US Steel posted a drop in fourth-quarter 2022 profits partly attributable to lower flat-rolled steel shipment volumes and selling prices. But the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker nonetheless recorded the second-best annual profit in its history. “We are well-positioned for 2023. Our record cash and liquidity support a balanced capital allocation approach,” US president and CEO David Burritt […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has rolled out another $50/ton ($2.50/cwt) sheet price increase just a couple of weeks after doing the same in mid-January. The Cleveland-based steelmaker has also announced a target base price of $850 per ton for hot-rolled coil, up from the $800 per ton announced in mid-January. NLMK USA almost immediately upped the ante, […]
NLMK USA has joined Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. in raising sheet prices by at least $50 per ton ($2.50 per ton), effective immediately. The steelmaker is also seeking a base price of $875 per ton for hot-rolled coil, $25 per ton more than the $850 per ton Cleveland-Cliffs is aiming for. “Orders received and not yet confirmed […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. aims to increase spot prices for steel sheet by at least another $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt). The Cleveland-based steelmaker said the move was effective immediately and applied equally to hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and coated products. The company said it also set a minimum base price of $850 per ton for hot-rolled coil, […]
Hot-rolled coil prices have now risen for 10 consecutive weeks. Let’s put that in perspective. That’s a longer run than the price spike we saw following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February. It also marks the longest sheet price rally we’ve seen since the boom times of early 2021 – when a snapback in demand […]
Sheet prices rose again this week, continuing a rally that began shortly after Thanksgiving. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price stands at $780 per ton ($39 per cwt), up $20 per ton from $760 per ton last week and up $165 per ton from a 2022 low of $615 per ton recorded in November. HRC prices haven’t […]
We’ll kick off the Tampa Steel Conference next Sunday, and I’m looking forward to seeing many of you there in person. For kicks, I decided to look back at how the market was in mid-February 2022, when we held the event along with the Port of Tampa Bay last year. So join me for a […]
The cost and scope of Steel Dynamics Inc.’s flat-rolled aluminum mill in Columbus, Miss., and related scrap processing operations, have increased. The total cost of the project is now expected to be $2.5 billion, up from an initial $2.2 billion, SDI chairman, president, and CEO Mark Millett said during the quarterly earnings call last week. […]
I’ve written in my last two columns about various factors that indicate the price rally that began after Thanksgiving might be running out of steam. You know the list by now: low capacity utilization, lead times not pushing out in tandem with prices, and a consensus that prices will peak this month or next. All […]
Steel Dynamic Inc.’s new sheet mill in Sinton, Texas, should become profitable in 2023 after costing the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker more than $400 million in 2022, company executives said. The shift should come thanks to increased shipments, lower raw material costs, and a lack of import competition from Mexico stemming from production issues at […]
The first quarter of this year is off to a much, much better start than the first quarter of 2022. You’ll recall that prices for all sheet products were way higher this time last year. But service centers were slashing prices and trying to move overpriced inventory. Q1 demand – and maybe 1H demand – […]
Sheet prices continued to inch upward as most market participants reported solid first-quarter demand, despite concerns in some corners about 2H activity. But the pace of price gains appears to have slowed, at least temporarily, and lead times have leveled off as well. Any significant additional sheet price gains will hinge less on mill announcements […]
US Steel is running all three blast furnaces at its steel mill in Košice, Slovakia, company spokespeople said. “I can confirm that all three blast furnaces have been in operation since the start of this week,” one said in an email to SMU. The Slovakian subsidiary of the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker restarted the No. 1 furnace in […]
This week’s survey didn’t land quite as I expected. Some data points indicate that the price rally we’ve seen since late November will continue, but others suggest it might be running out of steam. For starters, if you’re an SMU subscriber, you can find our latest market survey results here. If you aren’t, this data […]
We’re less than two weeks away from the Tampa Steel Conference. It’s not too late to register, but you should do it ASAP. The event will be at the Tampa Marriott Water Street hotel on Sunday-Tuesday Feb. 5-7. Approximately 430 people have already registered, which is more than total attendace last year. We expect that number to […]
