Tag: EAF

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.

JSW Steel USA has teamed up with Primetals Technologies to upgrade its slab casting capabilities at the company's Mingo Junction, Ohio, slab and hot-rolled sheet mill.

Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker Algoma Steel said its blast furnace could be down for approximately two weeks following an incident at its coke batteries over the weekend. “We expect some impact on shipments, the extent of which will depend on the timeline to resume blast furnace operations,” the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based company said

CRU principal analyst Erik Hedborg, who has deep experience in iron ore and in pellets, will be the featured speaker on our next SMU Community Chat.

India-based Tata Steel is to close down the two blast furnaces at its loss-making Port Talbot works in South Wales, UK, during a four-year switch to EAF-based steel making. Under the proposals, 2,800 jobs are at risk.

The capacity for EAF steelmaking is growing both in the US and abroad. Ferrous scrap supply has never been more important. A lot of people have viewed the scrap industry as old-fashioned and resistant to change. However, the same forces affecting the steel and other industries are also at play in recycling.

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.

Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker Algoma Steel Group Inc. guided toward lower earnings in its fiscal 2024 third quarter, citing the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike and lower steel prices last fall.

SMU doesn’t do forecasts. We leave that to our colleagues at CRU. But we’re pretty good at surveys, and we’ve got a great group of readers. That’s why we decided to ask you what’s in store for 2024. The results are below, along with some insightful comments in italics.

Nippon Steel will acquire U.S. Steel in a deal valued at $14.9 billion, or $55 per share, the two companies announced on Monday morning. The Japanese steelmaker will keep U.S. Steel's iconic logo and its Pittsburgh headquarters, the companies said.

As 2023 draws to a close, I wanted to look back on some of the key events and themes of the year. But I’m going to hold off on that idea because we were – as of Sunday afternoon - still waiting on news about arguably the biggest event of the year, the potential sale of U.S. Steel.

U.S. Steel on Thursday afternoon said it expected lower earnings in the fourth quarter compared to the third. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker predicted fourth-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) of approximately $250 million, or $0.20-$0.25 per diluted share.

This year saw a huge increase in debate and proposals for addressing greenhouse gas emissions, not only here in the US but around the world.

The prices for all grades of pig iron have dramatically risen since SMU’s last report from Nov. 18.

I want to thank the Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) for the opportunity to speak at their annual conference in Phoenix. I enjoyed the proceedings and participating in a panel for HARDI’s sheet metal/air handling council. I can’t recap all that we discussed in a few hundred words. But I’d like to share […]

The Biden administration’s climate ambitions are laudable. Buy Clean programs have the potential to meaningfully reduce CO2 emissions, supporting the American steel industry and its workers.  Buying clean steel In February 2022, the administration launched the federal Buy Clean initiative and established its Buy Clean Task Force. These programs prioritize the use of American-made, low […]

Following the United Auto Workers (UAW) union strike, organized labor seems to be enjoying a moment.

Algoma Steel’s CEO Michael Garcia joined SMU Managing Editor Michael Cowden for a Community Chat on Wednesday, Nov. 29. A great discussion was had on topics ranging from plate pricing to decarbonization efforts, raw materials strategies, and more.

Bids for U.S. Steel are due on Friday, according to sources familiar with the matter. Friday is also allegedly when a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) between Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker expires.

A contract worker suffered a fatality on Friday, Nov. 24, at Nucor Steel Indiana’s Crawfordsville sheet mill.

Prices of steelmaking raw materials are largely up over the over the last 30 days, as they were the month prior, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis.

Algoma is an important Canadian flat-rolled steel producer. It is also a significant supplier to the US market. We’ll discuss current dynamics in the North American sheet and plate markets – as well as some of the particulars of the Canadian market.

The importation of basic pig iron has allowed EAF steelmakers to implement thin-slab casting technology to make drawing-quality flat-rolled sheet over the last 30 years.

SMU discussed wind energy, a promising end-use market for steel, with SSAB Americas’ SVP and CCO Jeff Moskaluk.

Algoma Steel CEO Michael Garcia will be the featured speaker on SMU’s Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 11 am ET. You can register here.

Steel Market Update spoke with Jonathan Shank, the new COO of JSW's Mingo Junction mill, on its $145-million investment project.

The iron and steel foundry industries consume about 17% of the ferrous scrap in the US each year. They purchase several grades of scrap in common with steelmakers, such as shredded and turnings. But, most of the grades are much more restrictive than what larger mills require. 

JSW Steel USA is expanding the rail infrastructure at its Mingo Junction mill, thanks in part to a grant from the state of Ohio.

You could make a case that Nov. 1 was April Fool’s Day for steel – or at least for the widespread rumor that Cliffs would announce a $10-billion deal for U.S. Steel on that date. I’m not going to endorse any precise date or price tag. But I’d be surprised if a deal – or […]

Algoma Steel said its quarterly earnings were impacted by falling steel prices and lower buying associated with the United Auto Workers (UAW) strikes in the US. But with the strikes wrapping up, it expects a recovery in both pricing and demand moving forward.