The Association of American Railroads reported 305,389 carloads for the week ending Nov 1, 2014, up 4.3 percent year over. Intermodal volume increased 5.9 percent y/y to 279,819 units for the highest volume ever. “America’s railroads are moving an enormous amount of freight today,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “In the first […]
Ternium reported earnings for the 3rd quarter 2014 this week. Ternium is a large steel producer in Mexico, which accounts for 60 percent of the company’s shipments, as well as Argentina which accounts for 24 percent. Ternium also owns a conversion mill in the United States which produces galvanized and Galvalume products along with prepainted […]
The trucking industry’s top concerns were recently highlighted in an October 2014 survey by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). The ATRI report was based on the responses of 1,444 industry drivers, carriers and suppliers. Results show that Hours of Service (HOS) followed by Driver Shortage and Compliance, and Safety and Accountability (CSA) remain the […]
Olympic Steel, a metals service center headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, reported net sales of 376.6 million for third quarter, an increase of 23.9 percent year over year and a new third quarter sales record. Net sales on flat products totaled $312 million while sales for tubular and pipe products totaled $63.8 million. Flat rolled shipments […]
Kloeckner Metals Corporation, the Americas segment of Klockner & Co. SE, had shipments of 733,000 tonnes (807,989 tons) in third quarter 2014, up 2.6 percent year over year due to favorable market development. Shipments were even with second quarter results. Sales were €634 million ($7.9 million), compared to €608 million ($7.5 million) in Q2 and […]
AK Steel reported a net loss of $7.2 million for the third quarter of 2013 due to one-time costs associated with the acquisition of Severstal Dearborn. Excluding the acquisition related costs, AK Steel’s adjusted net income was $16.4 million. Net sales were $1.59 billion on shipments of 1,462,900 tons. Shipments increased from 1,242,400 tons in […]
October U.S. auto sales reached an annualized rate of 16.35 million according to WardsAuto with actual sales totaling 1,273,138 units. October deliveries were up 6 percent on a seasonally adjusted annual rate compared to October 2013. “October was another strong month for the automotive sector, driven by a combination of low fuel prices, available credit […]
Global manufacturing continued to expand for the 23rd successive month according to JP Morgan and Markit. The JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI registered 52.2 in October, unchanged from September. “The global PMI continues to signal 3-4% annualized gains in manufacturing output as we head towards year-end,” said David Hensley, Director of Global Economics Coordination at […]
Nucor Corp. is reportedly one of the steel mill in talks with Cliffs Natural Resources over an investment plan for the Bloom Lake iron ore mine in Canada. Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said in the company earning calls that Cliffs would seek three investors, to partner at 10 percent each, to develop Phase 2 of […]
The Chicago Business Barometer surprised economists with jump to 66.2 from 60.5 in September, well above the forecast decline to 60.0. The reading on this month’s purchasing manager index was the highest since October 2013. The index average for third quarter was 59.1 but in the last three months the index has averaged 63.6—an indicator […]
US Steel announced in their earnings conference call that Carnegie Way benefits now total $495 million for 2014 due primarily to improvements in manufacturing processes, supply chain and logistics, and SG&A reductions. “While our operating difficulties in North America in the first half of the year made it difficult to see the results of our […]
Steel Dynamics announced that effective immediately Don Switzer will be assuming the role of Manager of Sales for its recently acquired steel-making facility in Columbus, Mississippi. Switzer will succeed Kasandra Lutzko who recently left the company to pursue other interests. Mr. Switzer joined Steel Dynamics in 2006 as Product Manager for pre-painted products and most […]
ArcelorMittal announced today the formation of a flat-rolled segment in North America as well as a shake-up in leadership to enhance performance in its North American operations. The North American segment represents one fourth of the company’s steel shipments and profits. The reorganization is expected to improve North American operations and accelerate the successful integration […]
Commercial Metals Company (CMC) reported net earnings of $34.9 million for its fourth quarter ending August 31, 2014. Net sales increased 12 percent year over year to $1.9 billion. For the full fiscal year 2014, net earnings were 115.6 million on net sales of 7 billion. In comparison, FY 2013 net earnings were 77.3 million […]
Esmark Inc has confirmed its interest in acquiring all the assets of Serbian government-owned steel facility Zelezara Smederevo, a producer of steel, hot-rolled and cold-rolled products, and tin plate-coated products serving customers in Central Europe. Esmark Inc. has formed Esmark Europe to lead mill operations, finance, and commercial sales if the bid is successful. During a […]
