Tag: Automotive

Mexican steelmaker Talleres y Aceros (TYASA) broke ground this month on the construction of a new special bar quality (SBQ) rolling mill in the state of Veracruz.

What's the tea in the steel industry this week? Here's the latest SMU gossip column! Just kidding... kind of. Yes, some of the comments we receive in our weekly flat-rolled market steel buyers' survey are honestly too much to put into print. Some make us laugh. Some make us cringe. Some are cryptic. Most are serious. We appreciate them all. Below are some highlights from our survey results this week. Some of the comments that we can share with you are also included, in italics, in the buyers' own words, with minimal editing on our part.

The Mexican federal government backed down on the application of tariffs on raw non-alloyed and alloyed aluminum decreed on April 22.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) appropriated more than $4 billion to the General Services Administration (GSA) and Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) for “Buy Clean” programs. The statute makes clear that GSA and FHWA purchases under these programs are limited to those with “substantially lower” emissions. There is no ambiguity in that requirement. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has defined “substantially lower” to mean products with the lowest 20% of embodied emissions when compared to similar materials.

Japanese steelmaker JFE Holdings will invest abroad as part of a drive to lift income, says group president Yoshihisa Kitano.

Stelco reported a positive start to 2024 in its first-quarter earnings report on Thursday. And with steady demand and a stable market, the Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker is optimistic for the remainder of the year.

Brazil-based Gerdau has announced it will carry out a feasibility study into the greenfield development of a 600,000 metric-ton-per-year (mt) special steel plant in Mexico.

Thyssenkrupp Materials Services is continuing its expansion in North America. It announced the opening of a new steel service center in Sinton, Texas, to primarily serve the automotive, HVAC, and construction markets.

United Auto Workers (UAW) members at Stellantis' Warren Stamping Plant in Michigan have voted to authorize a strike at the factory.

United Auto Workers (UAW) members have ratified a work contract with Daimler Truck North America.

Nucor broke ground on a new galvanizing line at its Nucor Steel Berkeley sheet mill in Huger, S.C., on Thursday, May 2.

Brazil’s chamber of foreign trade, Camex, has approved quotas on imports of 11 steel products and a 25% levy on shipments 30% above a product’s average import volume between 2020 and 2022.

The Index had briefly showed expansion in March, but has indicated a contracting manufacturing sector for 17 of the last 18 months.

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, SMU polled steel buyers on an array of topics, ranging from market prices, demand, and inventories to imports and evolving market chatter.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has certified the results of the election of Volkswagen workers to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) union in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Daimler Truck North America and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union have reached tentative bargaining agreements covering over 7,000 US workers at various locations in the South.

Latest AA extrusion shipment report shows persistently weak demand The US Aluminum Association released its latest shipment report for extruded products. According to the report, shipments in March 2024 totaled 383.2 million pounds, representing a drop of 10.6% y/y but a rise of 4.5% m/m. For the YTD period through March, total shipments are now […]

Constellium reported its latest quarterly results for Q1'24. Adjusted Ebitda came in at €137 million (USD$147 million), down 8.6% year over year (y/y) amid revenue of €1.7 billion (USD$1.8 billion), down 12% y/y. Shipments totalled 380,000 metric tons (mt) in Q1, representing a drop of 2% y/y.

Reliance Inc.’s earnings slumped in the first quarter of 2024, but the company expects better than normal seasonal recovery in demand in the second quarter.

Destocking at service centers and a downturn in steel pricing impacted Ternium’s shipments in Mexico in the first quarter of the year.

Cleveland-Cliffs is working on a solution for its recently idled mill in Weirton, W.Va., that will address pent-up demand for transformers, increase the need for its electrical steel, and get its workforce back to work.

With strength in the sector and customers needing the product it produces, Cleveland-Cliffs’ chief executive says the company will be more selective with the automotive customers it chooses to serve.

Steel Dynamics Inc.'s (SDI's) earnings fell in the first quarter of 2024 as the company cited steel order volatility early in the quarter and lower scrap prices.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. continued to lose money in the first quarter, with the steelmaker blaming the loss in part on the idling of its tinplate facility in Weirton, W.Va.

ArcelorMittal plans to build a new electrical steel manufacturing facility near its AM/NS Calvert joint-venture mill in Alabama.

Workers at Volkswagen's assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., have voted overwhelmingly to join the United Autoworkers (UAW) union. More than 3,600 ballots were cast, with 73% of Chattanooga workers voting to join the UAW and only 27% voting against unionization, per the UAW.

Steel is a foundation of the global economy. It is an essential raw material for nearly every industry, from automotive and construction to transportation, machinery, and energy.

North American auto assemblies ticked up in March vs. the prior month, according to LMC Automotive data. While assemblies were up month on month (m/m), they are down 4.5% year on year (y/y).

US light-vehicle (LV) sales rose to an unadjusted 1.44 million units in March, up 4.6% vs. year-ago levels, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported. The year-on-year (y/y) growth in domestic LV sales came in despite a 1.3% month-on-month (m/m) decline.

Last week was a newsy one for the US sheet market. Nucor’s announcement that it would publish a weekly HR spot price was the talk of the town – whether that was in chatter among colleagues, at the Boy Scouts of America Metals Industry dinner, or in SMU’s latest market survey. Some think that it could Nucor's spot HR price could bring stability to notoriously volatile US sheet prices, according to SMU's latest steel market survey. Others think it’s too early to gauge its impact. And still others said they were leery of any attempt by producers to control prices.