SMU has updated the survey data we collect to better detect shifts in buying patterns between domestic and foreign steel. We know from Commerce Department figures that flat-rolled steel imports have been running at or above one million short tons a month since May – well above a monthly average of approximately 800,000 short tons […]
When the books are written on a historic year for steel prices, we will probably look back at August and September as the months when things started falling apart. Why? Because that’s when the extraordinay gaps – between U.S. steel prices and those abroad, between steel prices and scrap prices, and between market senitment and […]
NLMK USA’s sales surged in the third quarter on record domestic prices and strong demand, Russian parent company NLMK Group said. The solid showing in the U.S. helped to offset slowing demand in Russia and elsewhere as well as a protracted outage at the company’s mill in Lipetsk. “The U.S. became the growth leader, with […]
Service center executive Michael Lerman of Steel Warehouse will be the featured speaker during Steel Market Update’s next SMU Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT). Lerman is the president of Steel Warehouse, a private, family-owned service center chain – one of the largest of its kind in […]
United Auto Workers (UAW) members at John Deere have set up pickets after a midnight strike deadline lapsed. The strike at the Moline, Ill.-based heavy equipment manufacturer impacts more than 10,000 workers at 14 facilities – most of them in the Midwest but some as far afield as Colorado and Georgia. “Our members at John Deere […]
A BP joint venture has brought $285 million in private money to the table to fund Evraz North America’s goal of creating the first steel mill to run almost entirely on solar energy. Officially known as Bighorn Solar, the project will provide energy infrastructure for the Chicago-based steelmaker’s electric arc furnace (EAF) mill in Pueblo, […]
Heavy equipment maker Deere & Co. faces a midnight strike deadline after United Auto Workers (UAW) union members overwhelmingly rejected a tentative contract agreement. The deadline has been set for Wednesday, Oct. 13, at 11:59 pm after approximately 90% of UAW members rejected the tentative pact, the union said. Both sides continue to bargain in […]
Kloeckner Metals Corp. will hold a groundbreaking ceremony next week for its second location in Mexico. The new, 84,000-square-foot facility will be in the central Mexican city of Querétaro and is expected to open in the spring of 2022, the Roswell, Ga.-based service center said. “Through this strategic investment we will be able to further […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has agreed to acquire Midwestern scrap recycler Ferrous Processing and Trading Co. (FPT) for $775 million. The deal means the Cleveland-based steelmaker has secured its own reserves of prime scrap, which Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves has previously characterized as a “precious metal.” FPT recorded earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has agreed to acquire Midwestern scrap recycler Ferrous Processing and Trading Co. (FPT) for $775 million. The deal means the Cleveland-based steelmaker has secured its own reserves of prime scrap, which Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves has previously characterized as a “precious metal.” FPT recorded earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization […]
Olympic Steel Inc.’s sale of its Detroit location to Venture Steel and its subsequent acquisition of Shaw Stainless & Alloys marked the latest step in a years’ long effort to pivot from roots in Midwestern carbon flat-rolled steel markets, the company’s top executive said. The Cleveland-based service center – while by no means exiting the region – […]
Olympic Steel Inc.’s sale of its Detroit location to Venture Steel and its subsequent acquisition of Shaw Stainless & Alloys marked the latest step in a years’ long effort to pivot from roots in Midwestern carbon flat-rolled steel markets, the company’s top executive said. The Cleveland-based service center – while by no means exiting the region – […]
Michael Lerman of Steel Warehouse will be the featured speaker during Steel Market Update’s next SMU Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT). Lerman is the president of Steel Warehouse, a private, family-owned service center chain – one of the largest of its kind in the U.S. He […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. isn’t feeling the heat of soaring metallurgical coal prices, at least not yet. And the Cleveland-based miner and steelmaker plans to turn to its own mines if the market overheats. “We are benefiting from our existing multi-year contracts with suppliers and also the supply from our own coal production operations,” a company spokeswoman […]
Stellantis – the Dutch parent company of Chrysler – has extended downtime at one of its U.S. plants because of the ongoing global microchip shortage, a company spokeswoman said. The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker’s assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill., will be down through the end of October, she said. “Stellantis continues to work closely with our […]
