Brian Jackson, China economist for IHS Global Insight, issued the following note on China’s Steel Production Capacity. Key Points At the National People’s Congress, Hebei Province governor Zhang Qingwei announced he plans to cut just under 200 million of steel production capacity by 2020, or about 60% of current production capacity. By the end of […]
US Steel revealed a new corporate structure for its tubular operations last week. Ownership of the Lorain, Ohio and Fairfield, Ala., operations has been transferred to a new, wholly owned subsidiary US Tubular Operations, LLC. US Steel Seamless Tubular Operations, LLC and the existing US Steel Tubular Products, Inc. (a subsidiary of US Steel Corporation), […]
The Association of Steel Distributors (ASD) has selected the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International® (FMA) to manage their association. ASD will continue to operate as an independent association, but will rely on FMA for management of its day-to-day affairs, membership relations and development, event planning, compliance and reporting issues, and general operation needs. For 73 […]
Platts publishes a monthly China Steel Sentiment Index. The following is a press release from Platts regarding the latest survey results: BEIJING, March 8, 2016 – Optimism has returned to the Chinese steel market on the back of buoyant domestic demand for steel and stronger prices, resulting in the Platts China Steel Sentiment Index (CSSI) […]
The following is a reprint of an article by Dr. Mark J. Perry in response to the Wall Street Journal article about the duties imposed on imports of cold-rolled steel from China that SMU publisher John Packard was quoted in. Dr. Perry is a Scholar at The American Enterprise Institute and Professor of Finance and […]
The Dodge Momentum Index rose 0.5 percent in February to 126.1 from a revised reading of 125.5 in January, a third consecutive monthly increase. The index is a monthly measure of the initial report for nonresidential building projects and has been show to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year. Commercial planning […]
World Steel Exchange Marketing (WSEM) announced that the US Shredded Steel Scrap TSI Index will begin futures trading on the Nasdaq Commodities Exchange (Stockholm) as of March 29, 2016. The 20-gross-ton USA Midwest shredded steel contract will be listed, and quoted, for the current month and each of the next 11 months. The contract will […]
US Steel’s Lorain Tubular steel operations will be idled beginning March 27. The plant is expected to remain down for an unspecified time period until order books improve. US Steel spokesperson Sarah Casella said, “We continue to adjust operations at Lorain to meet customer demand.” The sprawling steel complex in Lorain workers includes both US […]
More than 3,000 workers at ArcelorMittal steel mill Lazaro Cardenas in Michoacan, Mexico went on what has been classified as an illegal strike on March 4 to protest job cuts and idled operations. Workers marched in a protest rally and placed red and black flags at the doors of the steel company to announce the […]
The Renco Group will retake two RG Steel pension funds back from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., ending a three year lawsuit. The deal is only the second time in PBGC’s history that a terminated pension plan was restored to an employer. The PBGC is an entity that insures multi-employer pension plans and protects the […]
AGC Press Release: Construction firms added 19,000 workers in February, as the number of unemployed construction workers was at the lowest February total since the series started in 2000, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said, however, that sluggish gains in nonresidential construction employment […]
This week’s DOC preliminary duties on cold-rolled steel effectively shut down the U.S. market for China but has opened it for imports from Taiwan and Vietnam. Taiwan’s largest steel producer, China Steel Corp, said Thursday that it fully intends to take advantage of the penalties its rival steel producers in China now face. The company […]
Reaction to the US Department of Commerce (DOC) preliminary duties on cold-rolled steel has been mixed, depending on what side of the antidumping determination the commentators are on. In the UK, the steel sector is readying itself for further onslaught of Chinese exports while its own steel exports to the U.S. are assigned dumping margins […]
United Steelworkers voted by a 5:1 margin on Tuesday to ratify a new four-year contract at Allegheny Technologies. The ratification will put 2,220 workers back on the job after a six-month lockout, pending approval by the National Labor Relations Board. A contract was finally hammered out after the NLRB filed an unfair labor suit against […]
United Steelworkers voted by a 5:1 margin on Tuesday to ratify a new four-year contract at Allegheny Technologies. The ratification will put 2,220 workers back on the job after a six-month lockout, pending approval by the National Labor Relations Board. A contract was finally hammered out after the NLRB filed an unfair labor suit against […]
