US Steel announced today that as part of its strategic transformation effort it will no longer pursue the expansion of its Keetac iron ore pellet operations at Keewatin, Minn., or continue additional investments into the carbon alloy facility at Gary Works. The expansion at Keetac was intended to upgrade and restart the idled pelletizing line […]
AK Steel announced today the completion of the $707 million purchase of Severstal Dearborn, which includes a cokemaking facility and interest in three joint venture steel processing facilities. The mill will be renamed “Dearborn Works.” “At AK Steel, the future is now, and the future is bright, as our acquisition of Dearborn Works makes us […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. announced today the completion of the acquisition of Severstal Columbus for a purchase price of $1.625 billion. “I would like to enthusiastically welcome the Columbus employees, community, and customers into the Steel Dynamics family,” stated Mark D. Millett, Chief Executive Officer. “The successful completion of the Columbus acquisition is an important milestone […]
Essar Steel Algoma has received permission from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for a recapitalization and refinancing plan that was approved by shareholders in a September 10, 2014 meeting. The Plan of Arrangement allows for a capital infusion of up to $100 million from the Essar Global Fund Ltd to complete scheduled capital improvements […]
Manufacturing activity in New York in September was at its highest level since late 2009. The general business conditions index rose 13 points to 27.5 according to the survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The new orders index rose three points to 16.9 while the shipments index advanced two points to 27.1—both […]
Esmark Steel Group is continuing to pursue the purchase of Serbian steel mill Zelezara Smederevo but is waiting for sale or lease approval by the Serbian government. A spokesperson for Esmark said the company is returning to Serbia next week for continued negotiations and expects the government to announce the final bidders at that time. […]
Big River Steel has been granted a 28-day extension to respond to the latest lawsuit brought by rival steel mill, Nucor Corporation. Nucor filed a suit in federal court last month to block construction of the 1.3 billion steel mill and to revoke the air permit that was granted to Big River. Nucor claims the […]
Esmark, Inc. announced it will convert the former Ohio Cold Rolling Company steel finishing mill, in Yorkville, Ohio, into a tri-modal services terminal to support oil and gas companies operating in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays. Ohio Cold Rolling was acquired by Esmark two years ago and subsequently closed. The repurposed facility will be […]
Nucor Corporation has announced the promotion of Dave Sumoski to Executive Vice President of engineered bar products, including special bar quality products (SBQ) and cold finish businesses, effective September 14, 2014. Sumoski has been with Nucor since 1995 and was promoted to maintenance manager at Nucor Steel-Berkeley in 1999. In 2008 he was promoted to […]
Steel Market Update featured Timna Tanners, Metals & Mining Analyst, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, and John Anton, Director of Steel Services, IHS Global, at a luncheon presentation at the recent Steel Summit. The topic was commodity and steel forecasts and consolidation of the industry. As usual the two disagreed on some topics and sparked some […]
Canada building permit values were up 11.8 percent from June to July to a value of $9.2 billion. On a year-over year basis, building permits increased 13.3 percent. Multi-family dwellings and institutional buildings led the increase. Residential building permit values rose 5.2 percent month over month to a record $4.2 billion. Permits were authorized for […]
General Electric is selling its GE Appliance business to AB Electrolux of Sweden for $3.3 billion. Electrolux, the parent company of US brands Electrolux and Frigadaire, expects the sale to generate annual cost synergies of approximately $300 million and enhance its position as a global player in home appliances. “The acquisition, which is our largest […]
Are foreign steel prices too low or are US steel prices too high? That is a question faced by trade litigation attorneys Robert Schagrin and Lewis Leibowitz at the recent SMU Steel Summit conference in Atlanta. There is a $300 delta between China and US prices and a $200 delta between Europe and the US […]
AIIS, Falls Church, VA. September 5, 2014 — Steel exports continued to trend downward in July, slipping 3.3 percent to just over 1 million net tons. While exports to Canada were virtually unchanged from June to July at 536,892 net tons, and the amount of steel sent to Mexico increased 7.4 percent to 366,732 net […]
US automotive sales topped 1.58 million vehicles in March, an increase of 5.4 percent compared to August 2013 and the highest total since August 2003. Sales on a seasonally adjusted annual rate rose to 17.45 million units, according to WardsAuto, beating analyst estimates of 16.6 million. It was the first time the seasonally adjusted annual […]
