Manufacturing in New York regained momentum in June. The Empire State Manufacturing Index surged 15 points to 6.01, a rebound from May’s reading of negative 9.02. The jump to positive numbers surprised economists who were expecting a reading near negative 5.0. The new orders index shot to 10.90 from -5.54 and shipments pulled out of […]
An attempt by US Steel to prevent US Steel Canada from continuing to use processes the parent company developed for high strength steels, has been thwarted by the Ontario Superior Court. US Steel claims it owns the intellectual property used by USSC, including the processes used to produce various grades of advanced high strength steel. […]
The new locks at the Panama Canal are set to open on June 26th with the passage of a single vessel, the container ship Cosco Shipping Panama. The ship selected by lottery and sailing from Greece, will pass from the Caribbean locks of Agua Clara in the morning and end in the locks of Cocoli […]
ArcelorMittal is set to expand its portfolio of automotive steels by launching two new products in 2017, Usibor®2000 and Ductibor®1000. According to a spokesperson at ArcelorMittal , Usibor® 2000, which has been under development for some time, is a new Aluminum-Silicon coated high strength steel that will be even stronger than its predecessor Usibor® 1500. […]
Cliffs Natural Resources’ supply agreement with ArcelorMittal “put the final nail in the coffin of Essar Steel Minnesota.” That is the opinion of Star Tribune columnist, Lee Schafer. Schafer has a point, with Cliffs gobbling up Northern steel mill contracts, Essar will have no customers even if it is able to pull itself out of […]
Freight levels for dry bulk cargo are slowly recovering from the historic lows seen in first quarter of this year, according to the most recent MID-SHIP Report. The dry bulk market continues to suffer from an oversupply of vessels and slow demand growth, although rates are generally holding firm in most of the seabourne markets. […]
Nucor Corp. and JFE Holdings of Japan will enter a joint venture to build and operate a steel processing plant in central Mexico to supply the country’s automotive market. The 50-50 venture will cost $270 million to construct and have a capacity of 400,000 tons per year of galvanized sheet steel. The substrate for processing […]
The U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit brought by Nucor Corp against Big River Steel. The suit charged that the Big River Steel permit air permit was invalid and the continued construction of the mill violated the Clean Air Act. The district court dismissed the lawsuit for “lack […]
A new wrinkle has developed in the dispute between US Steel Canada and its former parent US Steel. US Steel is claiming ownership of USSC’s intellectual property and says the Canadian company cannot include it in the sale of its facilities. USSC’s chief restructuring officer, Bill Aziz, said that without a clear title to the […]
Cliffs Natural Resources announced today that it will restart its United Taconite mining facility in August. The restart was originally scheduled for October but will occur two months early due to additional pellet tonnage ordered by US Steel Canada. Cliffs is revising its 2016 sales volume guidance to 18 million tonnes from 17.5 million tonnes. […]
The Dodge Momentum Index, a monthly measure of the initial report for nonresidential building projects in planning, rose 2.4 percent to 119.4 in May. The commercial sector led the increase with a 6.4 percent gain, offsetting the 3.4 percent decline in institutional construction planning. “May’s increase places the overall Index 3.6% higher than its year-ago […]
Steel Technologies LLC plans to invest $18 million in a new processing facility in Smyrna, Tennessee. The 83,000 square foot facility will create 50 new jobs and handle both steel and aluminum sheet. “This new greenfield operation expands our exposed and unexposed automotive slitting and blanking capabilities,” Steel Technologies Vice President of Operations Randall Patterson […]
The oil pipeline business has been suffering due to the crash in oil prices but here is something to cheer about for pipeline producers –the beer pipeline. In Bruges, Belgium brew master Xavier Vanneste is about to open the taps to send his beer from the De Halve Maan brewery along a 3 kilometer pipeline […]
Recent reports on India’s steel sector are providing mixed signals on the industry’s health. The nation’s steel industry has suffered two years of low prices and subdued demand but rising GDP and the onset of monsoons after a severe drought may stimulate new orders. “Indian steel demand rose 4.5 per cent in the financial year […]
The new labor agreement between the United Steelworkers and ArcelorMittal USA has yet to be voted on but highlights of the contract reveal that the parties agreed to the idling of certain finishing lines at the North American operations. According to the union contract summary, the lines include the 84-inch Hot Strip Mill at Indiana […]
