Well, earnings season is now well underway. We’ve seen the early reporters like steel processor Worthington Steel (who announced it will be splitting off its steel segment and creating two separate, publicly traded businesses), as well as tube producer Webco, and steel and metal manufacturer Commercial Metals Co. all report strong results in their latest earnings. […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. plans to announce where its new aluminum flat-rolled mill will be located within the next few weeks. Site selection is wrapping up, and the purchase of equipment packages and major mill components has been completed over the past few weeks, SDI chairman, president, and CEO Mark Millett said on the company’s third-quarter […]
Steel service center NIM Group is adding a new processing line to its Norfolk Iron & Metal facility in Windsor, Colo. Installation of a new precision cut-to-length line from Red Bud Industries and a hydraulic cassette leveler from Braner USA will begin at the end of this year. Operations are slated to begin in the […]
The international consensus on expanding international trade has shattered. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote a piece last week in the Times outlining some of the factors that led to the demise of this consensus. In the 1990s, with the advent of NAFTA and the WTO, the prevalent view among policymakers was that trade […]
News that the Biden Administration is considering a total ban on Russian aluminum imports lifted the market Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 11. The LME aluminum three-month price increased sharply to a high of $2,400 per ton before some of the gains were reversed by the close. The price saw some volatile shifts during the week but […]
The US and European Commission (EC) plan to accelerate global steel discussions in the coming weeks. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and EC Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis met last week in Washington to discuss ways to strengthen the trading and economic relationships between the two regions, Tai’s office said. Tai and Dombrovskis discussed the role […]
Service center behemoth Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. will have a new leader come the start of 2023. Current CEO James D. Hoffman will step down from his position at the end of this year, allowing current company president Karla Lewis to step up and serve as both president and CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2023. […]
We’ve spilled a lot of ink over labor contract talks between US Steel and the United Steelworkers (USW) union. That issue is no doubt important. But here are two more that are just as important, if not more so. And you should have both on your radar as you start this week. First is the […]
Ingram Marine Group, the largest US barge operator, on Oct. 6 declared force majeure in a letter to customers. The company said low water levels had made it impossible to make timely deliveries. Vessels have run aground near Memphis, Tenn., and there is a logjam of more than 122 vessels/barges near Stack Island, Miss., impeding […]
Steel prices were steady to slightly down throughout the month of September, following declines seen in each of the four months prior. Hot-rolled prices averaged $780 per ton ($39.00 per cwt) the first week of September, falling to a low of $770 per ton in the third week of the month, and rising to $775 […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has completed its acquisition of Mexican ferrous and nonferrous scrap recycler Roca Acero SA de CV. The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based EAF steelmaker did not disclose the purchase price but said the deal was paid for in cash. “Combined with our existing metals recycling facilities in Mexico, the addition of Roca significantly […]
Antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum extrusions from China will remain in place for another five years. In the final results of the expedited sunset review of the duties, the US International Trade Commission voted unanimously that removing the duties would be likely to lead to the continuation or recurrence of material injury to the […]
The London Metal Exchange (LME) has launched a discussion paper on whether to delist Russian primary aluminum from its contract. A discussion paper is like what we do in the US when we ask for public comment on an issue. This decision to ask for market commentary is a 180-degree change of direction from what […]
Shipments of iron and steel, coke, and scrap metal on the St. Lawrence Seaway System were robust in the first eight months of this year, according to the latest figures released by the Great Lakes Seaway Partnership. Steel shipments on the Seaway were up 3.92% from the same period of 2021, reaching 1.282 million metric […]
Aluminum May Be Approaching the End of Its Long Destocking Cycle Last week, I described our premise about demand versus real consumption. We talked about the market’s natural tendency to destock when prices take a beating as they have during most of 2022. The latest Index of Orders from the Aluminum Association offers some early […]
