The David J. Joseph Co. (DJJ) has acquired two recycling operations that are expected to increase its capacity by 10%, parent company Nucor Corp. said. DJJ’s deals – terms of which were not disclosed – will support the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker’s growth strategy and increase its ability to secure scrap for its electric arc furnace (EAF) […]
With trading still winding down today, it appears ferrous scrap prices for October will settle down $20/GT on prime grades and sideways for obsoletes. Most Steel Market Update sources expect scrap prices to start moving higher in the months ahead. “After Cleveland-Cliffs bought busheling last week basically sideways, the U.S. mills stubbornly waited a week […]
After a small decline in October, ferrous scrap prices are expected to strengthen in November and beyond on strong export demand and tightening seasonal supplies, sources tell Steel Market Update. CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley sees upward momentum for scrap prices in the weeks and months ahead. Export demand is increasing, he said, pointing to […]
At the top of the news this week, Steel Market Update sources reported that steel supplies are loosening as lead times from the domestic mills shorten and surging imports start to make it into service center inventories. It’s no surprise, then, that steel prices are beginning to moderate. Hot rolled steel prices rose virtually every […]
A lot has been written about how a severe shortage of prime scrap could be the lasting result of the widespread shift to electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking. I’d like to take a minute to point out that tri-state area around Pittsburgh, which Nucor is considering for its $2.7 billion, three-million-tpy EAF sheet mill mill, […]
Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week puts the average spot price for hot rolled at an incredible $1,950 per ton. But for the first time in nearly a year, we are not reporting a new record high this week. Our HRC price actually dipped by a small $5 per ton. Next week […]
NLMK USA has again sued the U.S. government over Section 232 and wants at least $130 million awarded to it for tariffs it claims were “wrongfully extracted” by the Commerce Department. The steelmaker and slab converter – a subsidiary of Russia’s Novolipetsk Steel – also claims that “secret,” undocumented and “off-record” meetings and communications between Commerce and […]
Tonnage moved across the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway has risen significantly thanks to a strong showing from vessels carrying iron ore and steel. Total cargo stood at 22.8 million tons (20.7 million metric tonnes) through the end of August – the midpoint of the Great Lakes shipping season – up more than 5% from 21.7 […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Market fundamentals in the North American sheet market continue to evolve and clearly suggest that supply tightness is easing. From a broad point of view, these fundamentals include rising supply, service center inventories that are balanced with outbound shipments, and demand growth that […]
Lobbying groups for U.S. steel mills and the United Steelworkers (USW) union want trade restraints placed on the EU to prevent potential “import surges” from the region. The call – from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) and the United Steelworkers union (USW) – comes even as the U.S. and the […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has officially rolled out the new scrap division that its top executive first mentioned at the SMU Steel Summit last week in Atlanta. The Cleveland-based steelmaker also confirmed that its CFO, Keith Koci, had been promoted to president of Cleveland-Cliffs Services, the official name of the new scrap, logistics and raw materials wing […]
Cleveland-Cliffs reported that its COVID vaccination incentive program worked. In July, the steelmaker launched a voluntary bonus program, in collaboration with its labor unions, to achieve a higher vaccine adoption rate across the business. The company says it reached a total vaccination rate of 75%, or nearly 19,000 employees out of its 25,000 workforce, by […]
Nucor might be wrapping up an approximately $4-billion expansion campaign, but it has no intentions of stopping there, the company’s top executive said. “We’re going to be a growth company. … And we’ve got the balance sheet to continue to invest,” President and CEO Leon Topalian said. Topalian declined to specify where the company might […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. plans to expand into the scrap market – and is creating a new division for that purpose, the company’s top executive said. The scrap division – Cleveland-Cliffs Services – will be spearheaded by Keith Koci, Cliff’s chief financial officer. More details about the venture will be made available in early September, Cliffs Chairman, President and […]
The 2021 SMU Steel Summit started with a bang on Monday morning. Turns out it was a transformer that blew. Just as the opening video and music was revving up and host John Packard was getting into his opening remarks, the Georgia International Convention Center was plunged into darkness save for some emergency lighting. Thinking […]
