A couple of comments regarding possible price increase announcements as we go into first-quarter 2019 made today as I canvassed the flat rolled and plate steel markets pricing. “Mills appear to be much more sanguine on prices than I’ve seen in a while. I’m hearing them say that once all of the mills are done […]
Canada’s Algoma Steel Inc. has finally fully emerged from Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) protection after three long years. The company announced on Friday that it had successfully acquired all the remaining assets of Essar Steel Algoma and is ready to tackle the market as a financially stable entity. “When we take a look around […]
Reporting a profitable third quarter, Essar Steel Algoma is moving closer to emergence from bankruptcy. The Canadian steel producer announced income from operations for the three-month period ending Sept. 30 of C$107.9 million, up from income of C$74.3 million in the same period of 2017. Algoma’s steel shipments rose 6.3 percent year-over-year to 620,137 tons. […]
U.S. Section 232 tariffs have cost Canada’s Essar Steel Algoma about $55 million from June through August, according to Brian Denega, court appointed monitor overseeing the Algoma restructuring. In addition, the company is required to post a tariff surety bond with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the amount of $5.25 million. “The U.S. Customs […]
My life these days is consumed by our upcoming SMU Steel Summit Conference, our brand-new Steel 201: Introduction to Advanced High Strength & Other New Steels workshop and the next SMU Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop, as well as writing articles and trying to stay on top of the flat […]
United Steelworkers at Algoma Steel have ratified a tentative agreement with Algoma’s secured creditors. Members of USW Local 2251 and salaried workers in USW Local 2724 voted to accept the agreement that includes no concessions and some gains, said union leaders. Algoma, formerly Essar Steel Algoma, has been in Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act proceedings since […]
Beginning in July 2018, Steel Market Update has been recruiting flat rolled and plate steel service centers to participate in our monthly analysis. Our goal is to produce a quality data stream out of the service centers, which can help answer questions regarding future demand from the steel distributors. We provided data sources with our […]
The Canada Border Services Agency initiated an investigation on May 25 into the dumping and subsidizing of certain cold-rolled steels in coils or cut lengths from China, South Korea, and Vietnam. The investigation was prompted by a complaint from ArcelorMittal Dofasco. Cold rolled imports under the investigation increased from 85,075 metric tons in 2015 to […]
Last year, it took Steel Market Update until the middle of July before we reached the number of registrations that we have already booked for the 2018 SMU Steel Summit Conference. We are approaching 500 registered executives and we are well on our way to smashing last year’s record attendance and meeting our self-imposed goal […]
Have flat rolled and plate steel prices peaked? Opinions vary widely among Steel Market Update’s sources. We spent all day today working on gathering flat rolled and plate pricing information. In the process, we also collected comments from steel buyers as to whether they felt steel prices have “peaked” or if there is more room […]
Have flat rolled and plate steel prices peaked? Opinions vary widely among Steel Market Update’s sources. We spent all day on Tuesday working on gathering flat rolled and plate pricing information. In the process, we also collected comments from steel buyers as to whether they felt steel prices have “peaked” or if there is more […]
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 […]
Canadian steel mills like Algoma and Stelco are getting a reprieve from steel and aluminum tariffs, at least for now. The Section 232 tariffs imposed by President Trump will not affect Canada or Mexico provided they can complete a NAFTA agreement quickly and on U.S. terms. “For now, Canada and Mexico will be excluded from […]
President Trump’s announcement today of his intention to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports puts the steel industry on course for historic change. Historically good or historically bad, or perhaps some of both, depends on the individual’s perspective. Following are some of the reactions Steel Market Update received from readers, whose names were […]
The SMU Steel Summit Conference is THE fastest growing steel conference in North America and THE one conference manufacturing, distribution, suppliers to the industry and steel mills want to attend. Details about the agenda, speakers, location and costs, as well as how to register, can be found on our website: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/Events/Steel-Summit or you can contact […]
