ThyssenKrupp AG received permission from lenders to waive a test on its EUR 2.5 billion line of credit. The loan required ThyssenKrupp to limit its debt to equity ratio to 150 percent, a test that ThyssenKrupp would likely have failed, allowing lenders to cancel the loan. In June of 2013, the company’s debt ratio was […]
New home sales rose by 7.9 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted rate of 421,000 from the revised July rate of 390,000 (from an earlier estimate of 394,000) according to the U.S Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sales were slightly below expectations of 425,000 for August, showing weakness compared […]
The shipping industry is set for a profitable year for the first time since 2010 according to the September 25 MID-SHIP Report. Freight rates are continuing to rise and demand for large size ships is finally beginning to outpace supply. The industry has faced a supply glut partially due to shipyards offering vessels at low […]
A storage dome collapse will delay the start-up of Nucor’s new DRI plant in Convent, La., until the end of the year said Nucor officials in a press release on Sept. 26. On Wednesday afternoon, one of three storage domes for storage of iron ore pellets, suffered structural failure and collapsed, creating what sounded like […]
Manufacturing activity in the Fifth District was stalled in September according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite index of manufacturing activity registered 0 following last month’s reading of 14. New orders and shipments slowed compared to August. Lead times were unchanged at an index reading of 1 for the second month. Shipments […]
US Steel announced management changes in the company’s raw materials and procurement organizations last week. Scott Conley will succeed Marc Stoken on Oct. 1 as general manager—raw materials. Stoken is retiring after 37 years with US Steel. Conley began his US Steel career in 1987 as an associate programmer in Pittsburgh and worked in purchasing […]
U.S. steel industry members are challenging proposed changes to Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Buy America laws that will affect manufactured products, ferry boat equipment, and pig iron and processed, pelletized, and reduced iron ores. The FHWA sought comments from the public regarding the continued, need, in whole or part for the general waivers on […]
Big River Steel received its air quality permit from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality on Sept. 19, clearing the way for final financing and preparation for construction. The company plans on breaking ground between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2013. The construction of the $1.1 billion plant is projected to take 18 months and provide […]
Furnace Outage Keeps AK from Taking Advantage of Higher Spot Prices AK Steel is expecting a loss for the third quarter that includes approximately $12 million uncovered by insurance related to an unplanned furnace outage in the third quarter. In its guidance released Thursday, the company said the blast furnace outage at Middletown Works reduced […]
ArcelorMittal plans to invest $25 million in improvements in its hot-dip galvanizing line at Cleveland Works bringing its total investment over the past ten years to more than $95 million. Louis Schorsch, of the company’s group management board, told attendees at a City Club Business Leaders event last week that Cleveland Works will be a […]
Buyers looking to snag a low mortgage before rates rise too high pushed home re-sales to its highest pace since February 2007. Existing home sales rose 1.7 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million from 5.39 million in July. The increase is likely to be temporary however, said Lawrence Yun, […]
Good news from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank—manufacturing activity increased from 9.3 to 22.3 in September, its highest reading in the Business Outlook Survey since March 2011. Demand for manufactured goods increased 16 points on the new order index to 21.2. Shipments picked up from a decrease last month. Inventories and deliveries were steady […]
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. and Ternium SA announced the start-up of its joint venture steel operation, Tenigal, near Monterrey City, Mexico on Sept. 18. Tenigal is part of Ternium’s Pesqueria Project, a $1.1 billion steel complex that includes a cold-rolling plant with a 1.5 million ton annual capacity. Tenigal will produce automotive […]
Steel Dynamics offered guidance on Tuesday saying it anticipates a better third quarter as compared to the second quarter due to increase in shipments and average metal spread (spread being the difference between steel costs and selling prices). In the sheet steel segment higher volumes and better spread increased profits, while in the long products […]
Housing starts in August fell short of economist expectations showing just a 0.9 percent increase to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 891,000 units. The increase only comes after July’s rate was revised downward to 883,000 from 896,000, indicating the market may be flattening. Starts for single family homes rose 7 percent offsetting a […]
