I am finally home long enough to gather my thoughts and hopefully get back to providing some insights into the flat rolled, plate and scrap markets from my perspective. There is obviously a lot of uncertainty connected to the Section 232 tariffs in both steel and aluminum. The Trump administration appears to have an intense […]
NLMK USA has requested tariff exclusion on the import of slabs under Section 232, but has received blowback from several U.S. steel mills. Nucor, U.S. Steel and AK Steel have filed objections to the request, arguing that there is sufficient slab supply in the United States to supply NLMK yet the company continues to buy […]
I have just returned from three days in Memphis where we conducted our Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop. We had a packed house of motivated steel people from a wide variety of companies. Nucor Hickman and Nucor-Yamato did a great job of hosting our group as we toured both steel […]
Steel Market Update will be conducting our early June flat rolled and plate steel market analysis beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET on Monday. If you receive an invitation to participate, please take a few moments to open the email and answer the first question at the bottom of the message. That will take you to […]
Marking a win for U.S. steelmakers, the Commerce Department on Monday officially slapped duties on corrosion-resistant steel (CORE) and certain cold rolled steel products imported from Vietnam that were produced from substrate originating in China. Commerce determined that even though the products underwent some processing in Vietnam, they should still be subject to the same […]
AK Steel’s Middletown Works suffered a fire on one of the facility’s temper mills on Saturday, May 19. The blaze was extinguished without injury to any employees. A spokesperson for AK Steel said the cause of the fire is under investigation and repairs are under way. In the meantime, AK Steel will utilize its other […]
Marking a win for U.S. steelmakers, the Commerce Department on Monday officially slapped duties on corrosion-resistant steel (CORE) and certain cold rolled steel products imported from Vietnam that were produced from substrate originating in China. Commerce determined that even though the products underwent some processing in Vietnam, they should still be subject to the same […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Director of Risk Management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled futures market, and we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing futures articles for Steel […]
Manufacturers and fabricators report that business is good, but it’s certainly not easy. Steel Market Update has recruited a dynamic group of executives who will explore topics ranging from trade and tariffs to automation and logistics on Wednesday, Aug. 29, at SMU’s Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta. The title of their panel is Manufacturing Forecast: […]
SMU’s Steel Summit Conference hotel room block has been sold out at the Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway, Atlanta Airport Renaissance and SpringHill Suits Gateway hotels. I am sure there are rooms at these hotels, but they will no longer honor our blocked hotel rates and will charge the rack rates. We have added another Marriott […]
This week, objections to steel product exclusion requests started to appear in the government website. First, an update on exclusions: 7,561 comments filed (not all of these are exclusion requests; there are some general comments. However, most are likely exclusion requests or objections) 2,671 comments posted on the website, of which 21 are general comments. […]
The Association for Iron & Steel Technology announced the appointment of a new president and slate of officers for 2018-2019. James Dudek, vice president, Asset Revitalization and Manufacturing Excellence, U.S. Steel Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa., will assume the presidency of AIST. Dudek succeeds Randy Skagen, vice president and general manager, Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa. Dudek said he […]
The American Iron and Steel Institute has elected Roger Newport, chief executive officer of AK Steel Corp., to serve as chairman of AISI through May 2020. “Roger Newport is one of the global steel industry’s most respected and influential leaders, and is a tireless advocate for the North American steel industry. Whether it be meeting […]
The American Iron and Steel Institute’s (AISI) Board of Directors have elected Roger Newport, chief executive officer and member of the board of directors, AK Steel Corporation, to serve as chairman of the Institute, through May 2020. “Roger Newport is one of the global steel industry’s most respected and influential leaders, and is a tireless […]
AK Steel reported solid first-quarter earnings but continued to advocate for trade action to curb unfair imports. “The high level of imports, particularly the ongoing surge of foreign electrical steel, remains a challenge, and we will continue to work proactively with the Trump administration to ensure fair and appropriate trade policies,” said AK Steel CEO […]
