Wilbur Ross will be on Capital Hill again this week as he advises the House Ways and Means Committee on the status of his Section 232 investigation. It seems like the longer the market waits for an announcement (or at least the recommendations from the Department of Commerce) the less enthusiastic people are that anything […]
Nucor CEO John Ferriola said that in the current challenging environment, he is encouraged by second-quarter results, but not satisfied. Illegally traded imports continue to be a problem in the United States for Nucor and the domestic steel industry, Ferriola said during the company’s second-quarter conference call. He cited a 15 percent year-over-year increase in […]
Once its new Ruhrstahl-Heraeus (RH) degasser is fully commissioned in the next 30-45 days, Big River Steel will have all its steelmaking equipment up and running. Except for “a few hiccups,” the startup of the new EAF mill in Osceola, Ark., has gone smoothly, said Mark Bula, chief commercial officer, “above plan, plan-plus.” Speaking at […]
As CEOs and association representatives presented their arguments for why the administration’s Section 232 action on steel imports should go forth, AIIS international Trade Counsel Gary Horlick talked about the unintended consequences of such actions. AIIS represents 108 members that include traders, freight forwarders, stevedores, shippers, importers, exporters, railroads, port authorities, unions and other logistics […]
AIST – NASHVILLE, 9 May 2017 — Roger K. Newport, chief executive officer and board member, AK Steel, was named Steelmaker of the Year at AISTech 2017 — The Iron & Steel Technology Conference and Exposition, managed by The Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST). The Steelmaker of the Year Award is presented annually […]
The State of Texas is attempting to lure a new flat rolled steel mill to the state. According to various press reports there appear to be two interested parties: Big River Steel and the E United Group out of Taiwan. Is Big River Steel already planning to expand? That seems to be what the Port […]
I have received a number of comments on the LinkedIn posts that I have put out there over the weekend. I shared our “Black Swan” article on my personal LinkedIn account as well as our Steel Market Update LinkedIn group account. I also received a question about the “average margin for a service center” that […]
Steel Market Update participates in a monthly steel conference call hosted by HARDI (Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International) for their members. The HARDI conference call is dedicated to a better understanding of the galvanized steel market. The participants are wholesalers, service centers and manufacturing companies who either buy or sell galvanized sheet products used […]
Flat rolled prices were essentially unchanged this week with the exception of hot rolled coil which seems to have a few more “legs” in the product due to an improving energy market and limited foreign steel imports. The pressure on HRC right now is coming from the two new players: Big River Steel and Acero […]
We had a number of companies share foreign import numbers with us as we traveled about the market reaching out to buyers regarding their domestic purchases and the offers coming out of the domestic steel mills. On cold rolled we heard Russia offers delivered to Houston at $33.25/cwt, Turkey at $35.35/cwt and Vietnam $35.15/cwt. I […]
On Friday Steel Market Update (SMU) adjusted our flat rolled steel Price Momentum Indicator to Neutral from Higher. The key reason behind our decision to move our indicator is “indecision” in the marketplace. More about that in a moment. The current market cycle began on October 21, 2016 when the domestic mills were able to […]
I had a question from one of our readers regarding capacity utilization rates and if the Big River Steel tonnage is part of the AISI calculation. I have not spoken directly to the AISI on the subject (as of yet) but, I do know that Big River Steel is not a member of the AISI… […]
On Thursday SMU reported that tax incentives aimed at helping Big River Steel expand had passed the Arkansas Senate. The Senate Bill 688 has now been approved by the House in a 79-11 vote on Friday. SMU also received a comment on the legislation from Big River Steel’s CEO, Dave Stickler. Rep. Monte Hodges, D-Blytheville, […]
Big River Steel received an incentive to expand operations after the passage of Arkansas Senate Bill 688. The new bill changes the existing law on income tax credits allowed for the purchase of waste reduction, reuse, or recycling equipment and provides tax incentives for steel mills that begin qualified expansion projects. According to the Arkansas […]
Steel Market Update is being asked whether Big River Steel’s production has been added to the raw steel capacity that the AISI uses when calculating capacity utilization rates. The short answer is we don’t think so. The AISI did make a change and increased quarterly capacity for the 4th Quarter 2016 from 30.7 to 31.2 […]
