Reliance Steel & Aluminum reported record results in 2018, delivering the highest net sales in the company’s history at $11.53 billion. “2018 was an incredible year for Reliance, full of significant financial and operational milestones,” said Jim Hoffman, President and CEO of Reliance. “We experienced improved pricing conditions, healthy demand and excellent execution by our […]
Canadian steel company Stelco announced a new CEO and defied U.S. tariffs with a strong earnings report for the fourth quarter. David Cheney, formerly chief business development officer, will assume the mantle of CEO from Alan Kestenbaum who will continue to serve as Executive Chairman. Cheney will have executive responsibility for the company’s day-to-day business, […]
The Department of Commerce announced an affirmative final determination on Feb. 21 in the antidumping and countervailing duty investigations of imports of large diameter welded pipe from Korea and Turkey and the antidumping investigations on LDW pipe imports from Canada and Greece. The merchandise covered by the Canada, Greece, Korea, and Turkey investigations is welded […]
A delayed report on manufactured durable goods showed new orders increased 1.2 percent in December, due mostly to orders for transportation. Excluding transportation, new orders rose just 0.1 percent. Orders for core capital goods, which exclude defense and aircraft and are considered a measure of business investment, dropped unexpectedly by 0.7 percent after a downward […]
Existing home sales fell for the third month in January for the lowest seasonally adjusted annual rate since November 2015, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales dipped 1.2 percent from December to a SAAR of 4.94 million homes last month. Compared to a year ago, sales were down 8.5 percent. “Existing home sales […]
President Trump has received the long-awaited report from the Commerce Department on whether imports of automobiles and auto parts pose a threat to national security and now has 90 days to consider whether to place a 25 percent tariff on automotive imports under Section 232. Details of the Commerce findings were not disclosed but the […]
Section 232 tariffs on imported autos and auto parts would cause “substantial harm” to the U.S. economy, says a new report by the Center for Automotive Research. CAR analyzed the impact of 25 percent auto tariffs in 10 policy scenarios, concluding that, in all cases, the outcomes “are all profoundly negative for consumers, for new […]
Canada is stepping up its efforts to convince the Trump administration to lift the Section 232 restrictions on steel and aluminum. After meeting with Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley earlier in the week, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland appealed to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Saturday for help in removing the tariffs. “We spoke a […]
The United Steelworkers and Bedrock Industries announced they will begin negotiations for a new collective agreement for workers at the Pointe-Noire iron pellet plant in Quebec. Bedrock Industries notified the USW of its intention to purchase and restart the facility. The pellet plant, formerly owned by Cliffs Natural Resources, closed in 2013 and is currently […]
Olympic Steel reported record sales for the fourth quarter and full-year 2018. The metals service center saw net sales jump 29 percent in 2018 to $1.7 billion on higher year-over-year volume and higher average prices in all three of its report segments. Operating income more than doubled in 2018 to $57.1 million, up from $24.0 […]
SMU has updated the steel capacity chart that was published on Thursday to reflect new information obtained and to correct some errors regarding tonnage (metric to net tons). Here is the revised chart. If you know of any new steel capacity coming on line, please let us know and we will continue to update the […]
Manufacturers in New York State report that business activity improved in February. The general business index of The Empire State Manufacturing survey rose five points to post 8.8 after falling the previous two months. Indexes for new orders and shipments remained strong in February. The index for new orders climbed four points to 7.5, while […]
A strong economy and record profits are stimulating expansion in the U.S. steel industry. Often crediting President Trump for “leveling the playing field” with steel imports, companies like U.S. Steel and Nucor are taking the opportunity to reinvest their windfall in new and upgraded facilities. Adding capacity in a world that is struggling with steel […]
NLMK Pennsylvania says it is the “poster child for tariffs,” paying more than $160 million in duties for the steel slabs it utilizes at its operations. “I can’t imagine anybody paying more money in tariffs than we have,’’ said Bob Miller, NLMK Pennsylvania president in a recent comment to the Sharon Herald. NLMK Pennsylvania relies […]
A new report by the U.S. Trade Representative says that China is moving further away from an open market and, instead, is embracing a state-led approach to the economy and trade. As a member of the World Trade Organization, China is expected to comply with its bilateral and multilateral commitments, but has demonstrated that its […]
