Tag: AHMSA

Mill lead times for flat-rolled products pushed out this week once again across the board.

Sheet prices have fallen to their lowest point of the year - just below $700 per ton ($35 per cwt) when it comes to hot-rolled coil (HRC).

President and CEO of Ternium Mexico Cesar Jimenez discussed positive demand trends and challenges in the Mexico market with SMU managing editor Michael Cowden during a fireside chat on Tuesday, Aug. 22 at the SMU Steel Summit in Atlanta.

The Mexican government has placed temporary levies of 25% on inward-bound shipments of steel products from countries with which it does not have a free trade agreement.

Latin American steelmaker Ternium remains optimistic that positive trends in the Mexican market will help it to continue increasing its market share.

Our sheet prices are down again this week. Some of you think it’s a sign of something ominous, others think it’s just a case of seasonality. It might help to step back and put things in perspective.

Mexican steelmaker Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) said there could be an “indefinite” delay to the restart of production because of a blockade by activists.

Mexican steelmaker Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) said there could be an “indefinite” delay to the restart of production because of a blockade by activists. The company said its steel plants in Monclova, Coahuila state, were blockaded by activists of the Sindicato Nacional Minero (National Mining Union), which represents AHMSA’s striking workers, according to a […]

Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices fell for a second consecutive week as mills appear to have given up holding the line on $900 per ton ($45 per cwt) and amid discounting into the high $700s per ton. SMU’s average HRC price now stands at $830 per ton, down $40 per ton from a week ago and marking […]

Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker Steel Dynamics Inc. is taking advantage of opportunities in the Mexican steel market and plans to continue doing so moving forward. Executives discussed some of those opportunities on the company’s second-quarter earnings conference call on Thursday, July 20. The location and capabilities of SDI’s newest flat-rolled steel mill in Sinton, Texas, […]

Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker Steel Dynamics Inc. is taking advantage of opportunities in the Mexican steel market and plans to continue doing so moving forward.

We’re just a month out from Steel Summit, so I decided to go back and check on how things look now compared to ~30 days ahead of the event last year. For starters, approximately ~1,100 people are registered to attend the event on Aug. 21-23 in Atlanta. That puts us on track to meet or […]

On Steel Market Update’s most recent Community Chat, we caught up with Timna Tanners, managing director of Wolfe Research, to hear her latest take on the steel market.

On Steel Market Update’s most recent Community Chat, we caught up with Timna Tanners, managing director of Wolfe Research, to hear her latest take on the steel market. Tanners chatted with SMU managing editor Michael Cowden about the myth of mill discipline within the sheet market. The market isn’t much more disciplined than a few […]

The ongoing drama with AHMSA continues, but the bankrupt Mexican steelmaker has finally put out an official statement. A spokesperson for the company has previously made statements to local media, but an official announcement has not been released by the company since April. On Wednesday, July 12, a statement was issued on the company’s Twitter […]

It’s the time of year when I’m going to be banging the drum about Steel Summit – even in the lede to Final Thoughts 🙂 We’ll get to the latest steel market trends in a moment. But first I want to highlight that hotels are still available near the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC) in Atlanta, where […]

Argentem Creek Partners is in negotiations with the Kickapoo Tribe of Texas for a sum of approximately $1 billion dollars to invest in troubled Mexican steelmaker Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA), according to media reports.  The US-based investment fund requested an initial loan of around $200 million from the Kickapoo Tribe, with a pre-negotiated goal […]

Our latest survey results indicate that the round of $50/ton ($2.50/cwt) sheet price hikes have a good chance of at least stabilizing prices or increasing them modestly. To be clear, SMU does not make formal forecasts. I’m basing this on what we’re seeing in past survey results following price hikes compared to what we’re seeing […]

The US will import approximately ~50,000 metric tons of steel slab from China in June, according to license data from the US Commerce Department. The figure is notable because the US has imported no significant quantities of Chinese slab in at least the last six years, per Commerce figures. The average price was $694 per metric […]

How can SMU’s sheet prices go down shortly after a round of $50-per-ton mill price hikes? Long story short: It’s because we’re capturing both pre- and post-increase pricing in our survey as well as in calls and emails with some of you. And, as those of you who’ve been in the industry for a while […]

What to make of the latest round of sheet prices hikes: Are they aimed at stopping the bleeding, getting buyers off the sidelines, or actually getting sheet prices back up again? These are serious questions now in a way that they weren’t after U. S. Steel first announced its price hike last Wednesday.  That hike […]

We are counting down the days until SMU’s Steel Summit Conference on Monday-Wednesday, Aug. 21-23, in Atlanta. It’s only a little over two months away. Approximately 755 people have already registered. Our discounted room blocks are almost gone. Register here. The event will again be held at the Georgia International Convention Center, a massive conference center in close […]

The solution to the dilemmas faced by Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) is in the hands of the federal government, a spokesman for the Mexican steelmaker told a local news outlet.  AHMSA spokesman Francisco Orduña was responding to comments last Friday by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador regarding restructuring the company’s debt, according to […]

The sale of Mexican steelmaker Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) has reportedly stalled because the investment capital has not yet been received, according to a local media report.  The remarks were made by AHMSA’s Alonso Ancira Elizondo in a meeting he had with union officials in San Antonio, Texas, according to an article in Mexico’s […]

Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) workers and their wives demonstrated peacefully on Thursday, according to a local media report. Monclova Mayor Mario Dávila expressed solidarity with the workers who met on Thursday morning at the municipal presidency building looking for support, according to an article in El Periódico La Voz on Thursday. The action was taken because of […]

Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) has sold approximately 19,000 tons of scrap to help pay for workers’ salaries, according to a local media report. The Mexican steelmaker is also raising money by selling coke from its coke plants, Mexico’s El Tiempo reported, citing comments from bankruptcy trustee Elmer Rocha. AHMSA and hedge fund Argentem Creek […]

Sheet prices came down harder than I expected this week. I probably shouldn’t have been surprised. For starters, mills are still making money at these levels, so there is not a lot of friction to lowering prices to get an order. Also, lead times are or will soon be overlapping with a period when we’re […]

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is open to restructuring the debts of Altos Hornos de Mexico’s (AHMSA’s) if it is governed by more professional leadership, according to Spanish language media reports. In remarks last Tuesday at the national palace, he said the restructuring of up to $280 million in debt depends on a “responsible […]

There is debate brewing about whether sheet prices will see a long, slow slide or whether they’ll fall off the proverbial cliff. Some of you have told me you’re still trying to pass along costs for steel bought following the last round of mill price hikes. That’s not been an easy thing to do, especially […]

The drop in sheet prices we’ve seen at the mill level is now spreading downstream – an abrupt shift from just a few weeks ago, according to our latest survey data. More and more service centers are cutting prices. I had expected to see an increase in the number of service centers reporting that they […]