Ternium plans to invest $1 billion to expand the operations of its Pesquería flat steel facility in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. The news came during the steelmaker’s fourth-quarter conference call on Wednesday, Feb. 16, when the Latin American steel group’s chief executive officer, Máximo Vedoya, confirmed the company was in the final stage of studying an […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. “finished the year strong with record financial performance across nearly every metric,” CEO Jim Hoffman said during the service center’s earnings call on Thursday. Reliance reported record annual gross profits of $4.49 billion on record annual sales of $14.09 billion for full-year 2021. The fourth quarter was also the best […]
Industry analyst Paul Lowrey is “bullish on the short-term outlook for steel,” but his goal as a presenter during the Tampa Steel Conference this week was “to get some of you to think differently about what is going on.” Lowrey, founder of Pittsburgh-based Steel Research Associates, is a contrarian when it comes to the common […]
Monthly Key Market Indicators improved slightly through January, showing promising signs of progress, according to the latest analysis by Steel Market Update. Following a more uncertain close to 2021, both neutral and positive indicators expanded, while negative indicators continued to ease. Though economic dynamics remain in flux, with supply-chain bottlenecks and rising inflation and producer […]
Ternium reported net earnings of $1.136 billion in the fourth quarter 2021, down from $1.366 billion in the prior quarter, but a 31.4% boost from $865 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. The steelmaker achieved record profitability for the full year ended Dec. 31, 2021, with earnings totaling $4.367 billion, more than a five-fold […]
With three quarters of its fiscal year in the books, Friedman Industries Inc. says it is on track to achieve a record year – but not without a few bumps in the road. The Texas-based steel processor and manufacturer reported a net loss of $2.96 million on sales of $51.66 million in its third quarter […]
Prices contractors pay for construction materials jumped more than 20% in January versus the same period a year ago, reports the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) in its latest analysis of government data. The results have led AGC to urge federal officials to take additional steps to ease the industry’s challenges associated with volatile materials […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor, Feb. 9 The global sheet market often exhibits price trends that vary by region. Occasionally, prices do move in the same direction, though on these occasions, prices typically reflect a unified trend of global costs or inventory change. In the current sheet […]
After the close of the market today, Canada’s Russel Metals reported net earnings of $432 million (U.S. $340 million) on annual revenues of $4.2 billion (U.S. $3.3 billion) for fiscal year 2021. That’s a big improvement from earnings of just $25 million (U.S. $20 million) on revenues of $2.7 billion (U.S. $2.1 billion) in 2020 […]
Algoma Steel Group swung to a profit in its fiscal 2022 third quarter thanks to steel prices rising faster than raw material and energy costs. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based sheet and plate producer also said that construction was underway for its transition to electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking. All told, the company recorded net income […]
Steel prices may be nearing the end of the current correction, predicted Majestic Steel USA President and CEO Todd Leebow during Wednesday’s Steel Market Update Community Chat. In the great debate over where declining hot rolled prices will finally settle – back to historical averages in the $400-600 per ton range or closer to $1,000 […]
The Dodge Momentum Index fell in January by 7.0% and to a four-month low, according to data and analytics from the Dodge Construction Network. The index registered 152.9 last month versus a revised December reading of 163.7. In January, commercial planning fell 9.0% while institutional planning moved 1.0% lower. The index had a stellar 2021, […]
It’s not too late to register for tomorrow’s SMU Comminuty Chat webinar, starting at 11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT). Majestic Steel USA CEO Todd Leebow will be our featured speaker, and we will discuss the big issues facing service centers in the face of unprecedented price volatility and technical change. Topics will include: How […]
It’s not too late to register for tomorrow’s SMU Community Chat webinar, starting at 11 a.m. ET. Our featured speaker will be Todd Leebow, CEO of Majestic Steel USA. We’ll discuss the big issues facing service centers in the face of unprecedented price volatility and technical change. Topics will include: How are service centers managing inventory at […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group Nucor and Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) chose to acquire major metal recycling companies just before the Global Financial Crisis. SDI purchased Omnisource for slightly more than $1 billion in November 2007. Nucor followed suit with its $1.4 billion takeover of The David J. Joseph Co. in March 2008. The […]
