The Department of Commerce said it plans to move forward to implement tariffs or other trade remedies on imports of electrical steel components. Commerce launched a Section 232 investigation in May 2020 following comments by Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves regarding the continued viability of AK Steel Butler, the sole producer of electrical steel in the […]
The ISM Manufacturing PMI exceeded expectations in October posting a score of 59.3 percent, a 3.9 percent increase from September and indicating factory growth for the fifth consecutive month. “The manufacturing economy continued its recovery in October,” said Timothy Fiore, chairman of the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. “Survey committee members reported that […]
The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI reached a 29-month high in October, posting a score of 53.0. Manufacturing output expanded across consumer, intermediate and investment goods industries with the weakest sector consumer goods. Twenty of 26 countries in the survey saw manufacturing activity increase, however activity in Japan, Greece, Malaysia, Indonesia and Russia contracted last […]
Residential construction spending continues to lead nonresidential by a wide gap, said the Associated General Contractors of America. Total construction spending in September increased 0.3 percent from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.41 trillion. Private and public nonresidential spending fell 1.6 percent from August and 4.4 percent from a year ago. In […]
The Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity has called for renewed action to address excess steel capacity during a time of economic crisis. The forum offered its analysis and recommendations in its 2020 GFSEC Ministerial Report. “The pandemic has led the world economy into its worst downturn in decades,” said Valdis Dombrovskis, executive vice-president if GSFEC […]
Ryerson Holding Corp. reported incremental improvement in third-quarter 2020. Ryerson’s Q3 revenue increased 7.7 percent to $832 million, but the service center company posted a net loss of $39.9 million, which included a $52 million charge related to pension liabilities and 17.1 million in expenses related to the refinance of 2022 notes. Adjusted net income was […]
Canadian steel processor Nova Steel plans to open a new tube manufacturing plant in Bowling Green, Ky. The $70 million project was announced Thursday and includes an initial investment of more than $20 million for the acquisition of a 108,000-square-foot building in the Kentucky Transpark and the purchase and installation of equipment. The plant will […]
U.S. Steel narrowed its loss to $234 million in the third quarter from a net loss of $589 million in the second quarter. Net sales increased to $2.34 billion from $2.09 billion. “Our third-quarter results exceeded our guidance and demonstrated the power of the actions we have taken since the onset of COVID-19 with dramatically […]
The Chicago Business Barometer marked its fourth consecutive month of expansion with a PMI of 61.1 in October. The headline index eased slightly from last month’s reading of 62.4 with only new orders advancing during October, gaining just 0.2 points. The production index fell 5.9 points and backlogs eased to a two-month low. The inventories […]
Nucor has agreed to acquire Precoat Metals’ paint line facility in Armorel, Ark., accelerating Nucor’s entry into the painted products market, said Troy Brooks, vice president and general manager of Nucor Steel Arkansas. Precoat’s paint line is located near the Nucor Steel Arkansas sheet mill campus and has a capacity of approximately 250,000 tons per […]
It’s an understatement to say it’s been a challenging year for Allegheny Technologies, Inc., said President and CEO Robert Wetherbee during ATI’s third-quarter earnings call. Commercial aerospace is ATI’s largest end market and was devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales in the jet engine segment plunged 68 percent year over year and 47 percent in […]
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing widespread damage to the nonresidential construction industry, says a new survey from the Associated General Contractors of America. More firms are reporting project delays or cancellations and construction employment levels are falling across U.S. metro areas. “The survey results make it clear that the months-long pandemic is undermining demand for […]
Five congressional representatives are saying “don’t do it” to a proposal to impose Section 232 tariffs on imports of transformer cores, laminates and transformers. In a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Virginia Reps. Denver Riggleman, Ben Cline, Morgan Griffith, Arkansas Rep. Bruce Westerman and North Carolina Rep. Dan Bishop said that imposition of tariffs […]
Orders for durable goods increased for the fifth straight month, up 1.9 percent to $237.1 billion and surpassing expectations. Transportation orders led the increase with a 4.1 percent gain. Automotive orders rose 1.5 percent in September on continued strong sales for SUV’s and light trucks. The commercial airline industry, showing losses through the pandemic, had […]
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index indicated strong growth in housing prices in August. The national composite rose 5.7% year-over-year, up from 4.8% in July. The 20-city composite (excluding missing Detroit data) posted a 5.2% annual gain compared to 4.1% the previous month. The month-over-month analysis showed a 1.1% increase for […]
