Record-high steel prices result not from Section 232 tariffs or industry consolidation but instead from uniquely strong supply-demand fundamentals, Cleveland-Cliffs’ top executive said. And an ambitious infrastructure package would go a long way toward keeping those fundamentals, and the resulting investment in the domestic steel industry, stronger for longer, he suggested. “We in this country […]
2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference Revised Agenda as of May 9, 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 it are at the first stop […]
2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference Revised Agenda as of May 9, 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 it are at the first stop […]
Steel Market Update has revised its blast furnace status chart to reflect that two furnaces at Cleveland-Cliffs’ Indiana Harbor steelmaking complex in East Chicago, Ind., have been razed. The No. 5 and No. 6 blast furnaces have not been operated since 2010, were decommissioned in 2015 and have since been demolished, a spokeswoman for the […]
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced Wednesday that it will cancel the Iron Range mineral leases for Mesabi Metallics after the company failed to meet a May 1 deadline. Mesabi Metallics missed the deadline to demonstrate that it had $200 million of funding available for its half-finished taconite mine project. Said the department in […]
ArcelorMittal’s joint venture AMNS Calvert ran at near capacity in the first quarter of 2021, delivering record first-quarter results. Hot strip mill production jumped 19.3% to 1.3 million metric tons from the fourth quarter. EBITDA nearly tripled to $159 million from $56 million in the prior quarter. The mill is currently supplied with slab sourced […]
I wish I could start off writing about something other than steel prices. That said, since I joined SMU from Fastmarkets AMM in early January, the news really has been the price. SMU’s average hot-rolled price on Tuesday, May 4, stood at $1,500 per ton ($75 per cwt). That’s a 12.8% increase from $1,330 per ton a month ago […]
When I started Steel Market Update in August 2008 and I began to look at steel prices, I did so from a different viewpoint than the indexes that already existed. Having just completed a 31-year career in selling flat rolled steel, I believed what was most important for steel buyers to understand was the range […]
Nucor has increased plate prices by $80-100 per ton ($4-5/cwt) along with the opening of its June order book. Nucor’s new ex-works base price for cut-to-length A36 plate is $1,220 per ton ($61/cwt), up from $1,140 per ton a month ago, according to letters to customers. The steelmaker’s new base prices for quenched-and-tempered Grade A514 […]
Nucor, SDI and Cliffs all announced earnings last week. All of the CEOs are quite bullish as all of their flat rolled mills are running at full capacity. And with pricing now in excess of $1,400 per ton for benchmark hot rolled, the mills are reporting record or near record quarterly profits for first-quarter 2021. […]
Ford has extended downtime at assembly plants in the U.S. and Canada into May because of an ongoing microchip supply squeeze. “The global semiconductor shortage continues, presenting challenges to a number of industries – including automakers worldwide,” a Ford spokeswoman said. The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker will take outages the weeks of May 3 and May […]
Cleveland-Cliffs expects historically high steel prices and record profits to continue for the balance of the year. The integrated steelmaker forecasts that U.S. hot-rolled coil prices will average $1,100 per ton for the remaining three quarters the year, according to guidance released with first quarter earnings data on Thursday, April 22. That’s 21.5% below SMU’s […]
Cleveland-Cliffs expects historically high steel prices and record profits to continue for the balance of the year. The integrated steelmaker forecasts that U.S. hot-rolled coil prices will average $1,100 per ton for the remaining three quarters the year, according to guidance released with first quarter earnings data on Thursday, April 22. That’s 21.5% below SMU’s […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. is running all eight of its active blast furnaces and has no plans to take significant downtime in the second quarter, the company’s top executive said. “We do not have any major outages scheduled in Q2. We are focused on getting steel out the door,” Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said during […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. is running all eight of its active blast furnaces and has no plans to take significant downtime in the second quarter, the company’s top executive said. “We do not have any major outages scheduled in Q2. We are focused on getting steel out the door,” Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said during […]
