The World Steel Association has downgraded it Short Range Outlook for apparent steel usage for 2014 and 2015 to 2 percent each year-over-year from it’s previous April forecast of 3.1 percent in 2014 and 3.3 percent in 2015. The slowing markets in China, South American and CIS were cited as reasons for the changed in […]
The USW and Ontario officials are determined to not go down easily in the fight to keep US Steel Canada alive. The $185 million that US Steel is loaning to US Canada in DIP financing is under hot dispute by union members and the province. The DIP (debtor-in possession) filing has been called “a thinly […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) was reading the most recent Armada Corporate Intelligence report where they referred to the railroad carload statistics as the “secret weapon” known to the big names in the investing business. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) weekly reports are followed by Armada because, “…it will give you weeks of warning about […]
Our Price Momentum Indicator has been stuck in “Neutral” since the last day of June 2014. We are now entering our 4th month and hot rolled steel prices have barely budged from the center line (OK, there have been some mild gyrations but no clear cut path up or down during the past three months). […]
US automotive sales for September totaled 1.24 million units according to the final tally at WardsAuto. Sales were just under Wards’ forecast of 1.26 million units. General Motors and Chyrsler sales were 19 percent higher year over year. Ford, at 180,175 vehicles, was down 3 percent from September 2013. “Auto sales remained strong in September […]
Steel Market Update spent the last two days canvassing end users and service centers to see where flat rolled steel prices are at the moment and where they might be heading from here. We heard from many service centers and end users that business conditions and demand for their products are doing quite well. We […]
All of SSAB’s U.S. facilities are running at full capacity according to SSAB CEO Martin Lindqvist. In an interview with Bloomberg, the head of the Swedish steel company said the “re-industrialization” of the U.S. and improved demand from the energy, automotive and heavy transport sectors is boosting profitability for SSAB’s US operations. North American orders […]
Essar Steel Algoma announced a “turnaround performance” in their second quarter FY 2015 guidance for the period ending September 30, 2014. The company expects second quarter steel shipments to equal 680,000-690,000 tons with EBITDA of CDN $75-85 million, compared to 530,000 tons and CDN $12.4 million EBITDA in Q1. Second quarter EBITDA projections far exceed […]
Worthington Industries began its fiscal year 2015 with higher sales and solid net earnings. The company, located in Columbus, Ohio, reports net earnings of $44.2 million for FY 2015 first quarter, ending on August 31, 2014. Net sales totaled $862.4 million, up 25 percent compared to the first quarter of 2013. The consolidation of TWB […]
“Let’s bring sexy back to steel!” That was the rallying cry of Associated Steel Distributors President Brian Robbins at the regional meeting held at the Ritz Carlton in Cleveland, Ohio on September 18. Robbins, CEO of MidWest Materials, harkened back to the days of steel glory when CEOs were celebrities of sort and even sales […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. expects profits from third quarter steel operations to surpass second quarter and year over year results. In their third quarter guidance, SDI indicated earnings of $0.34 to $0.38 per diluted share that will include before tax charges of $34 million related to the acquisition and financing of Severstal Columbus. Shipments and metal […]
Nucor is expecting higher profitability for its sheet steel, structural, bar and plate operations for third quarter. In their quarterly guidance, Nucor noted that manufactured goods, including energy and automotive, are their strongest markets. The high level of imports continues to pressure prices downward. Growth in the residential market has benefited the fabricated construction products […]
US Steel announced today that as part of its strategic transformation effort it will no longer pursue the expansion of its Keetac iron ore pellet operations at Keewatin, Minn., or continue additional investments into the carbon alloy facility at Gary Works. The expansion at Keetac was intended to upgrade and restart the idled pelletizing line […]
The following article was produced by Peter Wright, contributing writer and Steel 101 instructor for Steel Market Update. Economy.com reported as follows on the August U.S. vehicles sales volume: the year-to-date pace of 16.4 million units SAAR is the best since 2006, when it was 16.55 million. The strong recovery of the U.S. auto industry […]
The following press release was made earlier today regarding two investments which are being made in the AM/NS Calvert steel mill (former ThyssenKrupp Steel USA Calvert mill). The two investments will assist in bringing the mill up to its 5.3 million metric ton (5.8 million net tons) target for production. The release (below) came from […]