NLMK says a full day of negotiations last Thursday failed to make any real progress on resolving the two-month-old strike at NLMK Pennsylvania. “It continues to appear that the USW leadership isn’t interested in getting the workers back to work as quickly as possible,” said a spokesperson for the company. NLMK is offering what it […]
U.S. Steel has successfully started its new electric arc furnace steelmaking facility at Fairfield, Ala. The EAF commenced its first arc, charged and melted scrap and on Oct. 20 tapped its first heat of liquid steel. EAF #1 at Fairfield Tubular will have an annual steelmaking capacity of 1.6 million tons and is part of […]
A cybersecurity attack at Canadian steel producer Stelco is a reminder to all in the steel industry to secure and protect their data and operations. Stelco announced Monday that it was the victim of a criminal attack on its information systems. Immediate countermeasures were implemented that limited the scope of the attack, but certain operations, […]
JSW Steel’s assets in Texas and Ohio both reported losses for the second quarter of FY 2021. At Baytown, the pipe mill remained idled and the plate mill operated at only 22 percent of capacity, producing 54,137 metric tons. EBITDA for the subsidiary was positive at $17.24 million, but only due to a $30.4 million […]
Residential housing construction remains in high demand as consumers take advantage of favorable interest rates. Sales of new single-family homes in September slipped 3.5 percent from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 959,000, but were 32 percent higher than a year ago. Sales in the Northeast fell 28.9 percent from September and sales […]
The return of automotive manufacturing after closures due to the pandemic boosted demand for Cleveland-Cliffs’ products and resulted in revenue of $1.6 billion and net income of $2 million for the third quarter of 2020. “We were significantly affected in Q2 by the unprecedented shutdowns that took place throughout the entire auto sector for an […]
North Star BlueScope continues to shine for Australian parent company BlueScope Steel. North Star continues to ship at full capacity in the first half of FY 2021 driven by the rebound in the U.S. auto industry. Steel spreads have improved in the half due to higher HRC pricing, although earnings are expected to be somewhat […]
Lower prices and planned maintenance contributed to reduced earnings for SSAB Americas in the third quarter of 2020. Revenue fell 16 percent from the prior quarter and 39 percent year-over-year to SEK 2,715 million ($309.5 million U.S.). The segment posted an operating loss of SEK 436 million ($49.7 million), down SEK 425 million from Q2 […]
Steel associations from around the globe called on steel-producing economies to intensify their work in the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity. Recent increases in steel overcapacity have reversed a three-year declining trend and are of “tremendous concern” during a pandemic where steel demand is severely depressed. The associations urge participating countries in the Global […]
Economic activity grew at a slight to modest pace in early October with inconsistency among sectors, says the Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book. Manufacturing activity growth was moderate and the sector added jobs across the country. Demand for new and existing homes kept residential construction robust, but interest in commercial real estate leasing deteriorated. Construction […]
Nucor reported better than expected results for the third quarter of 2020. The company’s bar and structural mills led earnings, benefiting from a good nonresidential construction market. Joist and deck orders, quotes and backlogs are up year-over year with strong demand from nonresidential, including data and distribution center construction, company executives told investors and analysts […]
Schnitzer Steel, a metals recycler and steel manufacturer, maintained operations throughout the pandemic, navigating though low scrap supply and falling demand and emerging optimistic about the year ahead. “These past seven months have been challenging for all of us,” said Chairman and CEO Tamara Lundgren of Schnitzer Steel. “We have been confronted with cascading crises, […]
Existing home sales soared in September, up 9.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.5 million. Compared to September 2019, sales were up nearly 21 percent, reported the National Association of Realtors. “Home sales traditionally taper off toward the end of the year, but in September they surged beyond what we normally see […]
Zekelman Industries is partnering with Everguard.ai to use artificial intelligence and sensor fusion to increase safety at the company’s steel facilities. The companies will bring Everguard’s Sentri360 platform to Zekelman’s Atlas Tube facility in Blytheville, Ark., for a proactive approach to preventing workplace injuries and accidents. Loading of heavy steel products on trucks and tarping […]
ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and decarbonization are big concerns for corporate investors in the metals and mining sector, according to a recent survey by CRU. How prepared are global corporations to take on the changes needed to reach zero emissions? China is a leader in decarbonization, announcing in September a target of net zero emissions […]