North American auto assemblies recovered in January after a usual seasonal slowdown at year-end, according to LMC Automotive data. The result was driven by improved production across the region vs. December’s output.
US light-vehicle (LV) sales rose to an unadjusted 1.08 million units in January, up 2.8% vs. year-ago levels, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported. Despite the year-on-year (y/y) boost, domestic LV sales were down 5.6% month on month (m/m). On an annualized basis, LV sales were 15 million units in January, down from […]
Falling steel prices at present are not a symptom of demand but of imports arriving into the US and to some parts of Mexico, Ternium’s CEO Maximo Vedoya said this week.
A United Auto Workers (UAW) local has reached a tentative agreement with Ford, avoiding a strike at the automaker’s Kentucky Truck Plant (KTP).
Australia's BlueScope Steel has begun making plans to potentially add cold rolling and coating capabilities in the US.
A coalition of climate and industrial organizations has launched a 'Race to Green Steel' campaign.
Approximately 9,000 United Auto Workers (UAW) members at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant said they will strike on Friday, Feb.. 23, if local contract issues are not resolved.
The LME 3-month price was broadly stable again on the morning of Feb. 16, and was last seen trading at $2,230 per metric ton (mt). On Feb. 16, LME stocks were reported at 534,925 mt, an increase of nearly 10,000 mt from last Friday. The change comes after 15,125 mt of metal was delivered into […]
Sheet prices have fallen again this week on shorter lead times, higher imports, and potentially higher inventories. (We’ll see for sure when we release our service center shipment and inventory data next week.) I remember reporting almost exactly the same thing about a month ago and getting a fair amount of pushback. Not so much these days.
ArcelorMittal swung to a loss in the fourth quarter largely because of costs associated with a deadly coal mining disaster last year in Kazakhstan. The Luxembourg-based steelmaker sold its Kazakhstan operations in December and no longer owns and operates coal mines as a result of the move, according to comments released along with earnings data on Thursday.
What are folks in the steel industry talking about? SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects this past week, including domestic steel prices, import offers, buying activity, and more. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we are sharing some of them in each buyer’s own words.
The recession many predicted did not materialize in 2023, leading industry experts in several key end-user markets for steel cautiously optimistic for 2024.
The US Midwest premium was flat week over week (w/w) at 18.8–19.4¢/lb. Again, the premium has exhibited remarkably low levels of volatility and has yet to react to news in the geopolitical or macroeconomic spaces.
I thought Nippon Steel’s $14.1-billion deal for U.S. Steel might become a political football in this year’s presidential election. Now there is little doubt that it will after Trump told reporters in Washington, D.C., earlier this week that he would “absolutely” block the transaction – and that he would do so “instantaneously.”
Thyssenkrupp Materials de México is opening a new service center in San Luis Potosí.
Cleveland Cliffs executives didn’t mince words when opening its Q4’23 earnings call.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. shipped more than 4 million short tons (st) of steel in each quarter of 2023, pushing its full-year shipments to a record 16.4m st.
The Tampa Steel Conference is just a few days away. Here are some topics I’m looking forward to learning more about during the proceedings on Monday and Tuesday. For starters, we’ll have about a month of 2024 under our belt when we convene on Sunday. How does that compare to what we thought the start of the year would look like? And what’s the outlook for the balance of the year?
What's being talked about in the US steel market this week?
Domestic sheet prices slipped again this week, marking the first week of consecutive declines for hot-rolled (HR) coil since September. SMU’s HR price now stands at $1,000 per short ton (st) on average, down $25/st from last week and down $45/st from the start of the year.
This time of year my thoughts often turn to the weather. Specifically yesterday, heat cranked up, as I sped to a café because of an Internet service outage. I
Employees at the Mercedes-Benz plant near Tuscaloosa, Ala., have kicked off their public campaign to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) union.
TimkenSteel said on Wednesday it is changing its company name to “Metallus Inc.”
The LME aluminum 3-month price was moving further down on the morning of Jan. 5 and was last seen trading at $2,287 per metric ton (mt) as of this article’s writing, already down 6% from its recent peak. SHFE cash also concluded the first week of the year on a weaker foot. The cash contract […]
As we look back at the scrap market for 2023, it basically followed its normal seasonal pattern. Most of the disruptive geopolitical events that riled ferrous raw materials occurred in 2022. So, with those things out of the way—or settling down at least for now—2023 resumed its normal pattern.
I was asked to do an interview for a cable news channel in Ohio about Nippon Steel’s planned acquisition of U.S. Steel for more than $14 billion.
Nippon Steel will acquire U.S. Steel in a deal valued at $14.9 billion, or $55 per share, the two companies announced on Monday morning. The Japanese steelmaker will keep U.S. Steel's iconic logo and its Pittsburgh headquarters, the companies said.
The LME aluminum 3-month price is moving higher on the morning of Dec. 15 and was last seen trading at $2,258 /metric ton. This means the price is up 7% already since the new low for 2023 was reached on Wednesday at $2,109 /metric ton. The US Dollar reached its lowest level since early August […]
U.S. Steel on Thursday afternoon said it expected lower earnings in the fourth quarter compared to the third. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker predicted fourth-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) of approximately $250 million, or $0.20-$0.25 per diluted share.
SMU’s Community Chat on Wednesday, Dec. 13, featured Bank of America SVP Ira Kreft.