Ford plans to idle or reduce production at nearly all its North American assembly plants in July – and in some instances into early August – because of a shortage of chips and other parts. “While we continue to manufacture new vehicles, we’re prioritizing completing our customers’ vehicles that were assembled without certain parts due to […]
Mark Bula sees an analogy between the latest green steel technology and the electric arc furnaces (EAFs) that transformed traditional steelmaking back in the 1980s. “Just as minimills once disrupted the industry, we must once again take a monumental leap forward,” he said. Bula is well known in the steel industry for his prior role […]
Ferrous scrap prices are likely to rise again in July on top of the $50-60 per gross ton increase in June – but just how much remains unclear, according to Steel Market Update sources. “July expectations vary greatly,” said one dealer in the Northeast. “Most consumers are conceding prices will be up $20-50/GT depending on grade and […]
Ferrous scrap prices rose by $20/GT for prime grades, but were unchanged for obsoletes, in trading for July. Prime supplies were influenced by the slowdown in automotive production, while obsolete prices reflect stable export demand. Sources tell Steel Market Update that prices in the Ohio Valley settled around $505-514/GT for shred, $500-510/GT for plate and […]
Ferrous scrap prices, like finished steel prices, have been on the rise for most of the year (see chart), but could see a pause in August. Sources tell Steel Market Update they expect obsolete grades to trade $20/GT lower next month, while prime prices will most likely remain unchanged. “Obsolete grades should trade in the […]
Once Produced…Can We Even Get It Shipped? Transportation issues continue to plague the flat-rolled and plate steel markets. It’s bad enough that many steel mills are running one to four weeks late against their original promise date. We are hearing once the steel is produced it can take days to weeks of waiting for a […]
Once Produced…Can We Even Get It Shipped? Transportation issues continue to plague the flat-rolled and plate steel markets. It’s bad enough that many steel mills are running one to four weeks late against their original promise date. We are hearing once the steel is produced it can take days to weeks of waiting for a […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. plans to take a 45-day maintenance outage at the big No. 7 blast furnace at its Indiana Harbor steel works in East Chicago, Ind., a company spokeswoman said. The planned outage, for a partial reline of the furnace, is scheduled to start on Sept. 1, she said. The No. 7 furnace has capacity […]
Worthington Industries, Inc., reported net sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 totaling $978.3 million, a 60% increase over the comparable quarter in the prior year. The increase was driven by overall volume improvements in both Steel Processing and Pressure Cylinders and higher average direct selling prices in Steel Processing, the company said. “We […]
Plate prices have seen an astronomical rise, but the big gains have not been enough to keep the spread between sheet and plate from ballooning. And that spread is already the inverse of what is the norm. Normally plate prices carry a premium to sheet prices – now the reverse is true. Sheet carries around a […]
The Ashland Works steel mill is coming down after operating for the better part of 100 years on the Ohio River. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. confirms that it will demolish the idled Kentucky mill that it acquired from AK Steel in 2019. Although there were initial discussions about restarting the mill to produce pig iron, ultimately the […]
2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference Revised Agenda as of June 20, 2021 There are 55 days before the start to the 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference. We should have close to 300 companies and 800+ executives attending this year based on where we are today. The conference agenda is close to its final shape. There […]
2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference Revised Agenda as of June 20, 2021 There are 55 days before the start to the 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference. We should have close to 300 companies and 800+ executives attending this year based on where we are today. The conference agenda is close to its final shape. There […]
The traditional correlations between finished steel and scrap prices have broken down this year, and historical spreads might remain off-kilter as more electric-arc furnace (EAF) mills come online globally, CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley said. Crude steel output via EAFs in North America is expected to grow by about 16 million metric tonnes, approximately 20%, […]
As a co-founder of Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), Mark Millett has had a front row seat to the dramatic changes the steel industry has staged over the past three decades. Actually, he has played a leading role in many of those changes and continues to choreograph the latest act in steel’s story with the imminent […]