AK Steel announced today the completion of the $707 million purchase of Severstal Dearborn, which includes a cokemaking facility and interest in three joint venture steel processing facilities. The mill will be renamed “Dearborn Works.” “At AK Steel, the future is now, and the future is bright, as our acquisition of Dearborn Works makes us […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. announced today the completion of the acquisition of Severstal Columbus for a purchase price of $1.625 billion. “I would like to enthusiastically welcome the Columbus employees, community, and customers into the Steel Dynamics family,” stated Mark D. Millett, Chief Executive Officer. “The successful completion of the Columbus acquisition is an important milestone […]
On Friday, Saikat Dey and nine other executive managers who operated out of the Severstal Dearborn facility were relieved of their positions. SMU sources confirmed that the top two commercial people: Sachin Shivaram and the general manager of sales, Scott Gosselin, were on the list of those not retained as the facility prepares to be […]
US automotive sales topped 1.58 million vehicles in March, an increase of 5.4 percent compared to August 2013 and the highest total since August 2003. Sales on a seasonally adjusted annual rate rose to 17.45 million units, according to WardsAuto, beating analyst estimates of 16.6 million. It was the first time the seasonally adjusted annual […]
Developed by research and development teams in France and the USA, the Fortiform™ range will initially be produced and developed at two ArcelorMittal sites in Belgium: Gent and Kessales (Liège). The new Fortiform™ range of advanced high strength steels (AHSS) for cold stamping could lead to further weight savings of up to 20% in vehicle […]
Australian company BlueScope Steel announced FY 2014 underlying EBIT of AUD 104.6 million (USD 97.2 million) for its 50 percent ownership of U.S. based North Star BlueScope Steel. The increased profit, up 57 percent from FY 2013 AUD 66.7 million, was due primarily to stronger spread from higher hot rolled coil prices that were partially […]
U.S. light vehicle sales declined slightly from June’s high level but, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 16.5 million units, were still very strong. Sales have now exceeded 16.0 million units SAAR for five straight months. Sales in July of autos and light trucks were 8.0 and 8.5 million units, respectively. Autos declined […]
With August steel imports looking like they may exceed May’s high of over 4 million tons and the recent influx of steel at the Port of Houston, Steel Market Update asked other U.S. ports to give their assessment of steel volume and port conditions. Port of Los Angeles “The Port of Los Angeles has seen […]
American Iron and Steel Insitute (AISI) President and CEO Thomas J. Gibson spoke about currency manipulation at a press conference at the City Club in Cleveland, Ohio on Thursday. American steel producers are “under attack from surging imports benefitting from unfair trade practices—like currency manipulation,” said Gibson. Gibson was joined by former Missouri Governor Matt […]
Pricing in the HRC futures market has continued slightly upward this week stemming from positive economic data and a bullish outlook within the steel industry. September prices have been trading around $655-667, October prices have been trading between $640-657, and Q4 has traded between $645-651, all about $5-10 improvements week on week. Further down the […]
We spent the last two days canvassing as many buyers and mill sellers of steel as we possibly could. Our goal was to gather enough information so we could speak to the development of this market and the direction prices should go from here. What we found is a market that is perhaps stronger than […]
The service centers who sell secondary or excess prime flat rolled steels are reporting a very tight market as less material is being made available out of the steel mills and holes are developing in steel service center inventories. Secondary steel buying prices out of the domestic mills have been moving up but have not […]
We are starting to learn that the holdup on the flat rolled dumping suits has been due to the desire by the domestic mills to protect the automotive companies. If suits are filed look for exclusions on I.F. steels and potentially coils wider than 60 inches. We have heard from both mill and non-mill sources […]
Kloeckner Metals Corp. shipments fell by 3.8 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2014, due to the extended winter, consolidation of sites and the reduction of low-margin business. EBITDA improved by 27 percent from €41 million to €52 million ($55 million to $69.7 million), helped by operational improvements and higher-margins. The company expects US […]
Olympic Steel & Aluminum posted the highest net sales in its history. Second quarter sales increased 16.7 percent year-over-year to $386.0 million, due to increased market share and higher sales volume. Net income jumped 38 percent to $3.5 million from $2.5 million in Q2 2013. Flat product volume was up 17 percent in Q2 to […]