U.S. Steel plans to take additional outages at its blast furnaces in the Midwest, the company confirmed. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker will take an approximately seven-day outage on the B furnace at its Granite City Works outside of St. Louis beginning on Oct. 1, a company spokeswoman said. And U.S. Steel will also take a roughly […]
As of this morning, there are 882 executives registered to attend the SMU Steel Summit Conference in person and 130 virtual registrations for a total of 1,012. We anticipate the final numbers to remain close to 900 in-person attendees (includes speakers) and 130-200 virtual attendees. This will end up being either our largest or the […]
On Friday, Steel Market Update sent data providers the final analysis for July of service center inventories, shipments, steel on-order, and percentage of inventories tied up for contract sales. Premium members will receive the report on Monday. As expected, after reviewing our Flash Report which is provided to data providers five days into the new […]
One Week to Go… There is now but one week to go before the doors open at the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC) in Atlanta for the 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference on August 23. This year the conference will be unique as it will be a “hybrid” event. By this I mean we will […]
Integrated steelmaker U.S. Steel is taking the No. 6 blast furnace at its Gary Works steel mill offline for 38 days beginning at the end of next month, a company spokesperson confirmed to Steel Market Update. The planned maintenance outage at its Indiana facility is scheduled for Sept. 30 and should run through Nov. 9. […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has reached agreement on a new three-year labor agreement with United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 600, which represents 1,000 workers at the steelmaker’s Dearborn Works near Detroit. The new contract is retroactively effective from Aug. 1, 2021, through July 31, 2024. “We are extremely pleased to continue our commitment to good-paying middle-class union […]
The United States and the European Union aim to resolve their differences around Section 232 tariffs on the EU by Nov. 1, an EU official said. “On the U.S. Section 232, both sides confirmed readiness to find a solution by 1 November,” the EU official told Steel Market Update (SMU). “In terms of progress, both […]
We talk a lot about the price of steel going up. We don’t talk as much about spreads between hot-rolled coil and prime scrap – which are going up just as fast if not faster. And if you’ve listened to earnings calls over the last two weeks, you know that steel mills and industry analysts […]
We talk a lot about the price of steel going up. We don’t talk as much about spreads between hot-rolled coil and prime scrap – which are going up just as fast if not faster. And if you’ve listened to earnings calls over the last two weeks, you know that steel mills and industry analysts […]
U.S. Steel returned to the black in the second quarter on a solid showing from its flat-rolled steel operations and an even stronger performance from Big River Steel. The second quarter was “exceptional,” and the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker expects to set new profitability records again in the third, company President and Chief Executive Officer David B. […]
On Monday, Aug. 2, Steel Market Update will open the 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference platform to all fully registered attendees. The platform, which was used to conduct last year’s conference and is being used for our virtual workshops, is replacing the App we have used in the past. Our virtual platform will enhance the conference […]
What’s this world coming to when an integrated steelmaker – a leader in an industry notorious for taking a huge toll on the environment – spends much of his earnings call talking about cutting carbon emissions? Said Lourenco Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs’ chief executive, last week: “Cliffs sees decarbonization as part of our license to continue to […]
2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference – Revised Agenda as of July 27, 2021 The 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference will be held at the Georgia International Convention Center on Aug. 23-25. The convention center is conveniently located next to the Atlanta International Airport (ATL). The center and the hotels surrounding the convention center are on […]
General Motors has extended chip-related outages to assembly plants that make its highly sought-after pickup trucks. The Detroit-based automaker, the largest in the U.S., had previously tried to shield truck plants from the impacts of the semiconductor shortage. Here is the latest: • General Motor’s assembly plant in Flint, Mich., will operate on one production […]
SSAB Americas aims to increase plate prices by $150-200 per ton ($7.50-$10 per cwt) effective immediately. The $150-per-ton price hike applies to as-rolled mill plate and coil as well as to cut-to-length plate more than 72 inches wide, the steelmaker said in letters to customers on Monday, July 26. The $200-per-ton increase is for all […]