Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said he blames U.S. Steel’s lack of participation in the tin mill products trade case for an unfavorable US International Trade Commission (ITC) decision.
We’ve all heard a lot about mill “discipline” following a wave of consolidation over the last few years. That discipline is often evident when prices are rising, less so when they are falling. I remember hearing earlier this year that mills weren’t going to let hot-rolled (HR) coil prices fall below $1,000 per short ton (st). Then not below $900/st. Now, some of you tell me that HR prices in the mid/high-$800s are the “1-800 price” – widely available to regular spot buyers. So what comes next, and will mills “hold the line” in the $800s?
Everyone knows the old saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Just because it’s a cliché doesn’t mean that it’s wrong. A lot of inked has been spilled trying to figure out why prices are falling now. I thought it might be as simple as this: Market dynamics in the fourth quarter (UAW strike, companies buying ahead of an anticipated post-strike price spike, etc.) pulled forward restocking activity that typically happens in the first quarter.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. announced on Thursday, Feb. 15, that it will indefinitely idle tinplate production at its mill in Weirton, W.Va.
Last week, steel consumers prevailed in a rare victory over US petitioners in trade cases on tin mill steel products. The US International Trade Commission (ITC) voted 4—0 that Cleveland-Cliffs, the sole remaining domestic producer of tin mill products (used to make containers such as “tin cans”) was neither injured nor threatened with injury by imports of competing products from Canada, China, and Germany. Imports from South Korea were found to be “negligible,” and the investigation on Korean imports was terminated.
ArcelorMittal indicated that a sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel could lead to it taking full control of AM/NS Calvert, its joint venture sheet mill in Alabama. "Typically, in such situations, when there is a selling partner, they sell it to the other partner in the joint venture, right. So I could imagine such a situation would develop,” Mittal said.
More supply coming online and an unchanging demand environment – two key themes for 2024 – could soon bring the steel sheet storm to a market near you.
At the final hour, the trade case investigating unfairly traded imports of tin mill products has been terminated.
I participated in the 35th annual Tampa Steel Conference last week, a conclave of steel producers, consumers, traders, logisticians, and (a few) trade lawyers. I participated in a panel discussion concerning challenges in managing supply chains in these troubled times. Things appear to be heading in the wrong direction in this field. Supply chains were shown to be vulnerable to pandemics in 2020 and 2021, and, in 2022 and 2023, to regional conflicts and weather slowing or stopping the free movement of goods through trade bottlenecks (the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal, the Bosporus, etc.)
Much has happened since we last met on Jan. 4. Cleveland-Cliffs announced a price increase on Jan. 3, lifting the futures market in the morning only for it to finish the day $20-$30 per short ton (st) below those morning highs. On Jan. 4, the futures curve was down another $10-$28/st. And in my column for SMU that evening, I asked a question: Would those aggressive sellers be met with a short-squeeze forcing them to cover, or had the market peaked with the negative price action to start the year the proverbial canary in the coal mine?
SunCoke Energy Inc.’s earnings improved in the fourth quarter, driven by higher coal-to-coke yields, the company said in its Q4, and full-year results on Feb. 1.
Cleveland Cliffs executives didn’t mince words when opening its Q4’23 earnings call.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. shipped more than 4 million short tons (st) of steel in each quarter of 2023, pushing its full-year shipments to a record 16.4m st.
I’m writing these final thoughts from the JW Marriott in Tampa. And I’m looking forward to seeing some of you reading this in just a few hours at the opening networking reception of the Tampa Steel Conference. Nearly 550 people will be there – a new record for the event. If you’re looking for things […]
A Jan. 24 SEC filing by U.S. Steel Corp. reveals further details about the company’s strategic review process.
Cleveland-Cliffs has successfully completed a hydrogen injection trial at its Indiana Harbor #7 blast furnace in East Chicago, Ind., near Chicago.
SMU’s Jan. 24 Community Chat, featuring CRU's Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg, provided viewers with an update on the current state of the global iron ore market.
This latest SMU steel market survey is a snapshot of a sheet market inflecting lower. A significant 43% of survey respondents said that the hot-rolled (HR) coil market has already peaked. Compare that to only 8% when we released our last steel market survey on Jan. 5.
Worthington Industries recently completed its separation into two distinct companies: Worthington Steel and Worthington Enterprises. SMU sat down this week with Geoff Gilmore, president and CEO of Worthington Steel, to find out how the separation process went, and what’s on the horizon for the Columbus, Ohio-based company.
Both the United Steel Workers (USW) union and a number of politicians oppose the deal. The USW supports Cleveland-Cliffs’ offer. That offer is almost half of what Nippon Steel has proposed and what has been accepted by U.S Steel. I don’t understand the USW opposition to Nippon Steel buying U.S. Steel and the union favoring Cleveland-Cliffs. If Cleveland-Cliffs were to acquire U.S. Steel, it would likely mean the end of a headquarters in Pittsburgh.
Bloomberg has reported that Nippon Steel’s $14.1-billion deal for U.S. Steel might not close until 2025 – well after the Q2/Q3 2024 close date both companies have guided toward. That’s because a national security review of the deal ($14.9 billion if you include the USS debt Nippon Steel would assume) by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) could take longer than initially expected
It’s been a sloppy start to the year for domestic hot-rolled (HR) coil and ferrous scrap markets. One of the loudest things to happen in HR this year might be something that didn’t happen at all. Namely, Nucor didn’t follow competitor Cleveland-Cliffs higher when Cliffs announced a price hike to start the year.
The United Steelworkers (USW) union is accusing U.S. Steel of labor contract violations as the steelmaker pursues its potential sale to Nippon Steel.
I expected that we’d start off January with prime scrap prices modestly up if for no other reason than industrial activity typically slows down over the holidays. And mills’ appetite for scrap typically increases in anticipation of stronger Q1 order activity.
Hot-rolled (HR) coil prices remain in the holding pattern they've been in since mid-December, according to SMU pricing archives.
Nippon Steel believes it can successfully complete its planned buy of U.S. Steel, according to a report in Reuters.
I’d have been surprised if anyone told me just last week that the January scrap market might move lower. What we saw on Friday were offers. Not settlements. And no doubt there are still some twists and turns in store before we can say for sure which way scrap will go.
All good things, including but not limited to the Holiday Season, must come to an end. The corporate independence of U.S. Steel Corporation looks like it’s coming to an end also, despite objections from some politicians and the United Steelworkers union.
The Department of Commerce issued its final determination in the trade case involving tin mill products from a handful of countries.
The new year represents an opportunity to capitalize on America’s leadership position in free market principles, steel industry modernization, and global efforts to create a lower carbon future for the steel industry. Steel Manufacturing Association (SMA) members are poised to lead the way.