düsseldorf, Germany-based company was at its highest level in ten years at €3.5 billion. This year that number is expected to be comparable, with the company expecting […]
The word ‘risk’ often has a negative connotation and gets a bad rap. But there are two sides to risk – the dark side and the light side, the bad and the good, the downside and the upside. When it comes to price risk in the steel market, you can either just accept it or […]
An innovative and collaborative study to capture carbon emissions and inject them into concrete products for permanent storage will soon begin at US Steel’s Gary Works in northwest Indiana. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Prairie Research Institute will lead the study after receiving a research reward of almost $3.5 million from the US Department of […]
Chrisopher Kristock has been named vice president of the automotive program for the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). His focus will be on keeping steel’s position as the material of choice for the automotive industry. Kristock will also lead AISI’s Automotive Applications Council, which focuses on innovation, education, and technology transfer within the automotive […]
Despite falling prices and declining lead times for galvanized sheet, overall demand is still generally strong and a good reason for optimism, according to members of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International on this month’s call of HARDI’s Sheet Metal/Air Handling Council. One HARDI member in the Rocky Mountain region noted that his company […]
Austal USA has won another contract with the US Navy. This latest design and construction contract is valued at $128 million. Austal will build a medium auxiliary floating dry dock for the US Navy at its shipbuilding facility in Mobile, Ala. The dry dock will have an overall length of 694 feet, an overall pontoon […]
Evraz North America is idling production of large-diameter pipe at its Regina, Saskatchewan, mill due to market conditions, resulting in the layoff of hundreds of Canadian employees. “Although our overall business is strong, including demand for our other steel products, the large-diameter pipe market has been soft,” a company spokeswoman told SMU in an email on […]
US Steel Corp. expects its performance to be an all-time best for the second quarter, with all its business segments producing EBITDA similar to or better than the already strong first quarter. Second quarter EBITDA is anticipated to be approximately $1.6 billion, up from $1.337 billion in the first quarter. Adjusted net earnings per diluted […]
Strong demand is expected to continue benefiting Irving, Texas-based Commercial Metals Co. (CMC). The steelmaker posted strong results for its fiscal third quarter ended May 31, which president and CEO Barbara Smith attributed to strong operational execution and robust market conditions both in North America and Europe. The company’s fiscal Q3 net earnings of $312.4 […]
Despite inflation, rising interest rates, and faltering equities markets, the outlook is not all doom and gloom when it comes to the metals markets, says Rick Marabito, CEO of service center group Olympic Steel. In fact, the outlook for demand and consolidation is actually quite good, he told attendees of this week’s Steel Market Update […]
High steel prices continued to benefit Canadian flatrolled steelmaker Algoma Steel Group as it posted strong results for its fiscal 2022 fourth quarter and full year ended March 31. “Our strong results for the fiscal fourth quarter capped off an incredible year at Algoma, one that produced record revenues, profitability and cash flows. Relentless execution […]
Jessica T. Graziano will join US Steel Corp. as its new senior vice president and chief financial officer effective Aug. 8. Graziano comes to US Steel after spending eight years with United Rentals Inc., most recently serving as executive vice president and CFO. She also previously served as senior vice president, chief accounting officer, and […]
Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker Nucor is lowering prices on cut-to-length plate while keeping discrete plate prices mostly flat, effective with new orders received as of June 13. Cut-to-length plate prices are being lowered by $85-125/ton. Plates less than 72 inches wide will see prices drop by $125/ton, while plates 73-84 inches wide will see an $85/ton […]
Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker Nucor is lowering prices on cut-to-length plate while keeping discrete plate prices mostly flat, effective with new orders received as of June 13. Cut-to-length plate prices are being lowered by $85-125/ton. Plates less than 72 inches wide will see prices drop by $125/ton, while plates 73-84 inches wide will see an $85/ton […]