Watch the market closely. I am hearing rumors that at least one EAF mill is trying to get flat rolled numbers up. Right now, most (not all) data providers were not supportive of higher numbers. I am hearing integrated mills are not booking a lot of spot business, and thus are able to get slightly […]
SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference now has less than a month to go… (25 days). The SMU platform from which the conference will be hosted will be unveiled in a free webinar at 11 AM ET this morning. We added a couple new speakers to the 2020 SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference. I added Big […]
U.S. Steel, USS-POSCO Industries (UPI) and AK Steel each announced a $40 increase in flat rolled steel prices on Tuesday, July 21, hoping to reverse the slide that has cut about $120 per ton from steel prices since the coronavirus struck in mid-March. U.S. Steel’s North American Flat-Rolled Sales Organization informed customers today that base […]
The 2020 SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference promises to be much like every Steel Summit Conference: large audience, exceptional networking opportunities, strong exhibition area topped off by the strongest slate of speakers we have ever put forward. If you spend the few dollars needed to attend ($350 all in if your company is an SMU […]
The 2020 SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference promises to be much like every Steel Summit Conference: large audience, exceptional networking opportunities, strong exhibition area topped off by the strongest slate of speakers we have ever put forward. If you spend the few dollars needed to attend ($450 is full price but $350 all in if […]
AK Steel, a subsidiary of Cleveland-Cliffs, was named GM Supplier of the Year for Raw Materials during General Motors’ 28th annual Supplier of the Year Awards June 24. AK Steel was among 116 suppliers recognized by GM for their performance in 2019. The award is reserved for suppliers who meet performance metrics for quality, execution, […]
Virtual Summit Networking – better than in real life? The SMU Steel Summit Virtual Conference will have a strong focus on networking, to facilitate business and to give you that human connection. From the minute you enter the virtual venue you’ll be able to see everyone else who is there and can start networking and […]
Why leave your employees in the dark? Last week we had one of our member companies upgrade to an Enterprise membership, and they added 429 of their employees to their account. Today, we had a steel mill ask to add another 100 people onto their existing account. From our inception, the goal of Steel Market […]
So, John… What is happening with the SMU Virtual Steel Conference this week? I am happy you asked. We continue to book more attendees as more and more companies are beginning to realize we are trying to create something unique in this age of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are pushing 300 registered attendees, and that […]
My understanding from industry sources is that JSW Mingo Junction has returned their EAF and hot strip mill back to production this week. The mill was idled in April with JSW doing some work on the equipment. This will put some cheaper hot rolled coil into the market (one mill commercial officer telling me they […]
I need everyone to shake off your webinar fog…. The 2020 SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference will not be a series of mind-numbing webinars. It is time to give you a peek at a mock-up of the lobby for the 2020 SMU Virtual Steel Conference. When you click on your registration link for our virtual […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Section 232 keeps cropping up in the news; this week, it’s no different. In 2017, the Commerce Department initiated several investigations (on steel, aluminum, autos and auto parts, and uranium). Trade restrictions ensued on steel and aluminum, but […]
Cleveland-Cliffs will resume construction on its Hot-Briquetted Iron plant in Toledo earlier than expected. Construction was halted on March 20, 2020, due to the pandemic, but will resume with newly implemented safety measures. Cleveland-Cliffs plans to complete the HBI facility during the fourth quarter of this year. The Tilden mine that supplies AK Steel Middletown […]
The 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference will be a virtual conference this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We encourage companies to learn more about how we intend to present valuable information on a wide range of topics of imporance to the greater steel community. We will discuss and forecast steel prices, the economy and […]
The 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference will be a virtual conference this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is disappointing that we are not able to do a live conference, but we think we are going to provide a solid alternative that will feed your need to interact with multiple companies who buy and sell […]