Steel buyers recognize that flat rolled prices are moving higher and momentum is clearly on the side of the steel mills. Hot rolled price offers, which Steel Market Update identified earlier this week as being $650 to $710, have moved higher based on information gleaned from steel buyers today. The new spread is $680 to […]
Union workers at Canadian steel mill Algoma are seeking a cut of the company in return for concessions in contract negotiations. “It was made clear…during the December 2016 negotiations with the consenting creditors that if the members were called upon to make monetary concessions and/or to help Algoma mitigate business risk, then in keeping with […]
Steel plate prices are rising as demand tightens and lead times lengthen. On Thursday of this past week, Steel Market Update published an article containing comments from steel buyers in both flat rolled and plate steel products. One comment sparked a discussion between one of the domestic steel mills and SMU (and indirectly with the […]
Operational problems this past fall impacted Algoma Steel earnings and the mill’s winter build-up of raw materials, according to the latest report from CCAA bankruptcy monitor Brian Denega. Delays on a stove rebuild project along with an unplanned shutdown of the blast furnace at the end of November affected Algoma’s production and shipments. The rebuild […]
Flat rolled and plate steel prices are all over the place this week. We are seeing a distinct difference in pricing from those mills who still have November and December tonnage compared to those whose lead times are into January and beyond. Hot roll appears to be the strongest product with virtually all of our […]
A rail line servicing Canada’s Algoma steel mill is in financial jeopardy over track maintenance costs. The Huron Central Railway, which connects Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury, needs $46 million to cover infrastructure repairs over the next five years. This is the second time in the last decade that Huron Central has appealed to Ottawa […]
The No. 7 blast furnace at Algoma Steel is currently undergoing maintenance in order to rebuild one of the four furnace stoves. The project was begun in July and is expected to take four months to complete. Steel production will be reduced by approximately 78,000 tons during the maintenance period. As a result, Algoma expects […]
Lenders pursuing the purchase of Canadian steel mill Algoma have reached an agreement with the City of Sault Ste. Marie regarding payment of Algoma’s back taxes. We have settled the tax issue,” Mayor Christian Provenzano told The Sault Star. “We are satisfied that we recovered enough moneys in our negotiations to ensure that we were […]
The following steel mills are registered to attend this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference at the end of this month: ArcelorMittal Mexico, ArcelorMittal Dofasco, ArcelorMittal/Nippon Sumitomo Calvert, Ternium USA, Ternium Mexico, NLMK USA, Nucor, Nucor Mexico, Nucor Canada, Kandil Steel (Egypt), California Steel Industries, AK Steel, CSN USA, North Star BlueScope, Steel Dynamics Inc., The […]
Algoma is looking for 63 good people. With retirement looming for 25 percent of its workforce in the next three years, Algoma is looking to attract new employees for production positions that include general labor, production operations and production shipment. “We have 700 employees eligible to retire today. As these people transition into retirement, there […]
I was advised late on Friday afternoon that we should expect a Nucor price increase early next week. With scrap prices firming $10 to $30 per ton our expectation is for the increase to be $25-$30 per ton. Then the question will be will the industry support another increase after tepid (at best) support for […]
The saga of Essar Steel Algoma is continuing with a new wrinkle in its attempt to emerge from insolvency protection. The company was granted an extension to its debtor-in-possession financing on Monday, pushing the maturity date to March 21, 2018. USW Local 2724, which represents the salaried employees at Algoma, now wants MAGA Steel Corp […]
Essar Steel Algoma, rebranded as Algoma, is requesting a fourth extension to its financing as it continues toward emergence from bankruptcy protection. The last Debtor In Possession extension was denied by the court due to concerns that the financing would not cover the winter material build-up and could provide too much transaction leverage for the […]
On Friday of this past week flat rolled steel buyers were lighting up the Steel Market Update inbox with questions or comments about a potential flat rolled steel price increase to be announced as early as Monday of this week. Steel buyers and executives associated with the service centers were telling SMU that Nucor is […]