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 […]
NLMK USA steel sales totaled 451,000 metric tons (497,141 net tons) for third quarter of 2013, an increase of 5.1 percent from second quarter and 8.7 percent from third quarter 2012. The increase was due mostly to greater US sales for hot rolled coil (HRC) and galvanized steel—275,000 tonnes (303,135 net tons) and 65,000 tonnes […]
The Chinese economy grew 7.8 percent in the third quarter, compared to 7.5 percent in the second quarter and 7.7 percent in the first quarter. Growth for the first nine months of 2013 was 7.7 percent keeping China on target for a 7.5 percent GDP for the year. According to the China National Bureau of […]
Employees at Severstal Mountain State Carbon rejected a four-year contract offered by the company after more than a year at the bargaining table. The offer was defeated 181 to 7 by USW Local 1190. “We weren’t asking for the world,” said Don Hubbard a member of the union’s bargaining team. Worker demands included four weeks […]
Cevian Capital is making a move on ThyssenKrupp AG saying it will raise its stake in ThyssenKrupp to 10 percent by the end of the year and will seek a seat on the supervisory board, according to sources reported by German publication Manager Magazin. It is speculated that Cevian could fill one of three board […]
Severstal NA reported sales of 1.2 million tonnes (1.32 million tons) of rolled products in the third quarter, a 2 percent increase over second quarter. Hot rolled coil and plate production decreased 2 percent to 642,729 tonnes (708,475 million tons) as compared to 656,574 tonnes (723,736 million tons) in the second quarter. […]
Steel Dynamics reported a strong third quarter net income of $57 million on net sales of $1.9 billion. In comparison, SDI reported $13 million net income on net sales of $1.7 billion in September 2012, and $29 million on net sales of $1.8 billion in second quarter 2013. “Our consolidated operating income increased 64 percent […]
Nucor announced consolidated net earnings of $147.6 million for the third quarter of 2013 as compared to net earnings of $85.1 million reported in the previous quarter and $110.3 million in third quarter of 2012. Net sales increased 6 percent to 4.94 billion, up slightly from $4.67 billion in the second quarter […]
Business conditions held steady for New York manufacturers according to the October Empire State Manufacturing Index. The general business index fell 5 points to 1.5 but remained in growth status. The new orders index rose 5 points while shipping fell 3 points, suggesting modest increases for both indexes for the month. The prices paid index […]
The Certified Steel Stud Association (CSSA) recently squared off against the Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA) over galvanized coatings for steel stud. CSSA released a warning that G40e or G40EQ coated steel products are not a substitute for G40 coated steel studs. G40 is a hot-dipped galvanized coating (99 percent zinc) that is used to […]
Evraz North America announced Monday it would suspend operations at its steel mill in Claymont, Delaware on December 13th due to “subdued market demand and the high volume of imports.” The Russian-owned mill produces specialized steel plate and has an annual capacity of 500,000 tons but produced only 383,590 tons in 2012 and 189,025 tons […]
The U.S. Treasury defines the debt ceiling or limit as “the total amount of money that the United States government is authorized to borrow to meet its existing legal obligations, including Social Security and Medicare benefits, military salaries, interest on the national debt, tax refunds, and other payments.” The current debt ceiling is set at […]
Shipping in the Capesize Market is beginning to slow down after a strong September driven by iron ore restocking in China and exports of ore from Brazil. According to the MID-SHIP Report on Oct. 10, average Capesize earnings fell to $33,368 from $42,211 two weeks ago. Time charters averaged $30,000 prompting owners to turnover cargo […]
SMU learned in a recent conference call held by Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts that CSN is no longer interested in the ThyssenKrupp Brazil assets. Thiago Lofiego, senior Latin American Mining & Steel analyst at BofAML said CSN now appears to be interested in purchasing only the TK Alabama assets for a price in […]
Essar Algoma is looking for a few good men (or women) to fill three of its top positions: CEO, CFO, and Chief – Sales and Marketing. The position of chief executive officer is currently held by Kalyan Ghosh who stepped in as Interim CEO following Jim Hrusovsky’s resignation in November 2012 after sixteen months in […]
Kloeckner Metals Co. announced the opening of a new light gauge flat rolled processing center at the ThyssenKrupp Steel USA plant site in Calvert, Alabama. The service center will provide toll processing for ThyssenKrupp Steel USA based on a long-term, owner-independent exclusive contract. The 100,000 square foot facility will offer slitting first and will later […]
