Contributor: Laura Miller

American Heavy Plates is planning an expansion of its processing operations in Ohio.

Mexican steelmaker Talleres y Aceros (TYASA) broke ground this month on the construction of a new special bar quality (SBQ) rolling mill in the state of Veracruz.

Following the announcement earlier this week that the US will hike import tariffs on Chinese goods, including steel and aluminum, Canada’s steel industry called on its government to consider similar tariffs.

SMU surveyed our market contacts this week about steel prices, demand, and the overall marketplace. Below are some of the buyers' responses in their own words to help you get a feel for current and future market conditions. Demand is a big topic of discussion currently. Is it steady, falling, or on the upswing with summer construction heating up? As you can see from the answers below, it depends on who you ask. One buyer’s response sums it up pretty well: “I still see the marketplace as soft/stable with some segments busy, while others tread water.”

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has completed its portion of an expiry review of the antidumping duty orders on welded standard pipe from Pakistan, the Philippines, Turkey, and Vietnam.

The Biden administration announced a series of actions on Tuesday targeting China’s "unfair" trade policies. These actions will, among other things, make imports of steel and aluminum from the Asian nation even more prohibitive.

Prices for hot-rolled (HR) coil in recent weeks have been declining faster than those for galvanized sheet, resulting in a growing price spread between the two steel products.

Wolfe Research Managing Director Timna Tanners cautioned clients about the darkening clouds of a brewing steel sheet storm in the company's Basic Materials Weekly Webcast on Monday. “This one we’ve been talking about for a while, and we feel like the theme is coalescing here,” she said.

Nucor chose to hold its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil steady this week after stunning the market last week with a significant price decline. The steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Monday morning that its $760-per-short-ton (st) CSP base price for HR coil is effective immediately. The price is unchanged from the CSP announced on May 6 but down $65/st from $825/st April 29.

What's the tea in the steel industry this week? Here's the latest SMU gossip column! Just kidding... kind of. Yes, some of the comments we receive in our weekly flat-rolled market steel buyers' survey are honestly too much to put into print. Some make us laugh. Some make us cringe. Some are cryptic. Most are serious. We appreciate them all. Below are some highlights from our survey results this week. Some of the comments that we can share with you are also included, in italics, in the buyers' own words, with minimal editing on our part.

A vote on Friday by the International Trade Commission (ITC) ensures that antidumping duties on certain steel sheet imports from Japan will continue for the mid-term.

Three vocal Republican senators are demanding that President Joe Biden block the sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel.

Stelco reported a positive start to 2024 in its first-quarter earnings report on Thursday. And with steady demand and a stable market, the Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker is optimistic for the remainder of the year.

Thyssenkrupp Materials Services is continuing its expansion in North America. It announced the opening of a new steel service center in Sinton, Texas, to primarily serve the automotive, HVAC, and construction markets.

Majestic Steel announced the completion of its flagship Majestic Steel Arkansas facility in Blytheville on the campus of Nucor Steel Hickman.

A surge in data center project planning pushed the Dodge Momentum Index (DMI), a leading indicator for the nonresidential construction sector, higher in April.

United Auto Workers (UAW) members at Stellantis' Warren Stamping Plant in Michigan have voted to authorize a strike at the factory.

Nucor started off May with a bang, dropping its weekly base spot price for hot-rolled (HR) coil by $65 per short ton (st) this week.

Nucor broke ground on a new galvanizing line at its Nucor Steel Berkeley sheet mill in Huger, S.C., on Thursday, May 2.

Construction spending in the US in March was basically steady from the previous month but showed notable year-on-year (y/y) growth.

The sale of U.S. Steel Corp. to Nippon Steel Corp. has been delayed by the US Department of Justice’s antitrust investigation. The Justice Department, which is conducting an antitrust review of the merger, has requested additional information from both USS and NSC. The companies originally anticipated closing the sale in the second or third quarter […]

Hybar has big plans for entering the American steel market. Although it is the newest player in the US rebar market, the startup is led by an experienced, nimble, and ambitious team, and backed by investors with deep pockets. Industry titan and Hybar CEO David Stickler joined SMU Managing Editor Michael Cowden on Wednesday’s Community Chat to update the SMU community on the company’s first mill, and its grand plans for the future.

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.

United Auto Workers (UAW) members at a Stellantis plant in Michigan have health and safety grievances so severe they are considering going on strike.

An important economic indicator for the nonresidential construction industry declined in March to its lowest point in more than three years.

Nucor lowered its weekly base spot price for hot-rolled (HR) coil by $10 per short ton (st) this week.

What a difference a month makes. In late March, it seemed like the US hot-rolled (HR) coil market was poised to cycle upward. Large buyers had re-entered the market and placed big orders earlier in the month. Several outages were underway or upcoming. And expectations were that lead times would continue to extend. Cliffs said […]

GrafTech is reporting weak near-term demand for graphite electrodes as economic uncertainty constrains steel production globally.

Destocking at service centers and a downturn in steel pricing impacted Ternium’s shipments in Mexico in the first quarter of the year.

Lower demand and prices for steel plate impacted SSAB Americas’ results in the first quarter, Swedish parent company SSAB said in its Q1'24 interim report.