Nucor has closed its $400 million deal for a majority stake in California Steel Industries (CSI). “We are excited to officially welcome our CSI teammates to the broader Nucor family,” said Rex Query, Nucor’s Executive Vice President of Sheet and Tubular Products. “This joint venture gives us a strong presence in the Western region and grows our ability to produce […]
The U.S. labor market performed surprisingly well in January, adding 467,000 new jobs in the New Year, well ahead of the expected 150,000. The payroll boost was met by a marginally higher unemployment rate at 4.0%, up from 3.9% in December. The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that U.S. payrolls […]
NLMK USA posted the best results on record in its fourth-quarter earnings, driven by historically high steel prices despite normalizing demand. The U.S. subsidiary of NLMK Group – Russia’s largest steelmaker – reported earnings of $373 million in Q4, up 5% sequentially and more than tripling the results seen during fourth-quarter 2020. Though U.S. sales […]
Majestic Steel USA CEO Todd Leebow will be the featured speaker on Steel Market Update’s next Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT). We’ll discuss the big issues facing service centers in the face of unprecedented price volatility and technical change. Topics will include: How are service centers […]
Majestic Steel USA CEO Todd Leebow will be the featured speaker on Steel Market Update’s next Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT). We’ll discuss the big issues facing service centers in the face of unprecedented price volatility and technical change. Topics will include: How are service centers […]
Majestic Steel USA Inc. has hired Sean Madigan as Vice President of Sales, Manufacturing. Madigan joins Majestic from Nucor, where he served as the Sales and Marketing Manager for Nucor Steel Arkansas. Madigan’s experience with Nucor was integral to the startup of the company’s new coating line, and he will continue to be a critical part of the […]
U.S. construction spending edged up in December, though monthly outlays were down in nearly a dozen nonresidential subcategories. Construction spending rose 0.2% above the upward revised November figure and 9.0% above the same year-ago period, the Commerce Department reported. The Census Bureau’s report on construction shows spending on private construction projects rose 0.7% in December. […]
Steel prices continue to fall very, very quickly. Where they’ll bottom and when remains unclear. I wrote in an in-print magazine article last month that I hesitated to put pen to paper for fear that any prices I wrote would be out of date by the time the article was on the page. My fear now […]
Algoma Steel Group Inc. has awarded GE Gas Power (GE) the contract to upgrade its natural gas combined cycle power plant to support the power requirements of the steelmaker’s new electric arc furnace (EAF). The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based steelmaker said the upgrade, which includes the installation of two gas turbine packages, is expected to […]
The Ports of Indiana handled more than 11.2 million tons of cargo in 2021, resulting in a 33.6% increase from 2020. Steel and steelmaking materials made up a big chunk of the increase. Major cargo increases last year for the Ports of Indiana overall included a rebound in coal (213%), salt (141%), steel (40%), grain (39%), minerals (23%), oils […]
Nucor Corp. today announced plans to invest $290 million to upgrade its Crawfordsville, Ind., steel sheet mill. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker will expand the mill’s product capabilities by adding a 300,000 tons per year (tpy) construction-grade continuous galvanizing line and a 250,000 tpy prepaint line, the company said. The project, which company executives alluded to during […]
January marked the fifth consecutive month of declining steel prices, following a year-long streak of continuous price increases. Hot rolled prices declined $200 per ton throughout the month, with the SMU index averaging $1,335 per ton ($66.75 per cwt) as of Tuesday, Jan. 25. The SMU Price Momentum Indicator for sheet products remains at Lower since its mid-October adjustment. January […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor, Jan. 26 Steel sheet prices in the U.S. sank by about 9% w/w as they continued to fall towards the global average. CRU’s weekly HR coil assessment in the U.S. was $126 /s.ton lower than the prior week, and high inventory levels relative to […]
I don’t want to lead prices down, but I don’t think it’s any secret at this point that sheet prices are falling fast. “The prophecies have been borne out,” is how one mill executive put it. What does that look like in practical terms? Some mills are offering hot-rolled coil at about $1,200 per ton […]
Nucor Corp. crushed annual profit records in 2021 and posted yet another quarterly profit record in the fourth quarter. The trend continues a 2021 pattern among domestic steelmakers of each quarter setting a record compared to that set in the prior quarter. All told, the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker posted an annual profit of $6.83 billion […]