SMS Group, a plant supplier to the metals industry, is partnering with Arkansas Northeastern College to create the Arkansas Steelmaking Academy. The academy in Osceola will help North American steel companies to train team members in cutting edge techniques in steelmaking and processing. Currently, training by SMS has only been available in Germany. The new […]
The Dodge Momentum Index fell 5.1 percent in January to 143.7 from December’s revised score of 151.5. On a year-over-year basis, the index gained 7.7 percent. The Dodge Momentum Index, published by Dodge Data & Analytics, is a monthly measure of the first (or initial) report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which has been […]
Corrosion resistant steel imported from China to the European Union has been assigned antidumping duties by the European Commission. The commission announced Thursday that the duties will range from 17.2 to 27.9 percent, similar to the provisional rates set in August of 17.2 to 28.5 percent. Eurofer, the EU steelmakers association, petitioned the commission in […]
New York State’s “Buy American” procurement law will take effect April 1 and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is fighting back. Wynne said that if a last minute exception is not granted to Ontario, the province will take “proportional” retaliatory action. The New York law will require state agencies to use steel and iron made in […]
The United Steelworkers challenged the president to reduce the trade deficit after Commerce released its deficit report today. The Department of Commerce reported that for 2017, the goods and services deficit increased $61.2 billion, or 12.1 percent, from 2016. Exports increased $121.2 billion or 5.5 percent and imports increased $182.5 billion or 6.7 percent. Specifically […]
U.S. Steel has named an interim executive to head the company’s tubular segment following the retirement of David Rintoul. Douglas R. Matthews, senior vice president – Industrial, Service Center and Mining Solutions, will assume the day-to-day responsibilities of U.S. Steel Tubular Products. Commenting on the appointment, CEO David Burritt said, “Doug is the best choice […]
U.S. steelmakers sent a letter to President Trump on Feb. 1 urging the administration to take action against steel imports under Section 232. The letter from the American Iron and Steel Institute stressed that immediate action is needed to prevent imports from recapturing nearly a third of the U.S. market as they did last June. […]
Construction employment and average hourly wages climbed in January, according to an analysis of government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. The industry gained 36,000 jobs in January for total construction employment of 7,099,000. Compared to January 2016, jobs were up 226,000 or 3.3 percent. Average hourly earnings in the industry climbed to […]
The JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI was only slightly lower in January than December’s near seven-year record. Inching down to 54.4 from 54.5, manufacturing is off to a good start for 2018. The Global PMI is produced monthly by J.P. Morgan and IHS Markit in association with the Institute for Supply Management and the International Federation […]
Construction spending increased for the fifth consecutive month in December, but an infrastructure bill is needed to address growing deficiencies in transportation, water and wastewater infrastructure, says the Associated General Contractors of America in an analysis of new government data. “Construction spending ended the year on a high note, with gains over November levels for […]
U.S. Steel finished 2017 on a strong note with net sales of $3.13 billion and net earnings of $159 million in the fourth quarter. Steel shipments for the quarter totaled 3.8 million tons. Commenting on U.S. Steel’s results, President and CEO David Burritt said, “We finished the year with three solid quarters as investments in […]
ArcelorMittal’s NAFTA segment saw crude steel production decrease 5.2 percent to 5.6 million metric tons in the fourth quarter due to operational issues in Mexico, planned maintenance at Dofasco, and a slower U.S. market. Steel shipments declined 8.9 percent to 4.2 million metric tons, primarily driven by lower volumes in flat and long products. Sales […]
U.S. automotive sales were a mixed bag in January. General Motors’ sales climbed mildly by 1.3 percent. Ford and FCA saw sales drop, while Toyota gained 16.8 percent year over year. Asian manufacturers, in general, did well in January. Mazda had its best January since 1994, reporting double-digit growth along with Kia and Nissan. Honda […]
The automotive industry downturn is slight, especially considering the past two years have been record years, said Bernard Swiecki, Senior Automotive Analyst at the Center for Automotive Research, during a presentation Jan. 25 at the regional meeting of the Association of Steel Distributors. Total light vehicle sales slipped 1.8 percent in 2017, but the […]
Manufacturing activity slipped slightly in January, according to the latest Report on Business from the Institute for Supply Management. The ISM Index edged downward to 59.1 percent from 59.3 percent in December, but remained higher than its average reading of 57.4 for 2017. Indexes for new orders fell 2 points to 65.4 percent and production […]