The Art of Forecasting… This week I saw another milestone drop that I never thought I would live to see. Galvanized base pricing out of a domestic mill at $100.00/cwt (seems like there is an extra digit there for some reason). I go back far enough to remember galvanized steel prices around $10.00/cwt…. For the […]
The Art of Forecasting… This week I saw another milestone drop that I never thought I would live to see. Galvanized base pricing out of a domestic mill at $100.00/cwt (seems like there is an extra digit there for some reason). I go back far enough to remember galvanized steel prices around $10.00/cwt…. For the […]
SMU caught up with Ternium CEO Máximo Vedoya about the Latin American steelmaker’s plans for its new, $1.1-billion hot strip mill in in Pesquería, just outside of Monterrey, Mexico. The new mill – also known as #4 Pesqueria – sports capacity of 4.4 million tons per year. It rolled its first coils in May and Vedoya […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Analysis Ten years ago the aluminum can, and the aluminum sheet mills that supplied them, looked to be on borrowed time. Aluminum beverage can shipments, as reported by the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) had been flatlining for years. Can manufacturers were consolidating, with Ball and Ardagh acquiring Rexam assets in […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Analysis The COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on overall aluminum demand in 2020 was well documented. However, that storyline masked a remarkable rebound in the demand for aluminum beverage cans. Data from the Aluminum Association shows this: • 2020 total domestic shipments of can stock supplied to the can market rose 3.3% […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Sheet prices in northern Europe, like in other areas of the world, have begun to decline – although prices in the USA have yet to follow this trend. Still, it appears that this upward trend in the U.S. market is nearing an end. […]
By CRU Principal Economist Alex Tuckett and Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen In this mid-year update to our global economic outlook, we look back at our expectations at the beginning of the year, and those of our surveyed clients, and compare them with actual outcomes over the past six months. Overall, the global economy is in vastly better shape […]
Worthington Industries has acquired certain assets of Shiloh Industries’ U.S BlankLight® business for $105 million. The deal expands Worthington’s capacity and capability with the addition of three facilities, located in Ohio and Michigan, to the company’s laser-welded products joint venture, TWB Company LLC. A fourth facility in Kentucky will operate under Worthington’s Steel Processing business, expanding […]
Steel prices will correct sharply as supply catches up with demand, potentially falling back to an average of $575 per ton ($28.75 per cwt) in 2022, according to one leading industry analyst. “This too will pass,” was the title chosen by Timna Tanners, metals and mining analyst at Bank of America, for her SMU Community […]
Editor’s note: SMU contributor Bryan Tice is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and the firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. Before joining Metal Edge Partners, Bryan held a variety of commercial […]
A 100-day review, authorized by President Biden, was released this week to address vulnerabilities in critical U.S. supply chains. The report, “Building Resilient Supply Chains, Revitalizing American Manufacturing, and Fostering Broad-Based Growth,” was prepared by the departments of Commerce, Energy, Defense, and Health and Human Services. The 250-page report included recommendations not only for reducing […]
Infrastructure, Energy, Wind Farms, Tanners, Summit Conference, Imports. If you are watching the news, you are aware of the Biden administration’s push for a large (at least $1 trillion) infrastructure bill. There is a lot of discussion about what infrastructure entails in light of the current economy. It’s not your father’s economy. There is need […]
The 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference will be the first major steel conference to be held in person since the pandemic shut down all events across the world. Our conference will begin at 9 a.m. ET with our Pre-Summit Programs on Monday, Aug. 23. The official opening of the conference will be at 1 p.m. ET […]
ArcelorMittal Mexico plans to start up its new hot strip mill in Lázaro Cárdenas in Mexico’s Michoacán state in the fourth quarter of this year, a company spokeswoman said. The hot strip mill cost $1 billion and is expected to have annual capacity of 2.75 million tons per year (tpy), according to an ArcelorMittal press […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to announce that Timna Tanners, metals and mining analyst at Bank of America, will be the featured speaker for our next Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, June 9, at 11 a.m. ET. Tanners will speak about the steel industry of the future. That future is likely to include an increased […]