Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. did better than anticipated in the third quarter, generating net sales of $2.69 billion. Shipments were higher than expected due to strength in Reliance’s largest segment, nonresidential construction, slipping just 2 percent compared to a typical seasonal decline of 4-6 percent. Demand for carbon structural and tubing products helped boost […]
Crude oil prices have returned to the levels prior to the attack on the Saudi Aramco Abqaiq crude oil processing facility on Sept. 14. The spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) FOB Cushing, Okla., exceeded $60 per barrel for one day on Sept. 16 when it reached $63.10 before falling back to $52.76 on […]
The U.S and Canada active rig count declined again this past week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The active drill rigs count is important to the steel industry because it is a leading indicator of oil country tubular goods demand. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 5 to 851, with oil […]
Liberty Steel USA will get a new $25 million electric arc furnace at its Georgetown, S.C., rolling mill next year. Georgetown’s aging EAF has an annual capacity of 500,000 metric tons, but actual production has fallen far short of that amount. “We have a very efficient rolling mill at Georgetown and we now want to […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, declined last week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 5 to 855, with oil rigs down 3, gas rigs down 2, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged. Compared to this time last year, the […]
Steel Market Update reported in the last issue on the sudden closing of Bayou Seel in Louisiana, and a few readers took issue with some comments in the article (Trade War Contributes to Bayou Steel’s Demise). In statements that were widely reported, Gov. John Bel Edwards blamed the closure on the Trump administration tariffs. The […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, declined this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 18 to 868, with oil rigs down 14, gas rigs down 5, and miscellaneous rigs up 1. Compared to this time last year, […]
The weekend drone strikes against Saudi oil production sent WTI futures as much as 15.5 percent higher overnight Sept. 15 to $63.34 per barrel, the biggest intraday percentage gain since June 22, 1998, according to various reports. The market is watching intently to gauge the duration and the impact of the outage on world energy […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Part two of our three-part series: What’s next for U.S. iron ore production? After a remarkably profitable 2018, the U.S. steel industry has suffered a setback in 2019 as steel prices have dropped sharply on weaker than expected demand. Steel margins have turned negative and production cuts have been […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, declined this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 6 to 898, with oil rigs down 4, gas rigs down 2, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged. Compared to this time last year, the […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Paul Wiggers de Vries Lessons learned from the mining boom saw zinc miners cut back site costs over 2015, 2016 and 2017 in the face of lower zinc prices. However, in 2018, cost controls were relaxed and cost inflation returned. In 2019, cost inflation will remain, but miners will reduce site […]
Oil production in the U.S. set another all-time record in May (latest data available) and the forecast for the rest of 2019 and 2020 is a continuation of this trend. The spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) FOB Cushing, Okla., exceeded $60 per barrel for one day on July 10 before falling back to […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, declined this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 19 to 916, with oil rigs down 16, gas rigs down 3, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged. Compared to this time last year, the […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, declined again this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 8 to 934, with oil rigs down 6, gas rigs down 2, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged. Compared to this time last year, […]
A new bipartisan Senate bill on transportation infrastructure is getting the enthusiastic support of industry associations. The America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019 will authorize $287 billion over five years to improve the nation’s roads and bridges. The legislation includes provisions to improve road safety, accelerate project delivery, improve resiliency to disasters and reduce highway […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, declined this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 8 to 946, with oil rigs down 3, gas rigs down 5, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged. Compared to this time last year, the […]
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil briefly exceeded $60 per barrel for one week in July, but the rig count continues to decline, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) FOB Cushing, Okla., exceeded $60 per barrel for […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, declined this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 5 to 958, with oil rigs down 4, gas rigs down 2, and miscellaneous rigs up 1. Compared to this time last year, […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, remained steady this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs remained the same at 967, with oil rigs up 4, gas rigs down 4, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged. Compared to this time last year, […]
The spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) FOB Cushing, Okla., reached $66.24 per barrel on April 20 and had declined to $51.94 on June 17. The total number of operating rigs exploring for oil has declined by 106 since Jan. 4. The prices of oil and natural gas drive the consumption of energy-related steel […]
U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works suffered its second fire in six months when a small blaze broke out in electrical equipment early Monday morning, disrupting environmental controls. U.S. Steel released the following statement: “Early this morning, Monday, June 17, a small electrical fire was detected on an electrical breaker panel impacting power to the by-products […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, decreased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 6 to 969, with oil rigs down 1 and gas rigs down 5. Compared to this time last year, the 969 count is […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, increased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs rose by 1 to 984, with oil rigs up 3 and gas rigs down 2. Compared to this time last year, the 984 count is […]
Monthly oil production in the U.S. declined sharply in February as inventories increased. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil has declined in the last month. The spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) FOB Cushing, Okla., reached $66.24 / barrel on April 20 and had declined to $60.97 on May 13. The total […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, decreased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 1 to 987, with oil rigs down 3 and gas rigs up 2. Compared to this time last year, the 987 count is […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Several notices have been published in the last few days, signaling the new reality of the contentious trade negotiations between the U.S. and China. USTR issued a notice, which has not yet been seen in the Federal Register, […]
Good afternoon/evening from Davenport, Iowa. Davenport is where the Mississippi River flooded the downtown area a couple of weeks ago. Water levels are down four feet from their highest point, and the flood waters reached the parking lot of our hotel before receding back across the railroad tracks. The river is still in flood stage […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, decreased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 2 to 988, with oil rigs down 2 and gas rigs unchanged. Compared to this time last year, the 988 count is down […]
Monthly oil production in the U.S. in January was second only to the all-time high set in December 2018. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil had recovered to $63.43/barrel on April 15, up from its recent low of $44.48 on Dec. 27. On April 23, Economy.com wrote: “Oil prices rebounded in the first […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, decreased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 21 to 991, with oil rigs down 20 and gas rigs down 1. Compared to this time last year, the 991 count is […]