We’re nearing the end of 2022, which means it’s time to register for the Tampa Steel Conference as you make your travel plans for 2023. The event will be at the Tampa Marriott Water Street hotel again this year. Mark your calendar for Sunday-Tuesday Feb. 5-7. Nearly 200 of you have registered already. We’re on track […]
Nucor Corp. has partnered with Boulder, Colo.-based startup Electra to develop “carbon-free” iron. The goal is to further reduce greenhouse gas emission in Nucor’s steelmaking operations. “Just as Nucor changed the face of the steel industry 53 years ago with our first electric arc furnace, successfully developing and scaling up a zero-carbon iron product is the […]
Kloeckner Metals Corp. has named three new executives, including incoming CFO Angela Arellano Villamar. Villamar began working for Kloeckner in 2008, and most recently served as vice president of accounting and controlling. Bob Cromley has been promoted to the newly created position of chief procurement officer at Kloeckner. Prior to his previous appointment as executive […]
US hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices edged up slightly last week on a wave of $60-per-ton sheet price hikes announced by domestic mills. The move appears to have at least temporarily stopped the bleeding seen over the last two months. Time will tell if the price hike attempt finds support. Just about everyone announced an increase of […]
ArcelorMittal US has announced new, higher sheet prices with the opening of its 2023 order books. The company said it has also rolled out new grade extras, which will take effect on Jan 1., to reflect higher alloy costs. The price increases effectively apply to AM/NS Calvert, the Alabama mill jointly owned by Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal […]
More North American steel producers are joining in the attempt to increase prices for steel sheet products. NLMK USA said in a Dec. 1 letter to customers that “due to increased order placement and extending lead times,” its base prices will increase by a minimum of $60 per ton ($3 per cwt) for spot orders. […]
As steel volumes continue to grow, the Port of Hamilton, Ontario, is receiving funding from the Canadian government to increase its steel handling productivity. Canada’s National Trade Corridors Fund is providing CAD $4.9 million (US $3.65 million) in funding to relieve supply chain congestion at the port. The waterway is a critical piece of infrastructure […]
The Tampa Steel Conference – which SMU does every February together with the Port of Tampa Bay – offers the tantalizing prospect for those of us in the Midwest of getting out of the cold to network outdoors in Florida. We’ll again hold the conference at the Tampa Marriot Water Street hotel. We’ve got a solid agenda […]
Steel market conditions might be tough for the balance of the year, but Stelco sees the early signs of better times in the first quarter. The Hamilton, Ontario-based integrated sheet producer is also keeping a keen eye out for potential distressed acquisitions, company executives suggested during an earnings conference call with analysts on Wednesday, Nov. […]
Canadian steelmaker Stelco posted sharply lower earnings in the third quarter on falling steel prices and higher raw material tags. The Hamilton, Ontario-based integrated sheet producer expects lower prices and short lead times to characterize the market through the end of 2022. “Despite market headwinds driven by cost inflation and a further deterioration in steel […]
ArcelorMittal reported sharply lower revenue and profits in the third quarter on falling prices, customer destocking, and weaker demand – notably in Europe. “The strong market conditions enjoyed for much of the past two years deteriorated in the third quarter,” company CEO Aditya Mittal said. “The short-term outlook for the industry remains uncertain and caution […]
The US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) is updating import duties on hot-rolled steel flat products from Turkey and South Korea. The agency just released preliminary results in reviews of the countervailing duties on Turkish product and antidumping duties on South Korean product, according to Federal Register filings. In the initial results of […]
SMU has released its latest full survey results, and I want to highlight some big changes that we’ve seen in the data compared to just two weeks ago. Chief among them is what appears to be a big shift in service center pricing and buying patterns. We had seen most service centers trying to hold […]
Steelmaker ArcelorMittal has announced a formal agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering (MHIENG), BHP, and Mitsubishi Development Pty Ltd. to develop carbon capture technology. The companies will collaborate on the development of MHIENG’s carbon capture technology and conduct a feasibility and design study prior to implementation, according to a press release posted earlier this month. […]
Maintenance costs and increasing shipments to the automotive sector were major areas of discussion on Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.’s quarterly conference call with analysts on Tuesday, Oct. 25. With major maintenance projects now complete and shipments starting to increase to auto customers, Cliffs is confident it can return to quarterly shipment levels of close to four million tons. […]