Cleveland-Cliffs and the United Steelworkers have reached a tentative agreement for a 53-month labor contract at the steelmaker’s Mansfield Works in Ohio. The new contract, if ratified, will be effective April 1, 2021, and cover approximately 300 represented workers. Lourenco Goncalves, Cliffs’ Chairman, President and CEO, stated, “We are pleased to reach a new labor […]
Looking for a Top… Looking for Steel…. As we conduct our analysis of the flat rolled and plate steel prices this week, we cannot help but notice the pace of increases has slowed…or is the slowing due to many mill order books being closed and having nothing new to offer. The availability of spot tonnage […]
Looking for a Top… Looking for Steel…. As we conduct our analysis of the flat rolled and plate steel prices this week, we cannot help but notice the pace of increases has slowed…or is the slowing due to many mill order books being closed and having nothing new to offer. The availability of spot tonnage […]
Cleveland-Cliffs has restarted the blast furnace at its Middletown Works in Ohio, a company spokeswoman said. The Middletown furnace returned to operation over the weekend after two weeks of preventative maintenance. “As in all planned outages of this nature, ahead of the stoppage we positioned our work-in-process and finished goods inventory in proper shape. By […]
NOTICE: NO SMU PUBLICATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 4 DUE TO EASTER HOLIDAY Imports are coming. We are watching galvanized carefully as automotive production is being reduced due to the chip shortage, and we are seeing higher volumes of galvanized imports coming in. March 2021 license data is showing 240,000 net tons of galvanized, which is […]
Imports are coming. We are watching galvanized carefully as automotive production is being reduced due to the chip shortage, and we are seeing higher volumes of galvanized imports coming in. March 2021 license data is showing 240,000 net tons of foriegn galvanized imports, which is up 55,000-65,000 tons above the levels seen over the prior […]
In the famous words of Isaac Newton, “what goes up must come down.” While he was not referring to steel prices per se, the sentiment still holds true. Steel tags can’t stay at record highs indefinitely. Supply will eventually catch up with demand. What happens then? Will prices see a sharp correction or a gradual […]
In the famous words of Isaac Newton, “what goes up must come down.” While he was not referring to steel prices per se, the sentiment still holds true. Steel tags can’t stay at record highs indefinitely. Supply will eventually catch up with demand. What happens then? Will prices see a sharp correction or a gradual […]
I want to write a few words today about Section 232. Not for or against it. Just some reflections on a trade action that’s been with us for a lot longer than I expected. The catalyst for that reflection was a conference call the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington policy think tank, held earlier this […]
Section 232 tariffs should remain in place because they backstop a stable U.S. steel industry, the benefits of which will outlast a temporary price spike, a panel of industry experts and trade union members said. “These typically last six to nine months. So we can expect that these price bubbles–and that’s really what they are–are […]
Steel buyers believe benchmark hot rolled prices will peak at $1,350 to $1,400 per ton ($67.50/cwt-$70.00/cwt) based on our canvassing of the flat rolled and plate markets this week. We are seeing spot HRC orders at $1,300 per ton with a few buyers telling us there are offers up to $1,340 per ton from the […]
Steel buyers believe benchmark hot rolled prices will peak at $1,350 to $1,400 per ton ($67.50/cwt-$70.00/cwt) based on our canvassing of the flat rolled and plate steel markets this week. We are seeing spot HRC orders at $1,300 per ton with a few buyers telling us there are offers up to $1,340 per ton from […]
The U.S. steel market could lose one million tons of production in the months ahead because of several lengthy blast furnaces outages, and the volume of iron and steel impacted could be well over one million tons when shorter-duration electric-arc furnace (EAF) and hot strip mill outages are considered. The issue is particularly relevant because […]
U.S. electric-arc furnace mills have a leg up on the world when it comes to meeting new carbon emissions standards–for now, said CRU Senior Analyst Ryan Smith. That’s according to a “carbon curve” Smith presented that is part of CRU Group’s Emissions Analysis Tool. The carbon curve is similar to the cost curve many steel […]
U.S. electric-arc furnace mills have a leg up on the world when it comes to meeting new carbon emissions standards–for now, said CRU Senior Analyst Ryan Smith. That’s according to a “carbon curve” Smith presented that is part of CRU Group’s Emissions Analysis Tool. The carbon curve is similar to the cost curve many steel […]