Last week, Steel Market Update (SMU) conducted our mid-March flat rolled steel market trends survey. We invited 670 people to participate in the gathering of data and opinions which resulted in our flat rolled steel market trends analysis presented to our Premium level members last Friday in the form of a Power Point presentation. It […]
The article title is “Dan DiMicco’s Nucor Has Killed Off More Of The American Steel Industry Than China Ever Has” and was written by Tim Worstall, a Fellow at the Adam Smith Institute in London, England. The article, which can be seen in its entirety online, points out, “That American steel industry which has suffered […]
“Fair and Free Trade” is something that those of us who have been in the steel industry since 2000 have heard over and over again from the domestic steel industry. What exactly is “fair” trade and who should decide? The steel mills have done an exceptional job of determining the talking points through lobbying efforts […]
Flat rolled prices moved higher over the past week based on SMU sources. Even so, there is much discussion as to what direction prices will go from here and we will have more on that subject later this week. We did receive comments from a large service center that our readers might find of interest […]
Demand for HVAC products was coined as being “good” or “very good” by the wholesalers who participated in the monthly HARDI galvanized steel conference call. The wholesalers who spoke on the call earlier today reported strong first quarter sales for their full product line but a few complained of lower steel sales compared to year […]
Flat rolled steel order books have been helping push ferrous scrap prices higher for March delivery to the domestic steel mills. Steelmakers have paid $50 to $80 per gross ton higher prices than February for prime grades such as busheling and bundles. Sheet mills pushed their buying prices in order to get the supply of […]
We are still early in the negotiation process for ferrous scrap pricing for the month of February. The expectation is for much higher than originally thought (sideways to +$30) a couple of weeks ago. SMU scrap sources are advising the Detroit market settled today at up $40 per gross ton on obsolete and shred grades […]
Big River Steel, the newest and most technologically advanced scrap recycling and steel production facility in the world, is officially open for business. According to David Stickler, Chief Executive Officer of Big River Steel, the first line went operational nineteen months after groundbreaking: “A world record time to start up a mill. We’ve invested […]
We had three price announcements and at least one verbal announcement on flat rolled steel since the week began. Everyone is wondering if the other steel mills will follow and what will the base prices be when the dust settles? Based on what we have been hearing from steel buyers today, the suggested minimum base […]
North Star Bluescope Steel reported underlying EBITDA in the first half of FY 2017 of $180.2 million, an increase of 178 percent from 1H FY 2016 . Sales revenue was US$ 598.7 million. The mill operated at 100 percent capacity in the first half and benefited from lower conversion costs, particularly in utilities. Shipments for […]
As mentioned in an earlier article, steel buyers need to be aware of the potential for a new round of price increase announcements out of the domestic mills. The drop in scrap prices in the first few days of February followed by a sharp rise between now and then have the mills a bit on […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum reported sales of $2.06 billion in fourth quarter, up 1.7 percent from fourth quarter 2015 and down 5.7 percent from Q3 2016. Tons sold at 1,365,000 were down 1.1 percent from Q4 2015 and down 5.6 percent from third quarter. Average selling price per ton sold was $1,500, essentially the same […]
Steel buyers are telling Steel Market Update that there are a few steel mills “looking for orders” and that flat rolled steel prices are “somewhat negotiable with tons” but, otherwise, the steel mills are doing a good job of holding the line on prices. We have seen a couple of drops in pricing due to […]
The following article is the opinion of Steel Market Update (SMU) founder and publisher, John Packard. There is a new kid in town, his/her name is Big River Steel. No other steel mills like BRS because they are taking market share and, well, everyone wants to keep all of their toys. Big River Steel Arkansas […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) has been struggling to get a clear view of the current market situation as we attempt to identify which direction we see flat rolled steel prices going from here. We have been receiving mixed messages over the past two weeks and we have been advising our readers to remain vigilant and […]