Contributor: Michael Cowden

The retaliatory measures—which include 50% tariffs on US steel and aluminum—came after trade talks between Washington and Ottawa collapsed last month.

If you’re looking for a deal on steel, this last week wasn’t the one to find one. (Nor was the week before that. Or the week before that.) Meanwhile, contract negotiations are heating up in one of the tightest markets since at least 2021. I've heard discounts will be lower, min-max ranges will be tighter, and there will be less freight equalization and waiving extras.

U.S. Steel has restarted the No. 14 blast furnace at its Gary Works in northwest Indiana after a $350 million reline.

Flat-rolled steel prices inched higher again this week, continuing a trend that has characterized the market for most of this year. SMU’s hot-rolled (HR) coil price now stands at...

The 45-day outage will now take place in September instead of August, as initially planned, JSW Steel CEO Robert Simon said. 

The United Steelworkers (USW) union, U.S. Steel, and Cleveland-Cliffs on Monday agreed to extend the terms of their current labor contracts by 30 days. The current basic labor agreements between the USW and the two steelmakers had been scheduled to expire at 12:01 a.m. ET on Sept. 1. The extension allows the USW and the companies to continue negotiations. It also averts the immediate threat of a strike or lockout in a steel market already characterized by historically tight supplies.

The United Steelworkers (USW) union and Cleveland-Cliffs remain at an impasse on key issues, the union said in an update to members on Friday.

The United Steelworkers (USW) union said it remains “very far apart” with U.S. Steel on the terms of a new labor contract. 

First, a big thank you to everyone who attended SMU Steel Summit this week and the inaugural AMU Aluminum Summit as well. I’m not going to crow too much about it being another record year in terms of attendance. But it was—and you made that possible. Also, it’s always great to see the entire steel […]

The United Steelworkers (USW) union remains “far apart” from U.S. Steel on issues that matter most to its members. Those top issues are health care, wages, retirement, and commitments to invest in union-represented facilities.

Trade talks between the US and Canada collapsed late on Friday, just hours after media reports that an accord was near.

A potential trade deal with Canada and a possible reduction in Section 232 tariffs has rocketed back into the news just a few weeks after it seemed like negotiations between Washington and Ottawa were kaput.

Sheet prices and plate prices continued their relentless march higher over the last week as more participants said they were effectively on allocation, especially when it comes to hot-rolled (HR) coil.

Labor contract talks between the United Steelworkers (USW) union and U.S. Steel have made some headway. But the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker and the USW have somewhat different views about how much progress has been made to date.

Some key matters haven't been brought up yet. “We have not begun bargaining over economic issues, including wages,” the USW said in an update to members.

We’re a little over a week away from the opening of SMU Steel Summit, one of the largest gatherings of flat-rolled steel professionals in the world. If you’re registered, I encourage you to download the conference app. You’ll use it not only for networking but also to ask questions to our speakers. You’ll also need […]

Sheet and plate prices either held their ground or increased this week amid what remains an historically tight spot market.

It’s tough to find a new angle to write about in a market that continues to be characterized by the same trends. You know the ones: extremely limited spot tons, long lead times, low inventories, and high prices.

Sheet and plate prices continue to rise on extremely limited spot availability, long lead times, and solid demand, according to market participants.

Cleveland-Cliffs’ top executive said any restart of the blast furnace at its Dearborn Works in Michigan hinges on automakers reshoring more production to the US.

Cleveland-Cliffs President and CFO Celso Goncalves said no deal was imminent between the company and South Korean steelmaker POSCO because of disagreements over valuation.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. narrowed its losses in the second quarter thanks to increased demand, higher prices, longer lead times, and limited import competition.

Sheet prices continued to grind higher this week on factors familiar to most steel market participants: extremely limited spot availability, long lead times, low inventories, and firm demand.

Steel Dynamics Inc. posted sharply higher profits on record quarterly shipments and predicted the good times might continue to roll into 2027.

Hot-rolled and cold-rolled prices held steady again this week while prices for coated products and plate continued to tick upward.

A worker died on Saturday morning at U.S. Steel’s Granite City Works near St. Louis, the company and the United Steelworkers (USW) union said.

Barry Zekelman, executive chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, will be the featured guest on our next Community Chat on Wednesday, July 15, at 11 am ET.

If a trend of flat lead times holds, it would represent a change. And we’ve also seen a few of the other indicators we track slip from historic highs – so the potential shift is worth paying attention to.

Market reaction to Nucor’s move was mixed. Some sources said a flat CSP reflected concerns that further increases in US HR prices could attract more import competition. Others expressed frustration. Their view: CSP has kept a lid on prices, something that shouldn’t happen when many buyers remain more concerned about availability than price.

We asked our readers what they thought the outcome of the ongoing USMCA talks might be as far as Section 232 tariffs go. Very few see an elimination of tariffs as likely.