Developed by research and development teams in France and the USA, the Fortiform™ range will initially be produced and developed at two ArcelorMittal sites in Belgium: Gent and Kessales (Liège). The new Fortiform™ range of advanced high strength steels (AHSS) for cold stamping could lead to further weight savings of up to 20% in vehicle […]
The August ISM Purchasing Manufacturing Index increased 1.9 points to a reading of 59.0, its highest reading since March 2011. Survey respondents report business is strong but expressed concern over geopolitical issues. New orders and production each increased 3.3 percent to 66.7 and 64.5, respectively. The new orders index was the highest seen since April […]
The following is a press release by the Associated General Contractors of America: ACG, Sept 2, 2014 — Growing demand for construction services comes as new study finds one-in-four construction firms turning down work because of growing labor shortages for the industry. All major categories of construction spending increased in July and total construction reached […]
Global manufacturing conditions were relatively unchanged in August, increasing to 52.6 on the JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI from 52.4 in July. The US continued to show strong domestic and foreign demand. The Eurozone and the UK weakened in August with the Eurozone registering its lowest PMI since July 2013. Japan rebounded while manufacturing conditions […]
Ford has begun transforming its Dearborn plant for production of the all new aluminum-bodied F-150 pickup. The last steel-bodied F-150 left the line on August 23rd and the plant was closed to start replacing the old machinery with new. The conversion will cost Ford $359 million and idle production until September 22. Ford employees, approximately […]
Ford has begun transforming its Dearborn plant for production of the all new aluminum-bodied F-150 pickup. The last steel-bodied F-150 left the line on August 23rd and the plant was closed to start replacing the old machinery with new. The conversion will cost Ford $359 million and idle production until September 22. Ford employees, approximately […]
The Chicago Business Barometer rebounded in August to 64.3, gaining 11.7 points and making up the decline in July’s Purchasing Manager Index (PMI). The August jump confirmed that July’s weakness was only temporary, according to Philip Uglow, Chief Economist at MNI Indicators. Production rose by 20 points to its greatest monthly increase in ten years. […]
Jindal SAW Ltd, through its subsidiary Jindal Tubular USA LLC, will acquire all of pipe and tube producer PSL North America LLC in a bankruptcy purchase agreement. The purchase price was undisclosed but assets of PSL North America and PSL USA (which owns a majority stake in PSL North America) were listed at $50 million […]
There were no surprises raised during the most recent HARDI steel conference call conducted earlier this morning (Tuesday, August 26th). There were no surprises because on the previous call, held in July, the galvanized steel group members discussed the potential for new coating extras as zinc prices rose above $1.00 per pound. As anticipated back […]
Manufacturing activity continued to improve in the Fifth District in August, according to the survey of manufacturing activity conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite index rose to 12 for its highest reading since March 2011. Shipments gained 7 points advancing to 10 while new orders gained 8 points registering 13. Employment […]
Durable goods orders increased 22.6 percent in July, or $55.3 billion to $300.2 billion, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The increase was the highest level seen since the series was first published in 1992. Excluding defense, new orders increased 24.9 percent. Transportation equipment drove the increase with a gain of 74.2 […]
Home price gains slowed in June according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. The monthly national index increased just 0.9 percent in June and the 10-City and 20-City Composites increased 1.0 percent. The index shows a sustained slowdown in the 12 months ending June 2014. “Home price gains continue to ease as they have since […]
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported that Texas manufacturing expanded at a slower pace in August. The production index in the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey registered at 6.8 in August, falling from 19.1 in July. The new orders index fell 11 points to 2.2. The shipment index registered a 16.4 point drop to 6.4, […]
Sales of new single family homes slipped 2.4 percent in July according to the most recent Department of Commerce estimates. Sales were down for the second month in a row at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 412,000, but still 12.3 percent above the July 2013 estimate of 367,000. The July sales rate was below […]
Australian company BlueScope Steel announced FY 2014 underlying EBIT of AUD 104.6 million (USD 97.2 million) for its 50 percent ownership of U.S. based North Star BlueScope Steel. The increased profit, up 57 percent from FY 2013 AUD 66.7 million, was due primarily to stronger spread from higher hot rolled coil prices that were partially […]