Cleveland-Cliffs announced that CFO Timothy K. Flanagan is leaving the company and will be succeeded by Keith Koci as executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective immediately. Regarding the personnel change, Cleveland-Cliffs’ Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Lourenco Goncalves, stated: “I appreciate the work done by Tim Flanagan during the last several years […]
“When, not if” has an official date from U.S. Steel President and CEO David Burritt. U.S. Steel has formally announced it will restart construction immediately on its Fairfield electric arc furnace facility. Construction on the EAF began at U.S. Steel’s Tubular operations in Fairfield, Ala., in March 2015 and was suspended in December 2015 due […]
A recently published report by the U.S. International Trade Commission concerning the import of large diameter welded pipe from China and India had mixed results regarding injury to domestic producers. The Commission made a final affirmative determination of injury in the antidumping investigation of LDW line pipe from China, but voted to terminate the accompanying […]
U.S. Steel has formally announced it will restart construction immediately on its Fairfield electric arc furnace facility. Construction on the EAF began at U.S. Steel’s Tubular operations in Fairfield, Ala., in March 2015 and was suspended in December 2015 due to unfavorable market conditions. “We are pleased to announce the achievement of the market and […]
The recent mining disaster in Vale prompted a flurry of concern from analysts on the Cleveland Cliffs earnings call. Cleveland Cliff’s CEO Lourenco Goncalves said on Friday that the impact from the Vale mining disaster has yet to be properly quantified. Estimates of 11 million tons of capacity loss are likely to be double that, […]
Sales at NLMK USA fell 15 percent from third- to fourth-quarter 2018 on expectation of lower steel prices. Shipments dropped 500,000 metric tons from 590,000 tons, sequentially. The decrease in shipments, combined with a 3 percent decline in average price, led to sales falling 17 percent to $500 million. On a yearly basis, NLMK USA […]
Section 232 tariffs propelled ArcelorMittal to its best results in nearly 10 years, the company reported to analysts and investors today. The 25 percent tariffs on steel imports helped drive up steel prices, adding to company revenue from its U.S. assets. Average steel selling price in North America rose 15 percent year-over-year. Net income for […]
The following statement by Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross supporting the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act was published by Fox News and the Commerce Department on Feb. 6, 2019: Americans live in a world where other countries impose high tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade. U.S. exporters face enormous obstacles in foreign markets, and yet, we […]
The State of the Union speech on Tuesday brought renewed calls from industry associations for increases in federal infrastructure spending. President Trump’s reference to the subject was cursory at best, but provided hope that Congress can agree on a bipartisan bill in 2019. “Both parties should be able to unite for a great rebuilding of […]
Union Partners has appointed former Big River Steel executive Mark Bula as Executive Vice President of Corporate Development. Bula served as Big River Steel’s chief commercial officer for six years helping to launch the company, developing their go-to-market strategy and directly managing all functional leaders. He exited the company in May 2018 and has received […]
The following statement by Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross supporting the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act was published by Fox News and the Commerce Department on Feb. 6, 2019: Americans live in a world where other countries impose high tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade. U.S. exporters face enormous obstacles in foreign markets, and yet, we […]
The Dodge Momentum Index rose 4.7 percent in January to 157.7 from a revised reading of 150.6 in December. The bounce back reversed December’s decline and put it in line with the average index reading for the second half of 2018. Institutional projects gained traction in January driven by public funding for schools and transportation […]
ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor called firefighters to help control a towering blaze from a coke oven battery late Tuesday night. ArcelorMittal spokeswoman Mary Beth Holford said the plant “experienced a high voltage power interruption for a short duration” about 10:05 p.m. Tuesday. The outage triggered an emergency flare system that burned off excess coke oven gas, […]
Global manufacturing is approaching the stagnation point, says a new survey by J.P. Morgan and IHS Markit. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI fell for the ninth month in January to register 50.7, its lowest reading since August 2016. Trade tension originating with the U.S. was a common theme throughout the IHS Markit PMI reports […]
A petition filed with the U.S. Commerce Department on Feb. 4 alleges that fabricated structural steel from Canada, China and Mexico is being dumped on the U.S. market and is benefitting from countervailing subsidies. Products covered by the petition include carbon and alloy (including stainless) steel products such as angles, columns, beams, girders, plates, flange […]