Cliffs Natural Resources is a leading producer and supplier of iron ore pellets to the Great Lakes regions. CEO Lourenco Goncalves spoke at length about the iron ore market during the Cliffs earnings conference call this week. “Our U.S. Iron Ore pellets are often incorrectly compared with seaborne iron ore fines. Fines require additional processing […]
Cliffs Natural Resources reported a net loss of 5.9 billion for third quarter. Consolidated revenue fell by 16 percent year over year to $1.3 billion due primarily to significantly lower prices for iron ore and metallurgical coal. Adjusted EBITDA for third quarter was $233 million, 45 percent below third quarter 2013. Cliff’s has had a […]
A.M. Castle & Co. reported net sales of $245.5 million for third quarter for a net loss of $7.3 million. Metals segment sales totaled $210.7 million, down 1.6 percent from the previous quarter and 4.2 percent lower year over year. Pricing dropped 2.5 percent and sales volumes declined 1.4 percent compared to Q3 2013. “While […]
SSAB Americas sales jumped 29 percent year over year to SEK 3,716 million ($507 million) for an operating profit of SEK 558 million ($76 million). Profit was attributed primarily to higher steel prices and improved productivity. Steel shipments increased 5 percent to 559,000 tonnes (616,191 tons) on a year over year basis and 7 percent […]
US Steel reports a third quarter net loss of $207 million compared to a loss of $1.791 billion during the second quarter 2014. Results include non-cash restructuring costs and $45 million in gains from sale of real estate. Adjusted net income was $325 million. Sales rose 11 percent to $4.59 billion and shipments were up […]
The American Institute for International Steel (AISI) says the increase in imports this year is a sign of a healthy economy. Increased imports indicate increased demand and thriving businesses. The press release from AIIS follows: Falls Church, Va., October 27, 2014 – Steel imports continued their upward trend in September, increasing 5.2 percent over their […]
Steel Market Update is a member of an association connected to the construction industry called HARDI. HARDI stands for Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International. HARDI and The Institute for Trend Research (ITR), an economic forecasting company, work together to gather economic data to provide a forecast to the HARDI members located in the United […]
Durable goods orders unexpectedly fell 1.3 percent in September for a second consecutive monthly decline. The drop follows a tumble of 18.3 percent in August. Economists were forecasting a gain of 0.5 percent for September. The disappointing performance may lead economists to revise forecasts for the third quarter GDP scheduled for release on Thursday. Current […]
Steel Market Update is a member of an association connected to the construction industry called HARDI. HARDI stands for Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International. HARDI and The Institute for Trend Research (ITR), an economic forecasting company, work together to gather economic data to provide a quarterly forecast to the HARDI members located in the […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co reported record sales for third quarter of $2.71 billion on shipments of 1.5 million tons. Not only did the company have good results to report, the Reliance executives had good commentary to offer in their third quarter conference call. Reliance noted that their purchase of imported steel has increased from […]
MID-SHIP Group reports that the two biggest factors impacting the dry cargo freight market right now are U.S. and South American agricultural products and Chinese imports and exports. Expectations for strong exports of agricultural products are high but not much has hit the export market yet. Iron ore imports into China have slowly started to […]
The metalforming industry is expecting little change in business conditions during the next three months according to the October 2014 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. Firms surveyed predict that there will be a slight drop in incoming orders during the next three months. Average daily shipping levels improved, however, showed improvement. Only 7 […]
Sales of new residential homes had little momentum in September. Home sales reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 467,000, just 0.2 percent higher than the previous month after August figures were adjusted downward. Last month’s sales figures were revised from an annual pace of 504,000 to 466,000—turning an 18 percent increase in August to […]
The shortage of construction workers is becoming a severe problem according to new survey data released by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). Labor shortages were first identified by AGC in 2013 but have worsened over the past year. In a survey of 1000 AGC members, the Association found that 83 percent of firms […]
A proposal by Transport Canada may be devastating for U.S. cargo ships delivering raw materials on the Great Lakes. The proposal would require lakers to be equipped with ballast water treatment systems like their oceangoing sister ships. The water treatment systems are designed to eliminating invasive species from being introduced to coastal waters through ballast […]