Contributor: Michael Cowden

Sheet prices were mixed this week after trending lower for most of July and earlier in August. SMU’s average hold-rolled coil (HRC) price slipped to $750 per ton.

At every Steel Summit, a few themes seem to emerge that I didn’t anticipate. In 2021, I remember the theme being that scrap would be the next precious metal. (And also that Cleveland-Cliffs planned to expand in to the scrap market.) This year, I expected that there would be a lot of discussion about decarbonization. What I didn’t entirely expect was that we’d be talking so much about electricity and power generation.

I’m excited to see pretty much the entire steel industry this week in Atlanta. I’m looking forward to the networking and to learning from our great lineup of speakers. I also what not draw your attention to some highlights from our latest steel market survey. (Full results are here.) Some of these topics will be discussed along the sidelines as well as up on the stage.

I am happy to announce that there are officially now more than 1,400 people attending SMU Steel Summit next week in Atlanta. That’s a new record for us, and I thank all of you for making it possible. I am also happy to say that Barry Zekelman, executive chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, will be joining us for the first fireside chat of Steel Summit on Monday, Aug. 21, at 3:40 pm ET.

I wrote on Sunday about U.S. Steel being for sale and Cleveland-Cliffs announcing that it was the among bidders for the iconic Pittsburgh-based steelmaker. I have heard some interesting theories on who the other bidders might be. Foreign mills, domestic mills, private equity - even Elon Musk, which I think is when things started to really jump the shark.

Sheet prices slipped again, continuing a trend of lower week-over-week tags that began in mid-July.

The spat between U.S. Steel and Cleveland-Cliffs over a proposed sale of the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker continued into Sunday evening. U.S. Steel confirmed that it had received an unsolicited offer from its Cleveland-based competitor. It alleged that Cliffs had “refused to engage” in the customary processes for assessing valuation in a press release received by SMU at 7:01 pm ET on Aug. 13.

I planned to write this column about some of the big themes we’ll be discussing at Steel Summit. That plan changed when U.S. Steel announced on Sunday afternoon that it was conducting a formal review of a sale of all or part of the company after receiving multiple unsolicited offers. It changed yet again when Cleveland-Cliffs said its offer for U.S. Steel had been rejected.

U.S. Steel dropped a bombshell on Sunday, announcing that it started a formal process to review multiple unsolicited offers for the company. Cleveland-Cliffs followed with an explosive announcement of its own just hours later: that it had offered to buy U.S. Steel and that the board of the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker had rejected its offer as "unreasonable."

First, I want to say a big “thank you” to everyone who is attending Steel Summit this year. Earlier this week, we officially broke the attendance record we set last year. Numbers continue to rise. More than 1,300 will be there when the event kicks off on Monday, Aug. 21, at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta.

SMU’s hot-rolled coil price slipped a little below $800 per ton ($40 per cwt) this week for the first time in more than six months. You’d think that might have caused more of a fuss than it appears to have. Instead, many of the conversations I’ve had with folks in the market today have been […]

Sheet prices were mixed this week with hot-rolled coil (HRC) and galvanized base prices slipping again even as cold-rolled tags inched up.

This is a tough time to be in the forecasting business, especially when it comes to steel. You might have a battle-tested model based on the latest macroeconomic data, prices, inventories, and lead times. The catch: Whatever a forecast might showing now could be overshadowed by events next month. Namely, labor negotiations between the United Auto Workers (UAW) union and automakers General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis.

It feels like the market is in a bit of a holding pattern. Lead times are roughly sideways, according to our latest check of the market. Will they begin to extend now that most mills are into September not only for cold-rolled and coated products but also for hot band?

An article published on July 30 said that U.S. Steel appeared to be getting out of the tinplate business. That was incorrect. U.S. Steel remains in the tinplate business. It continues to process orders from existing customers and to accept orders from new customers.

Nucor plans to keep plate prices flat for yet another month.

Our sheet prices are down again this week. Some of you think it’s a sign of something ominous, others think it’s just a case of seasonality. It might help to step back and put things in perspective.

Sheet prices slipped for the third consecutive week on continued discounts from certain mills for larger buyers.

There is a lot going on at SMU right now. We’re going to be rolling out a new website over the next few days. We’ve also got more than 1,200 people registered to attend Steel Summit this year, putting us on pace to potentially break last year’s attendance record of nearly 1,300. The event is […]

Steel prices and shipment volumes will probably be lower in the third quarter than they were in the second, U.S. Steel executives said.

There is a lot going on at SMU right now. We’re going to be rolling out a new website over the next few days. We’ve also got more than 1,200 people registered to attend Steel Summit this year, putting us on pace to potentially break last year’s attendance record of nearly 1,300.

U.S. Steel recorded lower profits in Q2’23 compared to Q2’22 on the heels of a drop in steel prices and a dip in shipments. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker reported net income of $477 million in Q2’23, down 51% from $978 million in Q2’22 on sales that fell 20% to $5.01 billion over the same period. The […]

For starters, thanks to Barry Zekelman, chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, for taking time for a Community Chat on Wednesday. Zekelman was, as always, sharp on steel. He also caught my attention and some of yours when he said he was interested in buying a steel mill.

For starters, thanks to Barry Zekelman, chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, for taking time for a Community Chat on Wednesday. Zekelman was, as always, sharp on steel. He also caught my attention and some of yours when he said he was interested in buying a steel mill. “I’ve dreamed of owning a steel mill […]

U.S. Steel has temporarily idled the No. 3 blast furnace at its steel mill in Košice, Slovakia, for annual maintenance.

Cleveland-Cliffs swung to a profit in the second quarter after losing money in the first.

We weren’t supposed to see hot-rolled coil prices dip below $800 per ton ($40 per cwt) anytime soon.

Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices fell for a second consecutive week as mills appear to have given up holding the line on $900 per ton ($45 per cwt) and amid discounting into the high $700s per ton.

We weren’t supposed to see hot-rolled coil prices dip below $800 per ton ($40 per cwt) anytime soon. Or at least that seemed to be the consensus in mid-June after mills rolled out a round of $50-per-ton price hikes, with a second round rumored to be in the works. That second round of price hikes […]

Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices fell for a second consecutive week as mills appear to have given up holding the line on $900 per ton ($45 per cwt) and amid discounting into the high $700s per ton. SMU’s average HRC price now stands at $830 per ton, down $40 per ton from a week ago and marking […]