I made a contrarian case for optimism in my last Final Thoughts. Our latest survey results indicate I was more contrarian than I realized. For starters, there has been speculation in both the physical and futures markets that a strike or lockout at US Steel could catch buyers off guard and send prices spiraling upward. […]
ArcelorMittal has broken ground on its $1.8 billion CAD ($1.3 billion USD) project to decrease the carbon intensity of its steelmaking. The ground-breaking ceremony comes just about a year after the Hamilton, Ontario-based steelmaker announced the initial federal subsidy granted for the investment. ArcelorMittal Dofasco, a subsidiary of multinational ArcelorMittal SA, is working towards decreasing […]
Sheet pricing continues to grind lower and contract negotiations drag on. Let’s first look at why prices have been slipping and think about a few theories as to who or what the culprit might be. Spot Market Dynamics I’ve heard from buyers in the Midwest that discounts for large-volume orders negotiated by an integrated producer […]
ArcelorMittal is investing in energy storage. The Luxembourg-based global steel manufacturer announced on Oct. 4 a $17.5 million dollar investment in Form Energy Inc. Founded in 2017, Form Energy is a Somerville, Mass.-based company with employees in the San Francisco Bay area and Pittsburgh. The manufacturer is developing an iron-air battery that will be able […]
A group of European steel companies and nongovernmental agencies, members of the Austrian non-profit organization ResponsibleSteel, have come together to create international standards for greenhouse gas emissions as the industry works to decarbonize across the supply chain. The ResponsibleSteel International Standard V2.0 will allow steel companies to clearly show how they are driving down GHG […]
The long, hot summer of labor unrest that I’d feared early this year didn’t materialize. But that doesn’t mean we’re out the woods yet. The United Steelworkers union and Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. have agreed to a new labor pact. In Canada, meanwhile, the USW has ratified agreements with both Algoma and Stelco. But the union and […]
It’s time to forecast 2023, and I’d like to throw out one radical possibility – or at least one worth thinking about. What if there are no black swans? I know, that possibility is so remote that it’s almost laughable. We haven’t had many normal years since 2018. That year gave us the shock of […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. Rock provides customers attached to the steel industry with commodity price risk management services and market intelligence. RTA is registered with the National Futures Association as a Commodity Trade Advisor. David has over 20 years of professional trading experience and has been active […]
ArcelorMittal has announced the idling of furnaces across Europe, including blast furnace A at its steel works in in Asturias, Spain, multiple facilities in Germany, and the blast furnace at its mill 2 in Dunkirk, France. According to the Luxembourg-based company, blast furnace A in Asturias will be shut down by the end of September. Blast […]
ArcelorMittal is committed to EV. The Luxembourg-based steel company recently announced a collaboration to provide its steel knowledge to Atlis Motor Vehicles. ArcelorMittal will provide its S-in motion® solutions to hasten the design process. Currently, Atlis is developing a fully electric truck that will be designed for individuals working in the agriculture, service, utilities, and construction […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.’s chairman, president and CEO Lourenco Goncalves joined Steel Market Update senior editor Michael Cowden in the first fireside chat of this year’s SMU Steel Summit conference Monday afternoon in Atlanta. The Cliffs executive educated and entertained conference attendees with the unreserved honesty and candidness he has become well-known for in his long-term career […]
Sheet prices were mixed this week as market participants continued to debate whether a recent round of price hikes had stuck. While some said the increases would provide a floor and prevent further price erosion, others said prices were more likely to resume their downward trend in the weeks ahead. There were also questions about […]
Steelmakers stand firm in the face of Russian aggression The invasion of Ukraine led to a sharp and sudden decline in steel production as steelmakers hurried to idle their assets in the face of military aggression. In the weeks that followed, some of these producers restarted their facilities – albeit at reduced capacity utilization. As […]
Canadian steelmaker ArcelorMittal Dofasco aims to increase spot market base prices for steel sheet by at least $65 per ton CAD (~$50 per ton USD). The Hamilton, Ontario-based company said the price hike was effective immediately and applied equally to hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated products. “We reserve the right to re-quote any previously quoted offer […]
ArcelorMittal SA has agreed to buy Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém (CSP) from Brazilian iron ore miner Vale SA and shareholders. The deal is worth $2.2 billion and is expected to be completed late this year. CSP is a joint venture between Vale, which holds a 50% stake in the company, and South Korean steelmakers […]