Hyundai Steel has halted output on some production lines and will be approximately 1.5 months late with some shipments because of a “guerrilla strike,” according to a letter to U.S. customers. “Since the strike is still ongoing and the effect of the production suspension(s) are yet to be calculated, we cannot designate the accurate quantity […]
Nucor expects first-quarter 2021 earnings to be the highest quarterly profits in the company’s history, surpassing the previous record set in the third quarter of 2008. Earnings are expected to be in the range of $3.00 to $3.10 per diluted share. Strong steel demand and pricing are generating record results in the steel mills and […]
By CRU Analyst Sam Grant, from CRU’s Zinc Monitor The U.S. COVID-19 vaccination program has continued to make impressive headway over the past month, with over 100 M doses now administered across the country. With more transmissible strains of the virus now present in the U.S., and with many states continuing to roll back containment […]
By CRU Analyst Dave Thewlis, from CRU’s Steel Long Products Monitor Prices among all types of long products rose again in April, the most challenged of which remains wire rod. February’s winter storms, which were extreme enough to cause a 2.2% m/m decline in U.S. industrial production, made a difficult situation worse for wire rod […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary from CRU’s Zinc Monitor. Zinc use has been optimized on an ongoing basis for decades as technological advances lead to lower raw materials usage and the development of higher-performing alloys with a lower zinc content. This is particularly true of the galvanizing industry, which accounts for around 60% of […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, and Gregor Spilker, CME Group By early 2021 Q2, HRC prices in the U.S. Midwest market had tripled from the trough reached in August 2020. As prices rose from $437 /s.ton to a record high of over $1,300 /s.ton, CME Group’s U.S. Midwest HRC contract settled on CRU surged […]
By CRU Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor The seasonal slowdown in the physical Chinese sheet market is ongoing, with inventories rising and demand falling w/w. However, concerns about limited supply during the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party continue to boost the Chinese HR coil futures market. Prices are still edging […]
By CRU Analyst George Pearson from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Sheet prices fell significantly in China and the Vietnamese import market in the last week and there were also smaller decreases in India. U.S. and European sheet prices continued to rise overall, although European trading activity was slower, and increases were smaller than we […]
U.S. Steel expects a solid first quarter thanks to firm demand and as record high flat-rolled steel prices flow through to its bottom line. “Strong market conditions and our well-timed acquisition of Big River Steel are allowing us to drive significant earnings growth,” U. S. Steel President and Chief Executive Officer David B. Burritt said […]
The United States’ two leading steel industry associations have cheered the Senate confirmation of Michael Regan, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency. The move comes as the U.S. steel industry increasingly looks to burnish its credentials as a green industry – and as the potential of a carbon-border tax boosts the economic viability […]
By CRU Senior Analysts Ryan Smith and Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. The need for virgin iron units in the U.S. market is rising as new electric-arc furnace (EAF) […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) rose by 14.4% m/m in March to 354.4, bouncing back above levels seen in January. China’s return to the steel market following New Year holiday celebrations there helped lift steel and scrap prices in Asia, while seasonally constrained […]
The semiconductor shortage that forced General Motors to extend assembly plant outages continues to impact production at other North American automakers as well. Case in point: Toyota’s Tundra pickup truck assembly plant in San Antonio, Texas, where it’s not clear how long the production disruption might last. The chip shortage been an issue for Toyota […]
AM/NS Calvert has a planned maintenance outage coming up, a company spokeswoman confirmed. The outage is expected to take place in May on the Alabama steel mill’s hot-strip mill, market participants said. The spokeswoman did not confirm when the outage would take place or on what part of the mill repairs or upgrades would be […]
Ternium plans to start up its new hot-strip mill in Pesquería, outside of Monterrey, Mexico, in early June, according to market participants. The development has allowed the Latin American steelmaker to take June orders for customers in the U.S, sources said. Those tons from will be rolled from Ternium’s existing hot-strip mills, something that is […]
