The war in Ukraine has disrupted commodity markets across the globe. Prices for all seven of the steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis increased over the last 30 days. Through late-March, pig iron prices surged 60% compared to one month prior, coking coal prices jumped 45%, scrap prices increased 26-32%, zinc and iron […]
The United Steelworkers (USW) union is preparing for contract talks this summer with U.S. Steel and with Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., a USW spokeswoman confirmed. A text had been sent out to USW members earlier in the day on Thursday, March 24, alerting them that the USW was getting ready for negotiations. The USW contracts with Pittsburgh-based […]
Distributors who sell galvanized steel products have some recent experience at managing purchasing and inventory in a rapidly rising price environment. In their monthly conference call earlier today, members of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) drew some comparisons between the spike in steel prices prompted by the pandemic last year and the […]
By CRU Research Analyst Aaron Kearney-Keaveny, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor, March 22 In the past week, the iron ore price has been influenced by two notable shocks, a supply shock from lost CIS volumes, which has been occurring since the invasion, and a demand shock from China after lockdowns created bearish sentiments. Improving […]
U.S. Steel Corp. expects to see record EBITDA for the first quarter totaling approximately $1.3 billion, a new all-time high for the period. In guidance issued Thursday, the steelmaker forecast adjusted diluted earnings per share in the range of $2.96 to $3.00. “We expect to deliver another strong quarter of safety, adjusted EBITDA, free cash […]
By CRU Research Analyst Christopher Dix and Analysts Diego Giangreco and Tiago Vespoli, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor, March 10 Pig iron prices have increased following disruption to CIS supply. The global pig iron market is short of supply as Russian exports are difficult to replace. Black Sea freight options are now very limited, […]
In his remarks during Wednesday’s Community Chat, Johnny Sjöström, the top executive at SSAB Special Steels, suggested that the fighting in Ukraine will make nations more gun-shy about becoming too dependent on their foreign trading partners. Nations in Europe and many other parts of the world are scrambling to maintain production without the exports of […]
The global steel industry will see ripple effects from the war in Ukraine for years to come. Its direct and indirect effects will cut European steel capacity by 30-40% in the near term as the conflict disrupts the flow of natural gas and steelmaking raw materials – most notably steel slabs from Russia, said Johnny […]
By CRU Research Analyst Aaron Kearney-Keaveny, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor, March 8 The war in Ukraine has caused a dramatic rise in the iron ore price, which now stands at $164 /dmt. European steelmakers are now scrambling to find iron ore to replace lost imports from Ukraine and Russia. The market will take […]
I continue to watch what is happening in Europe, the Middle East and in Asia as it relates to the flow of steel-and steel-related commodities that normally come from Russia and the Ukraine. One of my experienced trading contacts was wondering if the Russians will begin flooding China with cheap steel. (Wouldn’t that be special?) […]
A lot has happened in the world since my last article. Please bear with me as there is much to talk about. First, my thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Ukraine, and for that matter the innocent people in Russia who want nothing to do with Putin’s war. The world order is […]
The war in Eastern Europe is hitting close to home for some steel buyers. Steel Market Update’s survey this week asked readers: How might the Russian invasion of Ukraine impact your business? Roughly three out of four of the service center and manufacturing executives who responded said they fear at least some fallout from the […]
In a letter to customers this week, Cleveland-Cliffs said it does not expect the geopolitical fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to directly impact the company’s operations. “While we continue to monitor the situation closely, we have not identified any specific elevated risk to our operations at this time,” the company stated. Cliffs said it will continue […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Matthew Watkins and Research Analyst Christopher Dix, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service, Feb. 28. Contributors Erik Hedborg, Dmitry Popov, Ryan McKinley and Clare Hanna. Following the escalation of the situation in Ukraine, we set out what positions Russia has currently in the export market through the steel value chain. In the short term […]
By CRU Multi Commodity Analyst Alex Christopher and Research Analyst James Mills, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor, March 3 The sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine will have direct and indirect implications for commodity markets, and their impact will be felt by everyone involved along the length of commodity value chains. […]
U.S. Steel Corp. is investing $60 million at Gary Works to give the Indiana mill the capability to produce up to 500,000 tons of pig iron annually and provide a critical raw material for the steelmaker’s electric arc furnaces. Once complete in the first half of 2023, pig iron production at Gary will provide nearly […]
Some North American flat-rolled steelmakers were silent when asked what the impact of the conflict between the U.S. and Russia might be on their operations. Others said their supply lines weren’t in the crossfire. One reason for the silence in some corners: Many rely heavily either on Russian slab or Russian or Ukrainian pig iron […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg and Senior Coal Analyst Dmitry Popov, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor, Feb. 24 On Feb. 24, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine as President Vladmir Putin ordered a large-scale “specialized military operation.” Russian troops entered Ukrainian territory – from Belarus in the north, the separatist-controlled regions in the […]
Prices for five of the seven steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis increased over the last 30 days, with only one product decreasing. Through Feb. 17, iron ore prices rose 18% from one month prior, aluminum prices increased 10%, coking coal prices rose 9%, zinc prices were up 3%, and pig iron prices […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. could join other steel producers in adding electric-arc furnace (EAF) capacity, the company’s top executive said. The Cleveland-based steelmaker is considering that because the cost of relining a blast furnace – and investing in the supply chains needed to feed it – are roughly the same as those for of building a new EAF. […]
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 […]
By CRU Research Analyst Aaron Kearney-Keaveny, from CRU’s Iron Ore Market Outlook, Feb. 8 The iron ore price has been driven up over the last week, despite sparse activity during and after the Chinese holiday. The rise in price primarily came from traders who have been increasing their stocks in anticipation of higher prices, not […]
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 […]
U.S. Steel joined competitors Nucor Corp. and Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) in posting record annual profits. But the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker’s fourth-quarter net earnings were significantly lower than those in the third quarter. U.S. Steel recorded net earnings of $1.07 billion in the final quarter of 2021, down 46.5% from $2.00 billion in the third quarter […]
Prices for four of the seven steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis increased over the last 30 days, while three products decreased. Through Jan. 26, coking coal prices rose 26% from one month prior, aluminum prices increased 10%, iron ore prices rose 8%, and zinc prices were up 2%. In that same time […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg and Research Analyst Aaron Kearney-Keaveny, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor, Jan. 19 Over the past month, the iron ore price has continued its rise that started back in mid-November, reaching $125 /dmt on Jan. 18. The rise has been more volatile than the previous month, but has shown […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor January 2022 The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) fell in January m/m by 4.4% to 383.9, which is an unusual move for this time of year. Demand in most markets, particularly in Europe and the USA, was weaker-than-expected, and relatively mild weather conditions leading up […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor, Feb. 10 The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) rose in February m/m by 2.4% to 392.9, gaining back some of the ground lost during January’s unusually bearish market. This slight upward trend was driven primarily by supply scarcity for obsolete grade scrap and pig iron, […]
SMU’s Community Chat webinar with Wolfe Research metals and mining managing director Timna Tanners last week was our second-best attended ever. With more than 800 registered attendees, Tanners topped her own previous record. Barry Zekelman, executive chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, still holds the title. But not by quite as wide a margin. We […]
By CRU Research Analyst James Mills and Multi Commodity Analyst Alex Christopher, Jan. 6 The synchronized rise in commodity prices in 2021 prompted some market commentators to speculate the beginnings of a “supercycle.” At CRU, we are more cautious. In the past year, commodity prices have been more volatile than in the preceding years, with […]