Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) has declared force majeure on its contracts after a fire at its port facilities in Sept-Îles, Quebec. The blaze broke out on the No. 2 reclaimer on March 31, and the cause of the fire “remains unknown at this time,” the Canadian iron ore miner and pellet producer said. […]
Olympic Steel CEO Rick Marabito will be the featured speaker at the next SMU Community Chat on Wednesday, April 14, at 11 a.m. ET. Marabito will bring a service center perspective to the current steel market in a one-on-one discussion with SMU. (Translation: This will not be death by PowerPoint.) Topics will include infrastructure, supply […]
Ford is taking extensive downtime at several U.S. assembly plants and its only Canadian facility because of continued parts shortages stemming from a global semiconductor supply squeeze. The automaker’s Dearborn, Mich., truck plant, which makes the popular F-150 pickup truck, will be down the weeks of April 5 and April 12, a company spokeswoman said. […]
Olympic Steel CEO Rick Marabito will be the featured speaker at the next SMU Community Chat on Wednesday, April 14, at 11 a.m. ET. Marabito will bring a service center perspective to the current steel market in a one-on-one discussion with SMU. (Translation: This will not be death by PowerPoint.) Topics will include infrastructure, supply […]
Imports of flat-rolled steel jumped to their highest levels in nearly two years in March on increased shipments of coated products. The upswing included not only hot-dipped galvanized steel but also “other” metallic coated products, a category that includes material such as Galvalume. All told, the U.S. was licensed to import 800,789 metric tonnes of […]
Imports of flat-rolled steel jumped to their highest levels in nearly two years in March on increased shipments of coated products. The upswing included not only hot-dipped galvanized steel but also “other” metallic coated products, a category that includes material such as Galvalume. All told, the U.S. was licensed to import 800,789 metric tonnes of […]
Cleveland-Cliffs has restarted the blast furnace at its Middletown Works in Ohio, a company spokeswoman said. The Middletown furnace returned to operation over the weekend after two weeks of preventative maintenance. “As in all planned outages of this nature, ahead of the stoppage we positioned our work-in-process and finished goods inventory in proper shape. By […]
The United Steelworkers (USW) union has gone on strike at nine Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) facilities. The strike started at 7 a.m. ET on Tuesday, March 30, over what the USW contends are “unfair labor practices.” The union represents approximately 1,300 workers at ATI, and it says they have not had a wage increase since […]
Automakers continue to take downtime at assembly plants across North America because of persistent and widespread supply chain snarls. The problems include not only the microchip shortage, which has been a drag on the industry since late last year, but also broader parts shortages stemming from port congestion and from the lingering effects of severe […]
Nucor increased plate prices by $50 per ton ($2.50/cwt) in the afternoon on Friday, March 26, after SSAB had earlier in the day lifted plate tags by $100 per ton. It was not immediately clear why there was such a large difference. The steelmakers don’t always increase plate prices by the same amount, but a […]
The United Steelworkers (USW) union has informed Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) that it will go on strike beginning on Tuesday, March 30. “We have provided the (strike) notice to ATI to ensure an orderly and safe shutdown of the equipment and facilities,” the union said in a bargaining update on Friday, March 26. The USW […]
SSAB Americas aims to increase plate prices by $100 per ton ($5/cwt) on all new non-contract orders, effectively immediately. The price hike applies equally to as-rolled mill plate, cut-to-length plate more than 72 inches wide, hot-rolled coils more than 72 inches wide, normalized plate, and quenched-and-tempered plate, SSAB said in a letter to customers Friday, […]
President Joe Biden will be in Pittsburgh next week to unveil his administration’s multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure spending plan. The plan will focus on both physical and technological infrastructure, the president said in a press conference. Spending on infrastructure is about both creating jobs and making the United States a more attractive place to do business, Biden […]
President Joe Biden will be in Pittsburgh next week to unveil his administration’s multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure spending plan. The plan will focus on both physical and technological infrastructure, the president said in a press conference. Spending on infrastructure is about both creating jobs and making the United States a more attractive place to do business, Biden […]