ArcelorMittal has joined the effort initiated by Cleveland-Cliffs to increase spot prices for steel sheet by at least another $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt). The move is effective immediately for material from AM/NS Calvert, the steelmaker’s joint venture mill in Alabama with Japan’s Nippon Steel. “We reserve the right to modify any outstanding quotations,” […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and the United Steelworkers (USW) union have filed a trade case targeting imports of tin mill products from eight countries. The Cleveland-based steelmaker said the petition seeks antidumping duties against imports of tin- and chromium-coated sheet steel from Canada, China, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The case […]
Cleveland-Cliffs has announced a sheet price hike of $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt) and new base prices for hot-rolled coil of $800 per ton ($40 per cwt). The big question now is not whether prices will continue to go up one or two weeks from now, but whether a price rally that began after […]
Sheet prices continued to inch upward this week as market participants debated whether a third round of price increases from Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. would gain traction. Those who thought the $50-per-ton price hike would stick pointed to higher scrap costs, solid demand, and new capacity still struggling to ramp up. Those who questioned whether the increases […]
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has voted to remove duties on Brazilian hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, and plate. Once might be a coincidence. But three times? That’s a trend. The question now: Is this a big-picture shift in US trade policy toward Brazil? Or is it instead more a matter of inside baseball at the […]
Let’s just clear the air of any confusion here. It looks like Nucor’s price increase – $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt) – announced earlier this week was a catch-up to an increase of the same amount announced by Cleveland-Cliffs in mid-December. Assuming that’s the case, we’ve had two rounds of price increases since Thanksgiving. […]
Sheet prices are up again. I haven’t heard much quibbling with that. Upstream, scrap prices are moving up as they typically do in January. And downstream, we’re seeing service centers raising prices roughly in tandem with domestic mills – or at least holding them steady. No, 2023 is not starting off with a big bang […]
Sheet prices continued their upward trek this week on the heels of a $50-per-ton price increase announced by Nucor Corp. on Monday. Plate prices, which were not impacted by that move, were unchanged. Nucor’s increase, which matched one announced last month by Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., was seen by market participants as timed to reflect an upward […]
Nucor plans to increase base prices for all new orders of steel sheet by $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt). The price hike is effective immediately, the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Monday, Jan. 9. “We reserve the right to review and re-quote any offers that are not confirmed with […]
Higher prices rolled out by North American sheet mills are gaining traction downstream, according to our latest survey results. Service centers report that they are raising prices to their customers. And manufacturers say they are seeing higher prices from their service center suppliers. Both trends are more pronounced than what we saw in late August […]
Steel Manufacturers Association president Philip K. Bell will be the featured speaker on the next SMU Community Chat on Wednesday, Jan. 11, at 11 a.m. ET. You can register here. SMA is the leading voice of the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking industry in Washington, D.C., which means Bell is ideally suited to discuss important policy […]
Sheet prices started out the year modestly higher. That’s what you’d expect given that Q1 is typically a busy and that scrap prices usually rise over the winter months. The question now is whether prices, which have been moving upward since Thanksgiving, continue to increase or whether the current upswing might prove to be a […]
Steel Manufacturers Association president Philip K. Bell will be the featured speaker on the next SMU Community Chat on Wednesday, Jan. 11, at 11 a.m. ET. You can register here. SMA is the leading voice of the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking industry in Washington, D.C., which means Bell is ideally suited to discuss important policy […]
Sheet prices entered 2023 moving upward on expectations of higher prime scrap prices, and on a modest uptick in activity as some buyers looked to get ahead of anticipated higher steel prices as well. The gains also came on the heels of a price increase of $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt) initiated last month […]
I’m eager to see the results of our survey later this week because I think it might shed some light on what appears to be a tale of two steel markets. Some of you are telling me that you’re already busy and will only get busier as people come back into the market after the […]