The 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference will be a virtual conference this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is disappointing that we are not able to do a live conference, but we think we are going to provide a solid alternative that will feed your need to interact with multiple companies who buy and sell […]
U.S. Steel, AK Steel (Cleveland-Cliffs), Nucor, NLMK, ArcelorMittal and UPI all announced price increases today on flat rolled. With the exception of AMUSA, all were +$40/ton. AMUSA provided specific minimum base price guidance of $540 ($27.00.cwt) on hot rolled and $740 ($37.00/cwt) on cold rolled and coated products. Some early comments from various steel service […]
U.S. Steel announced a four-year agreement to sell a “substantial volume” of iron ore pellets to Algoma Steel in Ontario, Canada. The purchase agreement runs from 2021 through 2024 and provides a new long-term customer for U.S. Steel’s Minnesota mines. Monday’s announcement follows an iron ore purchase agreement with Stelco in April that gives Stelco […]
With the expectation of higher scrap prices coming for the month of June, on top of the steep rise in ferrous scrap this month, the mills’ margins may well be squeezed, which will impact negotiations and pricing over the next few weeks. Most steel buyers anticipate a new round of price increases by late May […]
Cleveland-Cliffs expects operations to normalize during the second quarter as end-markets begin recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. “Although the pandemic effect led to automotive plant shutdowns over the past six weeks, the timing and pace of production restarts as well as consumer sales data have both exceeded our expectations,” said Cliffs’ Chairman, President and CEO […]
The Department of Commerce will self-initiate a Section 232 investigation into whether laminations for stacked transformer cores, stacked and wound transformer cores, electrical transformers and transformer regulators are being imported into the United States in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten or impair national security. The laminates for transformers are made of […]
Today, Steel Market Update adjusted our flat rolled Price Momentum Indicator to Neutral. We are of the opinion, based on intelligence we are gleaning from steel buyers, that steel prices are in transition. We no longer believe prices on hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume will decline over the next 30 days. However, a […]
Steel Market Update sources and other trade press and are reporting that Cleveland-Cliffs is planning to immediately idle the hot strip mill at AK Steel’s Dearborn Works in Michigan for an indefinite period, possibly permanently, in response to the coronavirus crisis and other market pressures. Cleveland-Cliffs, parent of AK Steel, declined to comment, saying the […]
It was one of those days. Publishing a newsletter is like giving birth three times a week anyway, but the labor pains for the SMU staff were particularly acute today. John Packard was ostensibly taking the day off, but that did not stop him from writing a big story and sending untold emails. Keeping abreast […]
Another iron mine is temporarily idling production. ArcelorMittal said on Tuesday that it will idle Hibbing Taconite on May 3 with plans to resume operations on July 6. “Due to the unprecedented and challenging times presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the joint venture partners of Hibbing Taconite will be idling the operation,” said ArcelorMittal in […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: I hope everyone had a peaceful and, above all, safe Easter and Passover holiday. If I missed any other celebrations over the last two weeks, I hope you will accept my apology and let me know about them. […]
Extreme times require extreme measures and rigorous planning, as shown in the Cleveland-Cliffs business update on April 15. Cleveland-Cliffs claims that its liquidity is assured during the COVID-19 crisis even under “extreme stress test assumptions.” Liquidity in an extreme scenario, not including proceeds from additional financing, would reach a trough of $370 million in September […]
Cleveland-Cliffs will temporarily idle Northshore Mining in Minnesota and Tilden Mine in Michigan due to current market conditions. The iron ore supplier plans to work down current inventory from the operations to fulfill its commercial agreements with steel customers. Demand is down at U.S. steel mills, with several adjusting production due to closures in the […]
Cleveland-Cliffs will idle AK Coal due to reduced demand for coal in internal operations resulting from manufacturing shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company said in a statement: “Cleveland-Cliffs continues to evaluate internal operational requirements for metallurgical coal required for steelmaking. Significant reductions in manufacturing in the United States resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, […]
So, this is where we will put responses to questions, human interest items and various other “bits and pieces” that we feel will be of value to our readers. The constant news reports on the coronavirus with their rolling tallies of the number of Americans infected, and the number who have perished, are profoundly troubling. […]