Let’s put aside the question of whether the steel market has peaked. Let’s just assume that it has, for the sake of argument. Will the correction be gradual, rapid, or gradual until it’s rapid? I tend to think it will be the latter. But let’s put the question of timing aside and just look at […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to announce that Michael Lerman of Steel Warehouse will be the featured speaker during our next SMU Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT). Lerman is the president of Steel Warehouse, a private, family-owned service center chain – one of the largest of […]
JSW Steel USA has restarted the electric arc furnace (EAF) at its sheet mill in Mingo Junction, Ohio, after a minor burn through late last month. The EAF resumed melting on Wednesday, a day ahead of the expected schedule, JSW Steel USA CEO Mark Bush told Steel Market Update on Thursday. The burn through happened on […]
Usinas Siderúrgicas de Minas Gerais S.A. (USIMINAS) will take a lengthy, unplanned outage – 90-150 days – at the No. 2 blast furnace at its Ipatinga Plant in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. The Brazilian steelmaker said it would minimize the impact on customers in part by buying slabs on the open market to make up […]
Sheet prices are mixed this week. Hot rolled is up $10 per ton, cold rolled is down $30 per ton, and galvanized base prices are unchanged. What do you make of a week like this when there is no clear trend? First, I would caution against reading too much into any one week – especially when […]
The David J. Joseph Co. (DJJ) has acquired two recycling operations that are expected to increase its capacity by 10%, parent company Nucor Corp. said. DJJ’s deals – terms of which were not disclosed – will support the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker’s growth strategy and increase its ability to secure scrap for its electric arc furnace (EAF) […]
Steel and metals companies need to up their cybersecurity game as digital thieves increasingly shift their focus from sophisticated data breaches to high-volume ransomware attacks. And doing so isn’t just the right thing to do, it might soon be required for insurance purposes and to qualify for Defense Department work, said Mike Del Giudice, principal […]
Mexican flat-rolled steelmaker Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) is taking a planned, two-week outage on its hot strip mill, a company spokesman said. The outage is underway. Because it was planned, customers should not be impacted, he said. AHMSA’s hot strip mill has annual capacity of 2.8 million tons per year, according to the Association […]
Stellantis – the Dutch parent company of Chrysler – has extended downtime at two of its North American plants because of the ongoing global microchip shortage, a company spokeswoman said. The automaker’s assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill., will be down the week of Oct. 4 as will its assembly plant north of the U.S. border […]
JSW Steel USA’s electric arc furnace (EAF) sheet mill in Mingo Junction, Ohio, has experienced a “minor furnace burn through,” the company’s top executive said. But the impact on customers is expected to be limited, JSW Steel USA CEO Mark Bush told Steel Market Update. The burn through happened on Sunday, Sept. 26, and repairs are […]
General Motors has resumed production at most of North American assembly plants, but has extended downtime at others – notably in Canada and Mexico. Crosstown rival Ford has also scheduled additional downtime at some of its U.S. plants. Here is where things stand with Detroit-based GM, the United States’ largest automaker: GM’s Lansing Grand River (LGR) assembly […]
Market participants have sharply different views of which way prices will go over the next three months – but whichever camp you’re in, futures are your friend, according to one expert on the matter. Futures markets have seen steep selloffs in recent trading sessions, moves indicating that some industry participants think prices have peaked and are […]
U.S. Steel’s Midwest Plant is back up and running after operations were temporarily halted because of discolored wastewater, a company spokeswoman said. The Portage, Ind., finishing operation – part of U.S. Steel’s Gary Works in northwest Indiana – had been down for about a day, the spokeswoman told SMU on Wednesday afternoon. Midwest Plant typically discharges treated […]
Price dynamics in the steel market are starting to resemble an inverted yield curve, and market participants should treat the situation with appropriate caution. Plate mills and tube producers have announced significant price increases: $75 for tubular products ($3.75 per cwt), $80 per ton for plate and as much as $240 per ton for quenched and […]
At least two domestic pipe and tube mills have announced higher prices on the heels of higher hot-rolled coil costs, market participants said. Atlas Tube in a leading move said it was raising prices by at least $75 per ton ($3.75 per ton) for mechanical tubing, hollow structural sections (HSS) and piling products. The pipe-and-tube price […]