Austrian-based, Benteler International AG has begun construction of a division of Benteler Steel/Tube in Shreveport, LA. The $975 million steel manufacturing project will include a hot-rolling seamless tube facility to be completed in third quarter 2014 and an electric arc furnace in 2020. The facility will have a capacity of producing 320,000 tons of steel […]
In guidance remarks released Tuesday, Nucor Corp. said it expects the third quarter to outperform the second due to strong performance from its sheet and structural steel segment. Sheet steel improvements are attributed to competitor supply disruptions, customer inventory restocking and market demand improvement. The structural segment benefited from higher production following a planned maintenance […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Index lost two points in September but conditions for New York manufacturers still indicate modest growth at 6.3. New orders picked up from a flat 0.27 in August, rising to 2.4. The shipping index surged 15 points to 16.4—its highest level in more than a year. Prices paid held […]
A minor fire at the ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor plant was contained by company and local firefighters on Sept. 15. According to an ArcelorMittal spokesman, the fire occurred at around 2:40 Sunday on a conveyor unit that carries revert materials to the sinter. No employees were injured, however, a firefighter was taken to the hospital for […]
Severstal North America announced the appointment of Olga Petrova as new Chief Financial Officer. Petrova will succeed Interim CFO Michael Tuomey who has been appointed Deputy Chief Financial Officer. Petrova held the position of Head of Business the Planning and Controlling at parent company OAO Severstal since 2011. Her background includes high-level financial positions at […]
Metalforming companies are predicting a decline in economic activity during the next three months after showing optimism in the August survey last month. The September 2013 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report showed the number of participants forecasting a decline in activity doubled in September to 14 percent, with 51 percent expecting no change […]
A group of construction industry trade associations have formed the Construction Industry Safety Coalition in response to a proposed OSHA rule on crystalline silica exposure. In an August 23 website posting, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommended a reduction of the permissible exposure limit for breathable silica. “Exposure to silica can be deadly, and […]
Attempts to save the Warren steel mill connected with the former RG Steel have finally come to an end. BDM Warren Steel Operations filed a permit application to demolish the mill that was shut down in May 2012 said Howland Township Administrator Darlene St. George. The mill was purchased by BDM in August 2012 and […]
In light of the statistics shared earlier in this newsletter regarding South Korean shipments of hot dipped galvanized into the United States by port. We thought our readers would be interested in learning that South Korean steelmaker; Hyundai Steel is expanding their production capabilities (even with 700+ million metric tons of capacity in neighboring China). […]
A new generation of solar panels has been developed by ArcelorMittal. Instead of using glass plate, a thin semi-conductor coating is layered directly on steel substrate to produce electricity via solar radiation. The photovoltaic technology using steel is more environmentally friendly process than solar modules using glass panels, said ArcelorMittal. The new technology will allow […]
Ohio Governor John Kasich spoke about regulation, education and economic development at the Association of Steel Distributors (ASD) meeting on September 12 at the Ritz Carlton, Cleveland. Governor Kasich said, “We believe that a regulatory environment is important. It is not like we don’t want any regulations, but we want common sense regulations.” As […]
Italian steel maker Riva Steel announced it will cease as of today (September 12) all activities at its plants in Italy except those at its troubled Taranto-based ILVA Steel. The announcement follows the seizure of almost 1 billion euros of assets from the Riva Group by Italian police on September 10. The seizure was […]
Freight rates on seabourne vessels have escalated according to this week’s data in the MID-SHIP Report. Prices have been volatile over the past few months and are expected to continue to rise in the fourth quarter. Oversupply of vessels continues to be a problem but economic improvement in the EU, America and China, and […]
Dubai-based Alita USA Holdings will construct a $102 million steel plant in Buffalo, NY. The new plant will produce casing pipes used in the oil and gas industries and employ an estimated 172 workers. Alita president and CEO Ali Hosseini said in an interview with The Buffalo News that the choice of location was between […]
Construction in Canada continues to trend upward according to figures released September 9 by Statistics Canada. Total construction permit values rose 20.7 percent to $8 billion in July. Canadian housing permit values for single and multifamily housing in July rose by 4.1 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively. Gains for single family homes failed to […]