U.S. Steel is expanding its advanced high-strength steel offering with the acquisition of the flat rolled sheet patents and trademarks of The NanoSteel Company, Inc. NanoSteel technology is used to produce the most formable high-strength steel currently available. The patented proprietary alloys, designed and developed by The NanoSteel Company, derive exceptional mechanical properties from their […]
Registrations for the 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference have topped 200 and counting. We continue to work toward having a live in-person conference in Atlanta on Aug. 23-25. We are heartened to hear President Biden speak to having enough vaccine to inoculate the entire U.S. population by the end of May. If true, that gives […]
Registrations for the 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference have topped 200 and counting. We continue to work toward having a live in-person conference in Atlanta on Aug. 23-25. We are heartened to hear President Biden speak to having enough vaccine to inoculate the entire U.S. population by the end of May. If true, that gives […]
Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém (CSP) has delayed a scheduled shutdown of its blast furnace until the second half of 2021, a company spokeswoman said. The Brazilian steelmaker had originally planned to undertake the shutdown, necessary to implement “processes improvement,” in the second quarter of this year. “The initial date was postponed mainly due to the […]
How close is the United States to adopting some form of carbon border tax to address climate change? What seemed highly unlikely one administration ago is now even supported by the likes of the trade groups representing the American oil and steel industries. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the powerful American Petroleum […]
The semiconductor shortage that has forced North American automakers to temporarily halt production at some assembly plants has spilled into the home appliance industry as well. The situation is severe enough that the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), a lobbying group, has warned about potential re-allocations of semiconductors from that sector to others. There […]
There has been much said about the squeeze on supply of flat rolled and not as much about demand. Demand has been quite good in all sectors except the energy sector, which has been struggling for a couple of years due to prices that went below $40 per barrel. Now we are seeing warning signs […]
SMU contributor Tim Stevenson is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Tim’s previous role, he was a Director at Cargill Risk Management, and […]
“Life at Cleveland-Cliffs has been intense,” said CEO Lourenco Goncalves, referring to a pandemic-challenged year in 2020 and major changes to what just one year ago was an iron ore company. “Without question, 2020 was the most transformational year in our company’s 173-year history,” said Goncalves. “We completed two seminal acquisitions, AK Steel and ArcelorMittal […]
“Life at Cleveland-Cliffs has been intense,” said CEO Lourenco Goncalves, referring to a pandemic-challenged year in 2020 and major changes to what just one year ago was an iron ore company. “Without question, 2020 was the most transformational year in our company’s 173-year history,” said Goncalves. “We completed two seminal acquisitions, AK Steel and ArcelorMittal […]
President Joe Biden has signed an executive order officially implementing a U.S. supply chain review for critical products such as semiconductors – a lack of which has led to widespread automotive production outages. “Recent shortages of automotive semiconductor chips have forced slowdowns at car manufacturing plants, highlighting how shortages can hurt U.S. workers,” the White House said […]
United Steelworkers union members will vote March 1 on whether to ratify a tentative contract agreement covering NLMK USA’s operations in western Pennsylvania, a union official said. USW District 10 Staff Representative Todd Clary confirmed the date next Monday. He declined additional comment until after the vote. NLMK USA President and CEO Robert D. Miller also confirmed […]
Auto assemblies in North America took a step back in January after seeing a strong end to 2020. Although the U.S. market continues to rebound from the effects of the pandemic, domestic light vehicle sales fell by 3.1% in January compared to year-ago levels, according to LMC Automotive (LMCA). Canada’s light vehicle sales were down […]
“Snowmageddon” did not help. Steel buyers are telling Steel Market Update that last week’s “Snowmageddon,” as one buyer called it, has caused steel orders into the South and South Central sections of the United States to be pushed out an additional one to two weeks. “We’re seeing some adjustments arising out of last week’s weather with […]
AM/NS Calvert has broken ground for construction of a $775 million electric-arc furnace (EAF) at its slab conversion mill in Alabama. The new EAF, to have a capacity of 1.5 million tons per year, is expected to come online in the first half of 2023, AM/NS Calvert CEO Jorge Oliveria said in a statement. The […]