My car was sideswiped recently – a parked car is hard to avoid, apparently – and I thought a silver lining might be that I could do my little part to keep North America’s scrap reservoir full. A quarter panel, maybe even a door. Instead, I am still driving around in that scrap (and probably […]
2022 SMU Steel Summit Finally, a note from our founder, John Packard, who wants to make sure all of you are aware of the latest developments for our big event which will be held in Atlanta on the 22nd through the 24th of August. The following companies registered for the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference […]
Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc. posted its best first half results in company history following a strong second quarter earnings. The result comes thanks to high prices and strong demand for both ferrous and nonferrous scrap. The Portland, Ore.-based scrap recycler and long steel producer recorded net income of $38 million in the second quarter of […]
By CRU Principal Economist Alex Tuckett, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook The invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces has continued to rock commodity and financial markets. We expect the fallout from the invasion to reduce world growth this year and next, through three main channels: Energy prices. Russia is a major producer and exporter of […]
The US labor market expanded at a strong pace in March, adding 431,000 new jobs and bringing the unemployment rate to a new, pandemic-era low of 3.6%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Though payroll gains were lower than economists had expected, they still rounded up a strong first quarter for the US labor market […]
Nucor announced today that it has acquired Elite Storage Solutions, a steel racking manufacturer employing 180 full-time teammates at locations in Monroe, Ga., and Chandler, Ariz. This $75 million acquisition expands Nucor’s steel racking capabilities and builds on the company’s acquisition of Hannibal Industries last year “We are excited to grow our steel racking capabilities with this acquisition of Elite Storage Solutions. […]
Ryerson president and CEO Eddie Lehner will be the featured speaker on our next SMU Community Chat. The webinar is on Wednesday, April 6, at 10 ET (9 am CT). It’s free. You can register here. We’ll talk about what’s in store for the second quarter, 2H and looking out into 2023. We’ll also discuss how to […]
We are now 140 days away, and I am getting very excited about this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference. The agenda is coming together nicely, we have several new speakers, and I continue to work on a few special projects that I think you will enjoy. The conference dates are August 22-24, and the conference will be […]
We are now 140 days away, and I am getting very excited about this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference. The agenda is coming together nicely, we have several new speakers, and I continue to work on a few special projects that I think you will enjoy. The conference dates are August 22-24, and the conference will be […]
The Commerce Department released a “strategic plan” to boost American competitiveness on March 28. It is long on buzzwords and short on specifics. The plan identifies some opportunities to boost American competitiveness. But it focuses too much on government subsidies and protection of entrenched domestic industries and not enough on playing to America’s most important […]
The global microchip shortage and snarled supply chains continue to trouble North American automakers nearly two years after these issues first resulted in widespread production outages. The list of carmakers impacted this week is extensive, including the Detroit-area “Big Three” – GM, Ford, and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) – as well as Honda and Toyota. General […]
The outlook among purchasing managers surveyed by the Institute for Supply Management remains optimistic, showing continued expansion in March despite a slight month-on-month decline in growth rates. Last month’s Manufacturing PMI edged down to a reading of 57.1% versus 58.6% in February. The index reading above 50% indicates growth in the manufacturing sector, and March’s […]
US manufacturing activity saw a sharp improvement in March driven by big increases in output and new orders. Both domestic and foreign client demand ticked higher, according to the latest US Manufacturing PMI data from S&P Global. The overall upturn was aided by a sharper expansion in production at the end of the first quarter. Indeed, […]
Steel Market Update sources expect ferrous scrap prices to rise yet again in April, with obsolete grades potentially up $50-$100 per gross ton over March and busheling up $120-$200 per gross ton. The big anticipated gains in April follow record price increases in March due to the Ukraine-Russia war. “I have to say, this is one […]
Ryerson president and CEO Eddie Lehner will be the featured speaker on our next SMU Community Chat. The webinar is on Wednesday, April 6, at 10 ET (9 am CT). It’s free. You can register here. Why should you listen? Lehner told me back in January that the selloff was overdone. That was not a mainstream […]
When I first started writing Steel Market Update back in 2004, its purpose was to assist my steel buying clients by supplying information necessary for them to be proactive in their decision-making process in a volatile steel market. Its purpose did not change in 2008 when I started the newsletter as a publication for a […]
New orders for US manufactured durable goods fell 2.2%, or $6.0 billion, in February, snapping a four-month rally, according to the Commerce Department. Orders at domestic factories for long-lasting goods fell more than expected last month, while business investment fell for the first time in a year. February’s outcome suggests high inflation and ongoing supply […]
Producer prices rose moderately in February, maintaining a sustained 23-month growth run. Last month the headline index grew by just 0.8%, seasonally adjusted, but was a gain of 10% when compared to the same year-ago period, reports the U.S. Labor Department. Wholesale prices accelerated as steady consumer demand and pandemic-related supply-chain snarls continued to fuel […]
The United States and the United Kingdom have agreed to a deal to ease Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum. The contours of the agreement match what Steel Market Update reported earlier in the day on Tuesday, March 22. “Today’s historic deal is a testament to that ambitious goal and will benefit America’s steel […]
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 […]
Northbrook, Ill.-based Hilco Global’s subsidiary, Hilco Industrial Acquisitions, B.V, acquired for resale all assets of ThyssenKrupp’s heavy plate rolling mill located in Duisburg-Hüttenheim, Germany. Prior to its shuttering last September, ThyssenKrupp’s rolling mill produced roughly 850,000 metric tons of heavy plate steel, the company said. Besides the rolling mill, the Amsterdam-based asset management and financial […]
The war in Ukraine continues to impact the volatility in steel markets around the world. Here in the United States, we have seen steel buyers coming off the sidelines as they look to protect themselves against the possibility of being short steel. This despite flat-rolled steel inventories being at 2.72 months’ supply at the end […]
North American’s supply-chain problems may be further complicated by a work stoppage of Canadian railway workers beginning Monday. The Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP) issued a 72-hour lockout notice to Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), which represents more than 3,000 engineers, conductors and other personnel, in the event the two sides can’t reach a negotiated […]
Business activity in the state of New York waned in March, declining for the first time since the onset of the global pandemic nearly two years ago, according to the Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The headline general business conditions index is now at -11.8 (above the neutral mark of 0), falling 15 points from February’s 3.1, and […]
Northwest Pipe Co. has been selected to manufacture steel water transmission pipe for the Code Talkers Lateral Reaches 12.1 and 12.2 of the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project in northwestern New Mexico. Once complete, the project will convey water from the San Juan River to the eastern section of the Navajo Nation, the southwestern portion of […]
Steel Market Update is hosting several conferences and events over the balance of this year that you won’t want to miss. This includes our flagship conference, the SMU Steel Summit Conference which will be held at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta on Aug. 22-24. We are also conducting several workshops that may be […]
The semiconductor shortage that has hamstrung North American automakers for the better part of two years is still causing production headaches. Stellantis is the latest carmaker to report delays due to the lack of microchips. The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker has extended the downtime at its Belvidere Assembly Plant for a second straight week, a company […]
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 […]
Registrations for this summer’s 2022 SMU Steel Summit are already picking up as we will offer another strong program focusing on the issues impacting decisions your company will need to make as it moves into the fourth quarter and 2023. Attendance is projected at approximately 1,200 executives from manufacturing, distribution, trading, steel mills, toll processors, logistics companies, […]
President Biden strengthened “Buy American” provisions for government procurement with his signature Friday on new rules that will increase the threshold for the value of products to be considered American-made from the current 55% to 65% by 2024 and 75% by 2029. Proponents consider this a positive development for manufacturing and job-creation in the U.S., […]