The vast majority of flat rolled and plate steel buyers are reporting to Steel Market Update that prices on all products will be moving at best sideways, with most believing prices will move lower from here. We are seeing pressure on hot rolled, cold rolled and plate prices right now as indexes on these products […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum posted a good first quarter with net sales of $2.96 billion, increasing 7.2 percent year-over-year and 4.1 percent from the fourth quarter. Net income jumped 122 percent from the fourth quarter to $190.1 million. Tons sold increased 5.2 percent from the fourth quarter to 1.5 million tons, but were slightly below […]
“A somewhat challenging flat-rolled price environment” is how Steel Dynamics CEO Mark Millett described the first quarter of 2019. SDI posted net income of $204 million in the first quarter and sales of $2.8 billion. Lower steel prices impacted sales resulting in 3.0 percent decline sequentially. Operating income for the company’s steel operations fell 22 […]
First, please be aware that Sunday is Easter and Steel Market Update will not publish an issue on Sunday evening. Our next issue will be on Tuesday, April 23. We have been receiving calls and getting comments associated with our release of the SMU Service Center Inventories Analysis in Sunday evening’s issue where we showed […]
Nucor Corp. has acquired Century Tube LLC, a supplier of carbon tubing for automotive, mechanical and structural applications. Century Tube, based in Madison, Ind., offers round, square, rectangular, oval and other special welded shapes of mechanical steel tubing, and is a leader in supplying induction heat-treated tubes for automotive applications. The company has produced over […]
Global steel demand will top 1.75 billion metric tons by the end of next year, despite economic headwinds in many parts of the globe, predicts the World Steel Association in its April 2019 Short Range Outlook. Worldwide, steel demand will increase by 1.3 percent this year to 1,735 Mt, followed by further 1 percent growth […]
The Russians are coming—to Kentucky. Russian aluminum producer United Co. Rusal plans to invest $200 million in a $1.7 billion rolling mill being built by start-up company Braidy Industries in Ashland, Ky. The investment will give Rusal a 40 percent stake in the project and a significant presence in the U.S. automotive and aerospace aluminum […]
I am making the following comments in my Final Thoughts section for a reason. My Final Thoughts is the area where I will sometimes provide my opinion or make comments regarding conversations that I am having about the market that I haven’t been able to totally put my finger on yet. I know that may […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Matthew Watkins. In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the key short-term impacts on the European steel market are likely to be increased delays for material crossing the UK-EU border as well as modifications to the EU safeguard system. Beyond short-term behavior such as stockpiling, there are possible longer-term effects, perhaps […]
Material Sciences Corporation was honored with a 2019 Automotive News PACE Award for its MSC Smart Steel®, a new multilayer steel laminate engineered as a direct substitute for low carbon stamped vehicle body parts. Offering up to a 35 percent mass savings compared with same-thickness standard steel, MSC Smart Steel is produced as a coil, […]
The following article discussing the global ferrous derivatives markets was written by David Feldstein. As an independent steel market analyst, advisor and trader, we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Note that Steel Market Update does not take any positions on HRC or scrap trading, and any recommendations made by […]
A surprising two out of three respondents to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire last week said they are not concerned about the direction of steel prices, at least in the short term, though some question the staying-power of current demand. Steel Market Update asked: “Foreign steel imports are dropping and the domestic mills are […]
A comment from a steel buyer today as we discussed steel prices, “That’s what I like about the steel business, there is always a new dynamic.” Put another way by one of my trading mentors a number of years back, in the steel industry prices are either going up or they are going down, there […]
President Trump’s now aborted threat this week to close the Mexican border over immigration prompted a coalition of industries to express their concerns about border trade. In a letter sent to National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney, the coalition discussed the need for all […]
Selling the family business “is not just a personal choice, but what’s best for the company,” said Roy Berlin of Berlin Metals one year after selling his Hammond, Ind., service center operation to Olympic Steel. Speaking with Steel Market Update on his first day of retirement, “the first day of the rest of my life,” […]
