ArcelorMittal Dofasco is undertaking a massive upgrade to its hot mill operations to improve quality and productivity. With help from a $23 million grant and loan from the province, ArcelorMittal is investing $151 million to develop advanced high-strength steels that are in demand by the auto industry. The Canadian steelmaker will replace three aging coilers […]
Orders for durable goods, manufactured items expected to last three years or more, jumped 2.6 percent in March primarily driven by new contracts for Boeing airplanes. Orders for commercial aircraft and parts leapt 44.5 percent for the month, said the Commerce Department on Thursday. Excluding the volatile transportation category, new orders were flat for the […]
Steel quotas may be in the cards for Brazil as it attempts to negotiate its way into a permanent exemption from the 25 percent steel tariffs scheduled to go into effect on May 1. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross reportedly told Brazil’s Minister of Affairs that the quickest way to win exemptions would be to […]
Big River Steel has signed an option agreement with the Board of Commissioners of the Port of Brownsville to bring a $1.6 billion steel mill and distribution facility to south Texas. The agreement gives Big River Steel the option to lease 800 acres between the Brownsville Ship Channel and State Highway 48. The facility will […]
Construction costs increased for the 18th consecutive month in April, according to the latest data from IHS Markit and the Procurement Executives Group. The IHS Markit PEG Engineering and Cost Construction Index jumped 4.1 points from March to April to register 61.8. Indexes for materials/equipment and labor were both above 50, indicating rising prices. Prices […]
NLMK Group reported a 1 percent increase in first-quarter revenue, to $2.79 billion, as a 5.0 percent seasonal drop in sales was offset by stronger pricing. Net income grew by 17 percent from Q4 to $502 million, driven by higher operating profit. NLMK USA sales increased 1.0 percent from the fourth quarter on higher demand for […]
Billings at architecture firms slowed in March but remained in expansion territory at an Architecture Billings Index score of 51.0, down one point from February. Inquiries and value of new design contracts remained generally strong overall, reported the American Institute of Architects, although firms reported concern about planned U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum. The […]
A new study by Martin Associates questioning the relationship between steel tariffs and mill capacity utilization was largely dismissed by the Commerce Department as industry propaganda, prompting a stern response from the American Institute for International Steel. AIIS released the analysis by Dr. John Martin on April 18 and stands behind his findings. The Secretary […]
Gerdau announced the appointment of Chia Wang to President of its North American long steel operation, effective April 24. Wang, currently Supply Chain Vice-President in North America, will succeed the CEO of Gerdau, Gustavo Werneck, who served as interim president for the last three months. A 30-year veteran at Gerdau, Wang has held positions in […]
Sales of single-family homes jumped 4 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 694,000, according to information from HUD and the Census Bureau. Sales of new homes were 8.8 percent above the March 2017 estimate of 638,000. Commerce estimates the number of new homes for sale at the end of March was […]
Existing home sales in March rose 1.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.60 million. Tight inventory and affordability have kept sales 1.2 percent below year-ago levels, according to the National Association of Realtors. “Robust gains last month in the Northeast and Midwest – a reversal from the weather-impacted declines seen in February […]
Low inventory continues to drive up home prices across the U.S. The S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller National Home Price NSA Index rose 6.3 percent in March, up from 6.1 percent in February. “Year-over-year prices measured by the National index have increased continuously for the past 70 months, since May 2012. Over that time, the price […]
Olympic Steel and its employees have been honored by the Hope Stout Society for contributing more than $1 million to Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana. “Our employees consistently exemplify Olympic Steel’s core value of Corporate Citizenship through a strong commitment to the communities in which we operate,” said Chairman and CEO Michael D. Siegal. “Since […]
Cleveland Cliffs reported an outstanding performance by its U.S. iron ore segment in first-quarter 2018. Restocking of customer inventory and an early break in the weather favoring vessel shipments drove sales of 1.6 million long tons of pellets. Shipping is expected to increase dramatically to 5.5 million long tons for the second quarter. As a […]
Uttam Galva and its North American subsidy won an initial ruling by the U.S. Court of International Trade in an appeal of antidumping duties placed on its imports of corrosion resistant steel to the United States. In June 2015, an antidumping investigation on imports of corrosion resistant steel products from multiple countries, including India, was […]
Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between March 2017 and March 2018, while 29 states added construction jobs between February and March, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data. Strong private-sector demand and new public-sector investments in school and airport construction contributed to […]
The European Union has thrown down the gauntlet to the U.S. regarding trade negotiations. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said there will be no future trade talks with the U.S. until the EU receives a permanent exclusion from tariffs on steel and aluminum. No concessions will be made to the U.S. to receive the exclusion, […]
Steel Dynamics reported a very strong first quarter with record shipments in the flat rolled division and a 94 percent utilization rate, well above the domestic industry average of 76 percent. Demand and product pricing improved across SDI’s entire steel platform. Net sales totaled $2.6 billion for the quarter and net income was $228 million. […]
Nucor Corp.’s first quarter 2018 consolidated net sales increased 9 percent from the previous quarter to $5.57 billion. Total tons shipped jumped 6 percent to 6.967 million tons. Consolidated net earnings were $354.2 million. Earnings in the steel segment improved in the first quarter due to higher steel prices and an 8 percent increase in […]
Chicago-based Union Partners announces the appointment of Chris Sekella as Executive Vice President for U.S. Operations. Sekella will be responsible for the overall leadership of operations for Union Partners’ family of companies. Specifically, he will be spearheading the strategy and day-to-day operations of Union Partners’ premier service centers that specialize in metal distribution and processing […]
Materials Science Corporation has completed an electro-galvanizing expansion for coating ultra-high-strength steels at its East Chicago, Ind., manufacturing operation. “The use of ultra-high-strength steels in automotive applications continues to grow, and many of those applications require zinc coating for corrosion protection. Our line in East Chicago specializes in coating all grades and sizes of UHSS […]
U.S. Steel announced two changes to its executive team on Tuesday. Duane Holloway will join the company as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary. Richard L. Fruehauf, who has been serving as Interim General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, will become Vice President of Strategic Planning and Corporate Development. Holloway […]
The two-year Section 337 investigation brought by U.S. Steel against Chinese steel manufacturers has been officially terminated by the U.S. International Trade Commission. All three components of the investigation—antitrust violation, transshipment, and trade secret theft—are now dissolved without action against the Chinese steel producers and distributors. According to an April 9 notice, U.S. Steel did […]
NLMK announced operating results for first-quarter 2018. NLMK Group steel output totaled 4.33 million metric tons, a 3 percent increase year-over-year. Group sales totaled 4.15 million metric tons, up 13 percent from Q1 2017. Capacity utilization grew 3 percentage points to 99 percent for the quarter. Steel slab sales to NLMK USA and NLMK Dansteel […]
Manufacturing in New York State continued to expand in April, but at a slower pace, according to the Empire State Manufacturing Survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Survey participants expressed apprehension about future business conditions. The general business conditions index fell seven points from its March reading to register 15.8. New […]
ArcelorMittal said it will sell off assets in order to secure its acquisition of Italian steel mill Ilva. The proposed divestment package includes: ArcelorMittal Piombino, the company’s only galvanized steel plant in Italy ArcelorMittal Galati, Romania ArcelorMittal Skopje, Macedonia ArcelorMittal Ostrava, Czech Republic ArcelorMittal Dudelange, Luxembourg Hot-dipped galvanizing lines 4 and 5 in Flemalle; hot-rolled […]
Nucor Executive Vice President of Raw Materials James Darsey will retire on June 9, 2018, after 39 years of service with the company. As of June 10, Craig A. Feldman, President of David J. Joseph Company and Nucor Vice President and General Manager, will be promoted to Executive Vice President of Raw Materials. Feldman will […]
Housing starts increased more than expected in March due to a rebound in multi-family construction. Housing starts grew 1.9 percent from February to March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,319,000. Year-over-year, housing starts leapt 10.9 percent, reports the National Association of Home Builders. Single-family housing starts were weak in March at a rate […]
Union Partners, a Chicago-based, full-service metals and logistic company, announced on Wednesday the acquisition of Maksteel, a service center, toll processor and logistics provider located in Mississauga, Ontario. Founded in 1970, Maksteel claims to be the first service center in Canada to process advanced high strength steels (AHSS) and martensitic steels as part of its […]
Union Partners, a Chicago-based, full-service metals and logistic company, announced on Wednesday the acquisition of Maksteel, a service center, toll processor and logistics provider located in Mississauga, Ontario. Founded in 1970, Maksteel claims to be the first service center in Canada to process advanced high strength steels (AHSS) and martensitic steels as part of its […]