Prices for each of the steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis decreased over the last 30 days, further declining from the record-high levels seen in March and April. Through the latest data available as of Sept. 21, zinc prices decreased 12% in the last month, busheling scrap and aluminum prices fell 7%, pig […]
ThyssenKrupp Material Services is investing $37 million to build a new aluminum and steel service center in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, to serve the automotive supply markets. Operations at the new location are scheduled to begin mid-2023. A Schuler blanking line to cut aluminum and high-strength steel blanks will be a focal point of the […]
Long liquidation as opposed to short selling? I spoke this week at two diverse industry groups: the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) and the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI). While differing in their sector concentration, the audiences had the same questions: • What’s going on with the London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminum price? • Why […]
General Motors is sprucing things up. The Detroit-based automaker announced on Sept. 15 that it will invest $491 million into its Marion, Ind., metal stamping facility to prepare for the production of various steel and aluminum parts to be used in electric vehicles (EVs). The expenditure will go towards two new press lines, complete press […]
The prices contractors pay for construction materials and services—chiefly for new nonresidential construction—declined 1.1% month-on-month (MoM) in August, as a steep drop in fuel prices masked increases in the cost of other construction inputs, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported in its latest analysis of government data. AGC cautioned that limited price declines […]
It looks like domestic mills are trying to establish a floor at around $800 per ton ($40 per cwt). They’ve arrived there by different means. And whether they’ll be successful remains to be seen. Suffice it to say that some mills that were very, very aggressive in July and August in the spot market aren’t […]
Natural gas inspired staggering energy prices crush primary aluminum economics The suspension of gas deliveries through the Nord Stream pipeline has further aggravated an already grim energy situation for European aluminum producers. Prices for day-ahead power in Western Europe are stunning in their magnitude: 404 euros/megawatt hour were published on Friday for Germany, France, the […]
Ryerson has announced its acquisition of Howard Precision Metals, one of the largest distributors of aluminum in the Midwest. “Howard has cultivated a strong brand and a reputation for creating excellent customer experiences,” said Mike Burbach, Ryerson’s COO. “Its processing capabilities complement Ryerson’s existing non-ferrous franchise, and we are excited to recognize these synergies as […]
Steel prices eased overall throughout August, following declines seen in the three previous months. Hot rolled prices were $805 per ton ($40.25 per cwt) the first week of August, falling to a low of $770 per ton in the middle of the month, and rising to $785 per ton as of last Tuesday. The SMU […]
Prices for five of the seven steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis decreased over the last 30 days, further declining from the record levels seen in March and April. Through the latest data available as of August 31, pig iron prices decreased 38% in the last month, busheling scrap prices fell 14%, aluminum […]
The post-Cold War history of trade has certainly been turbulent. Readers may remember – if they are old enough – the euphoric days after the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union fell apart. A key marker of the philosophical development explaining these cataclysmic events was an essay (1989) and book (1992) by Francis Fukuyama, […]
Economic conditions are still iffy at best. Housing data continues to suffer with new home sales plunging and inventory reaching the highest it has been since 2009. The Richmond and Kansas City Fed manufacturing indexes both plunged in July as well. The Richmond Fed’s manufacturing skill availability index, which indicates the demand for skilled labor […]
The final program of last week’s Steel Summit Conference was a panel of three experts discussing the evolving automotive market and its shift towards electric vehicles (EV). Panelists discussed how the automotive industry is transitioning to electric-vehicle offerings, covering an array of topics such as steel and aluminum needs for EVs, investments by automakers, light-weighting […]
The second fireside chat of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit conference featured Mark Millett, president and CEO of Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker Steel Dynamics Inc. SMU founder John Packard chatted with Millett about everything from aluminum and the status of SDI’s new mill in Texas, to decarbonization, steel prices, scrap, and electrical steel. Here’s a […]
We’ve concluded the second day of our Steel Summit conference in Atlanta, and I thought I’d leave you with five things I learned today. So here they are in no particular order: Say Hello to ADI, Say Goodbye to Section 232 (as we know it) It’s not official yet. But Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) president […]