Major U.S. automakers reported weaker sales in March, in line with analysts’ forecasts. Cox Automotive expects auto sales volume for the month to drop 7 percent year-over-year to 1.547 million. The seasonally adjusted annual rate is forecast at 16.5 million vehicles. “The year has started relatively soft for new-vehicle sales,” notes Jonathan Smoke, chief economist […]
April saw steel prices lose momentum as hot rolled dipped to an average of $662, cold rolled to $803 and galvanized G90 to less than $900 per ton. Even plate, which has been in tight supply, has now moderated to around $964 per ton from prices near or above $1,000 earlier in the year. Steel […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores In the U.S., plate prices rose $16 /s.ton after falling by $34 /s.ton last week. Prices here started to fall back from their high levels in February, though mills announced a $40 s/.ton price increase, which at best may only stabilize prices at this lower level unless seasonal demand […]
Over the next two years, Big River Steel will expand its Osceola, Ark., flex mill with help again from German plant builder SMS Group. Big River has commissioned SMS to supply mechanical equipment, electrical and automation systems and digitalization. BRS will add a second electric arc furnace and twin-ladle furnace to the complex, increasing output […]
Steel Market Update asked: With steel imports dropping and domestic mills running close to capacity, are you concerned about where steel prices may go over the next few months? Surprisingly, nearly two out of three respondents to SMU’s market trends questionnaire earlier this week said they are unconcerned about a big swing in prices. Their […]
Over the next couple of years there will be approximately 20 million tons of capacity built in North America. Most of us focus on the capacity being built by Nucor, Steel Dynamics, JSW USA and others. What is overlooked is the capacity being built just south of the U.S. border in Mexico. In an effort […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Chief Market Risk Officer, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled futures market, and we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing futures articles for Steel […]
Worthington Industries President Andy Rose described the third quarter of fiscal year 2019 as a “noisy period” in terms of earnings. “There continues to be a lot of noise in our third-quarter results,” said Rose. “The biggest challenge we have been facing is the steel tariffs, which have created artificial pricing mechanics that should have […]
U.S. Steel announced that Daniel (Dan) R. Brown has been advanced to the position of General Manager, Great Lakes Works, effective April 1. In this position, he will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of Automotive Solutions’ fully integrated steel mill, Great Lakes Works, located in Ecorse, Mich., and the Midwest Plant located in Portage, […]
I am traveling this week. I have been in Monterrey, Mexico, where I visited the Roberto Rocca Industrial School in Pesqueria in the state of Nuevo Leon (just outside of Monterrey). I also visited the Ternium Industrial Center, which is already a major rolling facility and where Ternium is expanding capacities dramatically so the mill […]
The North American Steel Alliance, the member-owned purchasing cooperative serving the metals distribution industry, has added three new members, bringing its total to 124. Harris Steel, Cicero, Ill., is a flat rolled distributor specializing in unique steel grades, chemistries and tempers. It operates three coil-to-coil slitting lines for both ferrous and nonferrous products, supplying the […]
Are steel prices witnessing a dead cat bounce or the beginning of a bullish reversal? The market appears split on the feline vs. bovine analogy. In other words, there is a huge divergence of thought on what is going to happen to steel prices over the next three or four months. The benchmark price of […]
United Autoworkers are gearing up for contract negotiations this summer and are ready for a fight. At the UAW bargaining convention in Detroit last week, the UAW announced the negotiating teams for FCA and General Motors. Bargaining will be led by UAW President Gary Jones along with department directors Cindy Estrada at FCA and Terry […]
Total foreign steel imports are on the decline as license data from the U.S. Department of Commerce has February imports at 2.5 million net tons. Based on license data through March 12, it appears March imports will also be in that same vicinity. To put this into perspective, imports for February 2018 were 2,478,000 net […]
Total foreign steel imports are on the decline as license data from the U.S. Department of Commerce has February imports at 2.5 million net tons. Based on license data through March 12, it appears March imports will also be in that same vicinity. To put this into perspective, imports for February 2018 were 2,478,000 net […]