Scrap supplier, Sims Metal Management, announced the appointment of Galdino Claro as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, effective Nov. 4. Claro joins Sims from Harsco Corporation, a global provider of industrial solutions and engineered products, where he has served as Executive Vice President and CEO of Metals and Minerals since July 2010. Claro’s experience […]
Canadian building permits in August declined for the third month in a row, dropping 0.7 percent to 209,652 units from 211,080 in July, according to data released Oct. 8 by Statistics Canada. Total value of permits in August was $6.3 billion, down 21.2 percent from July following an increase of 21.4 percent the previous month. […]
Gov. Robert Bentley of Alabama announced that IT-TRI LLC will build a steel tubing and manufacturing plant in Lawrence County. The Chicago-based company hopes to break ground in Trinity, Ala. this fall and begin operations in 2014. “Having two raw material suppliers in Alabama, Nucor Steel in Decatur and U.S. Steel in Birmingham, and due […]
Global distributor A.M. Castle & Co. expects a third quarter loss of 28 to 32 cents per share and EBITDA between $4 million and $5 million according to preliminary results announced on Oct. 8. Sales are expected to range between $250 million and $255 million for the quarter. Projections were well below analyst estimates of […]
Steel buyers surveyed in the September Institute for Supply Management’s Steel Buyer’s Forum are expecting orders to remain flat or drop in the next three months. Buyers who felt orders would remain the same increased to 53.3 percent from 41.2 percent in August; those who predicted a drop increased to 20 percent from 11.8 percent […]
Apparent steel use is expected to grow around 3 percent for both 2013 and 2014 says the World Steel Association in its Short Range Outlook. lobal steel demand is expected to increase to 1.475 billion metric tons in 2013, up 3.1 percent over 2012. WSA says steel use will continue its growth trend in 2014 […]
Activist investor Cevian Capital announced it has increased its stake in ThyssenKrupp AG from 5.2 percent to 6.1 percent. You may be familiar with the definition of an activist as “a vigorous advocate of a cause” but an activist investor is not quite the same. Investopedia defines an activist investor as: An individual or group […]
The proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Canada’s oil sand region to the Gulf Coast has been delayed until 2014. In a securities filing, TransCanada said it “no longer expects that the decision on the presidential permit required for the project will be made by year end and the corporation anticipates that its previously disclosed expected […]
The Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) Board of Directors announced the election of Philip K. Bell as SMA President. Bell is currently Director of External Communications and Public Affairs for Gerdau Long Steel North America. He will assume his new role at SMA on November 1, 2013. Current SMA President Thomas Danjczek will retire after 15 […]
US auto sales slipped to 1.14 million new vehicles compared to 1.19 million in the same month last year. It was the first time sales failed to increase on a month-over-month basis in 27 months. Sales at a seasonally adjusted annual rate were 15.4 million–still strong enough to show a 37th consecutive increase on a […]
Specialty pipe maker Edgen Group Inc., based in Baton Rouge, has been purchased by Japan-based Sumitomo Corporation for $12 per share. The acquisition is valued at $520 million and is expected to close by the end of the year. “The investment in Edgen Group will represent further expansion of Sumitomo’s distribution presence across the upstream, […]
AK Steel joined NLMK and ArcelorMittal in raising spot market base prices for all carbon flat-rolled steel products. Effective immediately, the company will be quoting the following minimum base prices for new orders: Minimum Base Prices for New Orders: – Hot Rolled: $680 per ton – Cold Rolled: $790 per ton – Hot Dipped Galvanized: […]
Manufacturing activity in the Tenth District slowed in September according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. The month-over-month composite index that factors in production, new orders, employment, supplier delivery times, and raw materials inventory indices, was 2, dropping from 8 in August and 6 in July. The production index slid […]
Severstal NA announced more management changes on Friday to complete its senior leadership team. Gerrit Reepmeyer was appointed Vice President, Procurement. An April 2013 addition to SNA as Director, Energy and Utilities, Reepmeyer worked previously as a Principal of E.On Inhouse Consulting, a power and gas company located in Dusseldorf, Germany. Mikhail Zhavoronkov was appointed […]