U.S. Steel announced Jan. 31 that the president of its tubular products segment, David J. Rintoul, plans to retire effective Feb. 28. Graphite electrode company GrafTech announced concurrently that Rintoul will join the company as President and CEO effective March 1. Rintoul, currently senior vice president – tubular business and president of tubular products, began […]
U.S. Steel announced Jan. 31 that the president of its tubular products segment, David J. Rintoul, plans to retire effective Feb. 28. Graphite electrode company GrafTech announced concurrently that Rintoul will join the company as President and CEO effective March 1. Rintoul, currently senior vice president – tubular business and president of tubular products, began […]
The Chicago Business Barometer retreated 2.1 points in January to 65.7, but remained an encouraging start for 2018. The barometer was 28.3 percent higher than the January 2016 reading and above the average of 63.7 in the second half of 2017. New orders and output slowed in January. Orders were at a five-month low accompanied […]
Planned maintenance outages at AK Steel contributed to a net loss of $107.9 million in the fourth quarter. Net sales during the quarter increased 5 percent to $1.5 billion, however, driven by incremental sales from recently acquired Precision Partners. Flat rolled shipments declined to 1,337,100 tons in the quarter from 1,385,500 tons in Q4 2016 […]
“We don’t just sell to each other–this is a kind of unique relationship in the world…we make things together,” said Canada International Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne in a recent speech. Center for Automotive Research analyst Bernard Swiecki referred to the quote as a summary of what NAFTA means to the North American automotive industry. “We […]
In its year-end 2017 financial report, Nucor delivered its highest annual earnings since 2008. Consolidated net sales increased 25 percent to $20.25 billion, compared with $16.21 billion for fiscal 2016. Shipments to outside customers during 2017 totaled 26,492,000 tons, an increase of 9 percent from fiscal 2016. Average sales price per ton increased 15 percent. […]
The sixth round of NAFTA talks closed on Monday with the U.S. Trade Representative rejecting proposals by Canada and lamenting the slow pace of the renegotiations. “We finally began to discuss the core issues, so this round was a step forward,” Robert Lighthizer said. “But we are progressing very slowly. We owe it to our […]
Home prices are rising faster than the rate of inflation, according to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices. Data for November shows a year-over-year gain of 6.2 percent for the National Home Price Index. The 20-city composite posted a 6.4 percent annual gain with Seattle, Las Vegas and San Francisco reporting the highest year-over-year […]
The latest HARDI/ITR quarterly forecast expects accelerated residential construction in the U.S. through the first half of the 2018. Construction will slow in the second half as the U.S. enters a “brief and mild macroeconomic recession in 2019.” Steel Market Update is a member of an association connected to the construction industry called HARDI, the […]
The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled on Friday that imports of Canadian Bombardier civil aircraft do not injure the U.S. industry. The surprise unanimous vote was a disappointment to Boeing which called for stiff tariffs against their competitor for alleged unfair trade practices. In December 2017, the Commerce Department claimed the planes were sold at […]
SSAB North America achieved higher market share in 2017. SSAB’s share of the North American steel slab market was estimated at 30 percent for the year. Full-year earnings and shipments increased compared to 2016. Sales for the full year were SEK 12.7 billion ($1.6 billion) and shipments 1,971,000 metric tons (2.17 million short tons). Fourth-quarter […]
Durable goods orders increased at their fastest pace in six months, gaining 2.9 percent after an upwardly revised 1.7 percent advance in November. On a year-over-year basis, orders increased 5.8 percent from 2016, the most in six years. Durable goods are items that are meant to last at least three years. Civilian aircraft orders jumped […]
ArcelorMittal announced that it will invest CAD $70 million (U.S. $56.8 million) in its Contrecoeur, Quebec, wire rod and bar facilities. Two reheating furnaces will be replaced at Contrecoeur-East wire rod mill and its Contrecoeur-West steel bar mill. The furnaces will increase the company’s rolling capacity by 100,000 metric tons with greater efficiency and reduced […]
Prepare for growth in the U.S. economy this year, says ITR Economics. The latest HARDI/ITR quarterly forecast predicts accelerated industrial production through the first half of the year and possible slowing in the second half. Steel Market Update is a member of an association connected to the construction industry called HARDI, the Heating, Air-conditioning & […]
Cleveland Cliffs reported another great quarter with net income of $318 million and sales of $601 million, compared to prior-year income of $81 million and sales of $754 million. For the full year, revenue totaled $2.3 billion with net income of $371 million. Adjusted EBITDA has increased for the past two years, 28 percent in […]