In a news conference on Sunday, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the city of Chicago intends to file a federal lawsuit against U.S. Steel alleging the steelmaker has violated the Clean Water Act. U.S. Steel’s Portage, Ind., mill has spilled more than its permitted amount of chromium into a Lake Michigan tributary in two incidents […]
U.S. raw steel production for the week ending Nov. 18 totaled 1,745,000 net tons, a 9.7 percent increase from the same period last year, and up 0.3 percent from the prior week. The mill capability utilization rate for the week averaged 74.9 percent, up from 74.6 percent the prior week and 67.1 percent the prior […]
Were you surprised by the price increases announced this week by the major mills? If you were, don’t feel bad. You were among the majority of steel buyers who could foresee no clear direction for steel prices. On Monday, Steel Market Update sent its market trends questionnaire to 650 steel buyers asking, among other questions, […]
Nucor Corp. plans to invest $180 million in a full-range merchant bar quality mill at its existing bar steel mill in Bourbonnais, Ill. The MBQ mill, which will take two years to complete, will have an annual capacity of 500,000 tons. The Midwest region is one of the largest markets for MBQ products, and Nucor […]
Despite all the uncertainty regarding possible trade action and steel prices, the Steel Market Update Steel Buyers Sentiment Index is holding steady, and at a higher level than last year. Steel buyers’ sentiment appears to have bottomed out in October and November and, in Steel Market Update’s opinion, is poised to pick up along with […]
The latest lead time data based on the Steel Market Update flat rolled steel survey—largely unchanged from two weeks ago–offers no clear indication of whether this week’s price announcements by three of the flat rolled steel mills will be accepted by the marketplace. SMU began collecting responses from steel buyers on Monday of this week, […]
Buyers of flat rolled steel report that most domestic steel mills are open to negotiating spot prices, especially on cold rolled and coated products, even though the major mills announced price hikes this week. About half of the respondents to this week’s Steel Market Update market trends questionnaire reported a mixed market, with some mills […]
Canada’s Stelco, Inc., reported revenues totaling $1.15 billion (all figures Canadian) for the nine months ended Sept. 30, an increase of 16 percent over the prior-year period. Operating profit totaled $61 million, up from $8 million last year. The average selling price for the year to date was $814 per net ton, up from $654 […]
Members of the United Steel Workers Local 1915 have ratified a three-year labor agreement with AK Tube LLC, a subsidiary of AK Steel, covering about 100 hourly production employees at the company’s Walbridge, Ohio, facility. The new agreement is effective from Jan. 22, 2018, to Jan. 22, 2021. “We are pleased to have reached an agreement […]
Mill Steel Co. has promoted commercial leader Joe Poot from Vice President of Purchasing to Senior Vice President. Poot began his career with the carbon flat roll distributor 18 years ago as an assistant controller, and served as business unit controller and purchasing manager before being elevated to shareholder and partner in 2006. Poot has […]
More than 100 trade organizations representing a cross-section of U.S. business and industry sent a letter to USTR Robert Lighthizer on Tuesday urging the U.S. to maintain, and even extend, trucking provisions in the new NAFTA agreement. The trade groups called for the U.S. to permit Mexican carriers to haul freight further into the United […]
The Chicago Tribune was the first to report that U.S. Steel released toxic chromium into Lake Michigan on Oct. 26 due to a malfunction in the wastewater treatment system at the steelmaker’s Midwest Plant in Portage, Ind. The 56.7 pounds of chromium was 89 percent higher than U.S. Steel’s water pollution permit allows in a […]
Will the rest of the domestic steel mills announce new coating extras in first-quarter 2018, raising the price on galvanized steel? There was no clear consensus among members of the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) during their monthly conference call earlier today. Recent mill price announcements have stemmed the decline in galvanized prices, […]
Stelco, Inc., Canada’s iconic steelmaker, has new life under the new ownership of Bedrock Industries. Bedrock Executive Chairman and CEO Alan Kestenbaum makes a strong case that the oft-troubled steelmaker is poised for a turnaround. Stelco went into creditor protection in 2004, was bought by U.S. Steel in 2007, then went back into bankruptcy in […]
U.S. raw steel production for the week ending Nov. 11 totaled 1,739,000 net tons, a 9.3 percent increase from the same period last year, and up 1.4 percent from the prior week. The mill capability utilization rate for the week averaged 74.6 percent, up from 73.6 percent the prior week and 67.1 percent the prior […]