(Mt. Royal, New Jersey, June 6, 2016) – The Association of Women in the Metals Industry (AWMI) is pleased to announce Mary Pollen as 2015 Member of the Year! “It’s really an honor just to be nominated.” said Ms. Pollen. “I know most of the women nominated for this award well. They are all very […]
The US Treasury Secretary told Chinese students at Tsinghua University that excess steel capacity is distorting the world market. The comments came ahead of talks in Beijing between the US and China on trade and security. “Excess capacity is not just a domestic issue in China,” said Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew. “The question of excess […]
(Mt. Royal, New Jersey, June 6, 2016) – The Association of Women in the Metals Industry (AWMI) is pleased to announce Mary Pollen as 2015 Member of the Year. “It’s really an honor just to be nominated.” said Ms. Pollen. “I know most of the women nominated for this award well. They are all very […]
United Steelworkers are continuing to fight for the release of the secret deal between the Canadian government and US Steel. NDP MP Scott Duvall, on Thursday, called on the House of Commons on Thursday to release the terms of the agreement. United Steelworkers’ Ontario/Atlantic Director Marty Warren said Duvall’s demand must be acted on if […]
The American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) publishes a monthly report on U.S. steel imports. Below is the June report covering the month of April. Falls Church, VA. June 3, 2016. Steel imports decreased by 5.6 percent from March to April, dropping to 2.46 million net tons, 30 percent less than a year earlier. Imports […]
U.S. auto sales may have finally reached the peak that that analysts have been predicting. Overall the market declined 6 percent for sales of 1,536,276 light vehicles. WardsAuto places May’s seasonally adjusted annual rate at 17.4 million units, up from 17.3 in April, but short of the 17.6 million from a year ago. Trucks once […]
The metalforming industry is expecting a slight dip in business conditions in the next three months according to the May 2016 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. The May report, sampling 114 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada, indicated companies are expecting incoming order levels to remain unchanged during the next few […]
Manufacturing grew for the third straight month according to supply executives surveyed in the ISM Manufacturing Report on Business. The May PMI was 51.3, up 0.5 percent from April. Although the PMI didn’t have a large gain, the three month upward trend is good news since the PMI was in contraction (below 50) from October […]
On June 1, 2016, the Department of Commerce announced its affirmative preliminary determinations in the antidumping (AD) investigations of imports of circular welded carbon-quality steel pipe from Pakistan, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. The investigations cover welded carbon-quality steel pipe and tube, of circular cross-section, with an outside diameter not more than 16 inches, […]
Global manufacturing appeared stagnant in May, according to the JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI. The composite index was at the no change mark of 50.0, nearly the same as April’s reading of 50.1. Production and new orders hovered just above the 50 mark while new export orders fell at one of the fastest rates in […]
China steelmakers are denouncing charges of wrong doing levied by US Steel in its Section 337 filing. The ITC said last week that it will pursue the investigation that charges Chinese steel producers stole trade secrets, engaged in price fixing and participated in transshipment and duties evasion. One of the respondents in the investigation, Wuhan […]
Tata Steel’s British steelmaking division is up for sale but it is now looking like Tata may keep the UK business. Last week it was reported that Tata was reviewing operations at the UK facilities and assessing offers of financial support from the government. The Daily Mail reports “sweeteners” offered by the Prime Minister include […]
ArcelorMittal USA and Cliffs Natural Resources have entered into a new long-term iron ore supply agreement that will run through 2026. The new agreement replaces two existing agreements that expire Dec. 2016 and Jan. 2017 and fills the entirety of ArcelorMittal’s pellet purchase requirements from the previous contracts. Cliffs Natural Resources will supply 7 to […]
Manufacturing continues to be sluggish in the Midwest according to the latest survey by MNI Indicators. The MNI Chicago Business Barometer dropped back into contraction for a reading of 49.3, the lowest level since February and the sixth time below 50 in the past 12 months. Both new orders and production fell below 50 between […]
Moon Township, Pa., May 31, 2016—CENTRIA Architectural Systems, an industry leader in the design, development and manufacture of metal wall and roof systems, is pleased to announce that Ralph Smillie and Pat Baker have been promoted to Vice President, CAS Distribution and National Accounts Manager, respectively. Smillie, a 25-year sales, marketing and management veteran, began […]