Factory orders for manufactured goods grew 1.6 percent in January, following a 2.9 percent decrease in December and showing the largest increase since June. Durable goods orders rose 4.7 percent led by transportation equipment orders that were up 11.4 percent in January. Nondurable goods dropped 1.4 percent to $226.8 billion. Factory orders came in below […]
Ontario Superior Court Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel settled the question of whether a $2.2 million claim by US Steel on its former subsidiary US Steel Canada is equity or debt. It’s debt says the judge. In a decision on Monday, Wilton-Siegel said US Steel’s investment in its Canadian operation was in the form of loans that […]
An Essar Steel Algoma and US Steel Canada combo may be in the works. Bloomberg reports that bidders for US Steel Canada are looking at combining the operations at Algoma with those at Hamilton and Lake Erie Works. The resulting steel company could become a major competitor in the North American steel market. Potential bidders, […]
Automotive sales for February are expected to increase as much as 8 percent year over year for the highest February volume in 15 years. GM estimates the seasonally adjusted annual rate will be 17.7 million units while WardsAuto predicts 17.5 million. Most automakers are posting positive gains for February sales. GM sales slipped 1.5 percent […]
Construction spending soared in January from a month earlier and all major segments posted hefty year-over-year gains, pushing the total to the highest level since October 2008, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said the new spending figures indicate that demand for construction remains robust amid broader economic […]
The Chicago Business Barometer surprised economists with an 8 point tumble to 47.6 in February after increasing to 55.6 in January. Sharp declines in production in new orders contributed to the weaker readings. Economists expected a milder decline to 53; a reading below 50 indicates a contraction in business activity. As new orders dropped sharply, […]
The U.S. manufacturing sector in February remained in contraction for the fifth consecutive month according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The PMI did better than expected by economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays who predicted a headline index of 48 and 47.5, respectively. The February PMI increased 1.3 percentage […]
Workers at Allegheny Technologies received details of the tentative contract proposal on Saturday and were pleased by what they heard. According to TribLive the USW workers said the contract is “better than what we expected” and “overall, it’s not a bad contract.” The new contract includes a $3,500 signing bonus paid over the life of […]
Workers at Allegheny Technologies received details of the tentative contract proposal on Saturday and were pleased by what they heard. According to TribLive the USW workers said the contract is “better than what we expected” and “overall, it’s not a bad contract.” The new contract includes a $3,500 signing bonus paid over the life of […]
US Steel Canada supporters have been waiting a month for a decision by Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel on whether former parent company, US Steel, is owed $2 billion dollars debt or if that amount is an equity investment. Court hearings on the matter ended January 27 with a promise of a decision within two weeks. Trevor […]
Durable goods in January rose 4.9 percent in January, reversing a December’s plunge of 4.6 and perhaps indicating stabilization for U.S. manufacturing. The January jump was the biggest monthly gain since March 2015. Orders rose for all major categories of the industrial goods but especially for autos and aircraft. The chart below, depicting the three […]
MID-SHIP Group sees evidence of a strong South American grain harvest helping to boost spot market freight levels for the dry cargo freight market. Oversupply of vessels remains a problem and vessel lay-up and scrapping is continuing. MID-SHIP anticipates continued market pressure due to oversupply and slowing demand growth. The Baltic Dry Index stood at […]
The USW negotiating committee for ArcelorMittal posted a passionate 25th update to the USW website on Wednesday, Feb. 24. The committee called ArcelorMittal “hell bent” on ignoring the real issues and insisting on health care and contract demands on “principle” than on true cost savings. The committee and management have been in negotiations for a […]
The American Institute for International Steel reports preliminary steel imports increased significantly to start the year, but they remained far below the level of early 2015. The rest of the press from AIIS follows: Imports grew by 10 percent from December to January, reaching 2.58 million net tons. This, though, was 41.4 percent less than […]
President Barack Obama signed into law Wednesday the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. The customs bill which includes the ENFORCE Act has been strongly supported by the U.S. steel industry. Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton spoke with the President at the National Governor’s Association in Washington, DC on Monday on the need for […]