Total rolled steel imports declined by 14.0 percent in the three months through October, compared to the three months through July. Sheet products were down by 12.6 percent on the same basis, based on final license data for October reported by of the U.S. Commerce Department on Nov. 7. The data is reported within the […]
Contributed by Justin Philipp, People Area Director, Pacesetter Steel When you hire a new salesperson from within the industry, are you hiring them or their book of business? The term “book of business” originated in the legal industry, where two lawyers would combine their client lists to form a law firm. In the steel industry, […]
Chinese steelmakers in the heavily industrial “2+26” region—Beijing, Tianjin and the 26 surrounding cities—are expected to cut steel production by 34 million tons this winter under government guidelines designed to reduce air pollution during the home-heating months. Analysts at Wood Mackenzie estimate the government restrictions will reduce China’s hot metal supply by about 14.2 million […]
Oil prices have topped $63 in recent weeks, up from $43 in June, but don’t expect a big uptrend in the price per barrel in 2018. Experts expect oil to continue trading in a tight range, keeping demand for oil country tubular goods in check at least through the first half next year. High energy […]
Stelco Holdings, Inc., closed its initial public offering today, successfully raising $230 million to be used for select capital investments, new product development and early payments to pension trusts. The 13.5 million shares were offered at a price of $17 per share. As of midday Friday, the stock was trading around $19.50 per share. Bedrock […]
Members of the Congressional Steel Caucus sent a letter to President Trump Tuesday urging him to defend the American steel industry and its workers during his visit to China this week. Signed by Co-Chairman Mike Bost (R-IL), Co-Chairman Rick Crawford (R-AR), and Vice-Chairman Peter J. Visclosky (D-IN), the letter specifically asks the president to address […]
Chemcoaters and its Eco-Green Coatings subsidiary say they are winning over skeptics who doubt the company’s claims it can dramatically lower the cost of galvanized steel with its InterCoat ChemGuard coating. Mike Tieri, vice president of sales and marketing for the Gary, Ind., toll coater, says the product continues to gain converts. “There’s a Who’s […]
Speaking at the FABTECH Expo on Monday, Chris Kuehl of Armada Corporate Intelligence offered his unique perspective on the U.S. and global economies, including the following excerpts of his comments on jobs, trade issues and tax reform. Kuehl serves as the chief economist for the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, International (FMA), a sponsor of the […]
U.S. raw steel production for the week ending Nov. 4 totaled 1,715,000 net tons, a 9.0 percent increase from the same period last year, but down 1.4 percent from the prior week. The mill capability utilization rate for the week averaged 73.6 percent, down from 74.6 percent the prior week and 68.7 percent the prior […]
Chinese steel production and consumption took a downturn in September, though they trended ahead of 2016 for the first three quarters of this year. China’s exports to the rest of the world are down considerably in 2017, however, according to data from the China Iron & Steel Association and Bradford Research. Year to date, China’s […]
Is another mill price hike likely? Nearly 60 percent of respondents to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire earlier this week said they do expect the steel mills to make another price announcement this month before the Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 23. The other 40 percent are doubtful. Following are some of their comments: · […]
House Republicans released details of their vision for tax reform on Thursday, raising many questions in constituents’ minds, the primary one being: What does this mean for us? The headline provisions of the bill—which its sponsors contend would simplify the tax code, provide tax relief to the middle class and spur economic growth—include cutting the […]
The real news coming out of this week’s flat rolled steel market trends analysis is the jump in the SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index when looking at the index as a single data point, as opposed to a three-month moving average, which is our preference. Measured as a single data point, the average among those […]
With the notable exception of AkzoNobel, leading suppliers of paint and coatings to the prepaint market have announced price hikes of 5-7 percent, effective in January. And some coil coaters and their customers are not happy about it. One prepaint buyer who closely tracks raw material costs questions whether the current hike is justified. “While […]
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is widely expected to attend the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity Nov. 30 in Berlin, though the USTR has made no official announcement of his participation. The forum will include representatives of the G20 nations, as well as other steel-producing countries, gathered to discuss concrete policy solutions to reduce […]