I want to write a few words today about Section 232. Not for or against it. Just some reflections on a trade action that’s been with us for a lot longer than I expected. The catalyst for that reflection was a conference call the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington policy think tank, held earlier this […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) has closed its June flat rolled order book just a week after opening it. “We want to thank you for your continued support during these difficult times. … We will contact you when we open the flat rolled order book for July,” CSI said in a letter to customers dated Wednesday, […]
Section 232 tariffs should remain in place because they backstop a stable U.S. steel industry, the benefits of which will outlast a temporary price spike, a panel of industry experts and trade union members said. “These typically last six to nine months. So we can expect that these price bubbles–and that’s really what they are–are […]
JSW Steel USA’s electric-arc furnace (EAF) and slab caster are up and running, but the company has decided to keep the plant’s hot strip mill idle, a company spokesman said. JSW’s Mingo Junction, Ohio, flat-rolled steel mill will make slabs and will “continue with outside tolling,” he added. “Right now, the hot strip mill is […]
North American auto assembly plants continue to see production hobbled by a global microchip shortage. The chip supply squeeze could become more intense because of a fire on Friday at Japanese microchip supplier Renesas Electronics. And the trouble doesn’t stop there. Parts requiring petrochemicals are in some instances in short supply because severe weather in […]
Labor talks between Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) and the United Steelworkers (USW) continue – although the union has suggested the two sides are at loggerheads. The two parties most recently exchanged contract proposals on Thursday. And while USW members authorized a strike on March 5, they continue to report to work in the meantime, an ATI […]
Ford is building some vehicles in North America without certain components because the global semiconductor shortage has collided with a broader parts shortage. The automaker said it would assemble its popular F-150 pickup truck and its Edge SUV without some electronic modules because they contain “scarce semiconductors” and because of “parts shortages created by the […]
The U.S. steel market could lose one million tons of production in the months ahead because of several lengthy blast furnaces outages, and the volume of iron and steel impacted could be well over one million tons when shorter-duration electric-arc furnace (EAF) and hot strip mill outages are considered. The issue is particularly relevant because […]
AM/NS Calvert will take an approximately four-day planned outage on its hot strip mill and an approximately seven-day outage on the facility’s pickle line in May, according to sources familiar with the matter. Steel Market Update had previously reported that the Alabama steel mill would take an outage in May. The latest information provides greater […]
Hyundai Steel has halted output on some production lines and will be approximately 1.5 months late with some shipments because of a “guerrilla strike,” according to a letter to U.S. customers. “Since the strike is still ongoing and the effect of the production suspension(s) are yet to be calculated, we cannot designate the accurate quantity […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) has opened its June flat rolled orderbook, and the West Coast slab converter has also increased prices by as much as $90 per ton ($4.50/cwt), according to market participants. “The purpose of this letter is to inform you that CSI’s June flat rolled orderbook is now open,” the company said in […]
U.S. electric-arc furnace mills have a leg up on the world when it comes to meeting new carbon emissions standards–for now, said CRU Senior Analyst Ryan Smith. That’s according to a “carbon curve” Smith presented that is part of CRU Group’s Emissions Analysis Tool. The carbon curve is similar to the cost curve many steel […]
U.S. electric-arc furnace mills have a leg up on the world when it comes to meeting new carbon emissions standards–for now, said CRU Senior Analyst Ryan Smith. That’s according to a “carbon curve” Smith presented that is part of CRU Group’s Emissions Analysis Tool. The carbon curve is similar to the cost curve many steel […]
NLMK USA has slated an approximately one-week maintenance outage in June on the melt shop and hot strip mill at its facility in Portage, Ind., a company official confirmed. The plant-wide outage is for routine semi-annual maintenance and “isn’t a big deal,” said NLMK USA Executive Vice President James Banker. The Portage electric-arc furnace (EAF) […]
FOB mills prices aren’t the only thing on the rise – so too are service center resale prices, import tags and ocean freight rates. Service centers are selling amongst each other for nearly $1,400 per ton ($70/cwt), and certain master distributors are charging that much if not more for hot band, market participants said. That’s […]
General Motors continues to crank out some full-size pickup trucks despite a microchip shortage. The Detroit-based automaker is doing so by shipping certain vehicles without chip-containing components necessary for reducing fuel consumption, a company spokesman confirmed. “Due to the global shortage of semiconductors impacting the global auto industry, we are making Active Fuel Management/Dynamic Fuel […]