The 2018 SMU Steel Summit Conference is shaping up to be the most dynamic and largest steel conference we have ever conducted. Eight hundred executives are expected to join us in Atlanta on Aug. 27-29 for a one-of-a-kind event. Networking will be second to none, as will our speakers, from beginning to end. Even before […]
The 2018 SMU Steel Summit Conference is shaping up to be the most dynamic and largest steel conference we have ever conducted. Eight hundred executives are expected to join us in Atlanta on Aug. 27-29 for a one-of-a-kind event. Networking will be second to none, as will our speakers, from beginning to end. Even before […]
U.S. steel producers consider the Trump administration tariffs on steel imports a big step forward, albeit a journey still in progress, but are not resting on their laurels. AK Steel CEO Roger Newport presented the industry’s case once again in testimony Thursday before the House Ways and Means Committee in support of Section 232. “We […]
AK Steel announced that three of its employees were recognized by the Manufacturing Institute as 2018 STEP Ahead Award winners who exemplify leadership in Science, Technology, Engineering and Production. Lisa A. Vensel, AK Steel General Manager, Manufacturing Planning, and Joyce C. Niedringhaus, AK Steel Principal Research Engineer, were named 2018 STEP Ahead Honorees. Ayesha Satija, […]
Big River Steel sees opportunity in the convergence of two major trends in automotive: development of autonomous/electric vehicles and advanced steels. “Niche steel is a big part of what we want to do. The opportunity in electrical steel is immense,” said Big River Chief Commercial Officer Mark Bula at the S&P Global Platts Steel Markets […]
WOW! What a day. I don’t know if anyone has the ability to accurately calculate the value of a piece of steel based on what has been happening since President Trump all of a sudden announced Section 232 tariffs while answering a reporter’s question. With the announcement of more countries being excluded from the tariffs, […]
Steel supply and pricing were the main topics discussed during the March 20 Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) conference call. The Section 232 tariff on steel will go into effect on Friday, March 23, but HARDI members are already seeing an impact in the market. Steel prices are up $6/cwt since the last […]
Steel Market Update’s 8th Steel Summit Conference will be held at the Georgia International Convention Center on Monday, Aug. 27, through Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018. We’ve been watching the markets very carefully as we put together our final agenda and have worked hard to select the best speakers possible. On Friday, we added AK Steel […]
Steel Market Update’s 8th Steel Summit Conference will be held at the Georgia International Convention Center on Monday, Aug. 27, through Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018. We’ve been watching the markets very carefully as we put together our final agenda and have worked hard to select the best speakers possible. On Friday, we added AK Steel […]
AK Steel members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Local 1943 have ratified a two-year labor agreement covering about 1,730 hourly employees at the company’s Middletown, Ohio, facility. The new agreement will be effective March 15, 2018, through March 15, 2020. Union officials hoped to reach an agreement for a four-year […]
U.S. Steel announced it will restart one of its two blast furnaces at Granite City Works later this year. The “B” Furnace will be placed back online to support anticipated increased demand for steel in the U.S. as a result of the pending Section 232 tariffs. “Our Granite City Works facility and employees, as well […]
Reaction to the official announcement and signing of the Section 232 proclamation brought swift reaction from the industry and Congress. Opinions ranged from unwavering support, “the era of American trade surrender is coming to an end,” to total dismay, “the sweeping tariffs announced today are like dropping a bomb on a flea.” Supporting the 25 […]
NLMK USA told Steel Market Update this afternoon that if the 25 percent tariff on steel, and specifically on steel slabs, goes into effect, the future of their company and the people who work for it is in jeopardy long term. Steel Market Update spoke with Bob Miller, President of NLMK USA and Executive Vice […]
NLMK USA told Steel Market Update this afternoon that if the 25 percent tariff on steel, and specifically on steel slabs, goes into effect, the future of their company and the people who work for it is in jeopardy long term. Steel Market Update spoke with Bob Miller, President of NLMK USA and Executive Vice […]
Oscar Night, so I will keep my comments short and sweet…maybe. I was told by one of our readers over the weekend that it would cost U.S. Steel $100 million to re-start Granite City. They wanted to know if that was correct? I did some checking with a number of analysts and was told that […]