'Tis the season for fall maintenance outages
Fall is coming in North America, and with it, steel mills' regularly scheduled fall maintenance outages.
Fall is coming in North America, and with it, steel mills' regularly scheduled fall maintenance outages.
There are just 40 days left until the 2024 SMU Steel Summit gets underway on Aug. 26 at the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC) in Atlanta. And I’m pleased to announce that it's official now: More than 1,000 people have registered to at attend! Another big development: The desktop version of the networking app for the event has officially launched!
It was great to have Gary Stein, CEO of Triple-S Steel, join SMU for a Community Chat earlier this week. (Btw, you can find a record of the webinar here.) We covered a lot of ground. From Andrew Carnegie and the Johnstown Flood to the current steel market and the state of domestic manufacturing broadly speaking. One thing that stuck with me was how unevenly construction spending appears to be on “green” initiatives and other key items funded by infrastructure spending, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS Act.
The major steel-handling port in Burns Harbor, Ind., is getting substantial infrastructure upgrades.
Cleveland-Cliffs is potentially eyeing a buy of NLMK USA’s Midwest assets, according to a report in Bloomberg.
What to make of the latest round of sheet prices hikes: Are they aimed at stopping the bleeding, getting buyers off the sidelines, or actually getting sheet prices back up again? These are serious questions now in a way that they weren’t after U. S. Steel first announced its price hike last Wednesday. That hike […]
U.S. Steel and Wheeling-Nippon Steel have joined other domestic mills in reducing coating extras. Wheeling-Nippon said the new, lower extras would be effective with new orders quoted for the week ending July 22. The new extras apply to aluminized, galvanized, and galvanneal, the company said in a letter to customers dated Wednesday, June 14. One […]
NLMK USA has published new, lower coating extras that are effective June 8. The steelmaker’s Sharon, Pa.-based galvanizing facility has reduced extras by an average of nearly 14%, according to market participants and the new coating extras sheet. NLMK’s prior extras had taken effect on Aug. 1, 2022. Our website reflects NLMK’s latest coating extras, as […]
NLMK USA has announced new, higher base prices for steel sheet. The steelmaker said the higher prices were effectively immediately on all new spot orders and justified by “strong demand and extending lead times,” in a letter to customers on Wednesday, Feb. 22. NLMK USA said that its new minimum base price for hot-rolled coil was […]
The “new normal,” we have heard that a whole lot since the pandemic took hold. Are we really seeing a paradigm shift? Or is it just a trendy phrase? But, first, let’s talk about price hikes. If three’s a crowd, then what’s five – a herd? The week got off to a quick start early […]
ArcelorMittal and NLMK USA have followed three major domestic steelmakers in increasing sheet prices by at least $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt). Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal said it was targeting a minimum base price of $900 per ton effective immediately, echoing moves first announced by Nucor and Cleveland-Cliffs. “The increase is applicable to all new spot […]
Nucor Corp. is pushing hot-rolled coil price up by at least another $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt), its second sheet price hike in ten days. The Charlotte, N.C.-based company, the largest steelmaker in the US, said the move was effective immediately for base prices on new orders. Nucor made the announcement in a letter to […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor Michael D’Angelo is a researcher and trader at Marex. In his role, Mike performs fundamental and quantitative analysis, which directly leads to actionable trading/risk management strategies across the base, precious, and ferrous metals derivative spaces. Prior to joining Marex, Mike received a BA in economics with a minor in finance from […]
Nucor Corp. has joined the push to increase sheet prices by at least another $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt). The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker, the largest in the US, said the move was effective immediately for base prices on new orders. The company made the announcement in a letter to customers dated Friday, Feb. 3. […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has rolled out another $50/ton ($2.50/cwt) sheet price increase just a couple of weeks after doing the same in mid-January. The Cleveland-based steelmaker has also announced a target base price of $850 per ton for hot-rolled coil, up from the $800 per ton announced in mid-January. NLMK USA almost immediately upped the ante, […]
NLMK USA has joined Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. in raising sheet prices by at least $50 per ton ($2.50 per ton), effective immediately. The steelmaker is also seeking a base price of $875 per ton for hot-rolled coil, $25 per ton more than the $850 per ton Cleveland-Cliffs is aiming for. “Orders received and not yet confirmed […]
Nucor plans to increase base prices for all new orders of steel sheet by $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt). The price hike is effective immediately, the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Monday, Jan. 9. “We reserve the right to review and re-quote any offers that are not confirmed with […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. aims to increase spot market base prices for flat-rolled steel by at least $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt) effectively immediately. The steelmaker announced the price hike, a leading move, in a press release on Tuesday, Dec. 13. The increase applies equally to hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated products. The company noted that the […]
More North American steel producers are joining in the attempt to increase prices for steel sheet products. NLMK USA said in a Dec. 1 letter to customers that “due to increased order placement and extending lead times,” its base prices will increase by a minimum of $60 per ton ($3 per cwt) for spot orders. […]
Well, earnings season is now well underway. We’ve seen the early reporters like steel processor Worthington Steel (who announced it will be splitting off its steel segment and creating two separate, publicly traded businesses), as well as tube producer Webco, and steel and metal manufacturer Commercial Metals Co. all report strong results in their latest earnings. […]
NLMK USA saw a considerable decline in third-quarter and year-to-date sales due to high inventories and a slowdown in customer activity because of falling steel prices. The US flat-rolled steel company — made up of NLMK Indiana, NLMK Pennsylvania, and the Sharon Coating galvanizing facility in Pennsylvania — posted preliminary sales of 300,000 metric tons […]
Well, I guess it’s the official outage and idling season. In the month of September alone we’ve confirmed a half dozen or more maintenance outages (some pulled forward) and temporary idlings. Why? It sure looks like some steelmakers are trying to deal with declining demand and uncertain market conditions. The hope? Somewhat of a stopgap measure […]
NLMK USA has planned a roughly month-long outage for upgrades to its electric-arc furnace (EAF) sheet mill in Portage, Ind. The work is scheduled for October and November and will be focused on enhancements to the plant’s melt shop and hot strip mill, a company spokesman said. NLMK USA in emails to customers specified the […]
It’s time to forecast 2023, and I’d like to throw out one radical possibility – or at least one worth thinking about. What if there are no black swans? I know, that possibility is so remote that it’s almost laughable. We haven’t had many normal years since 2018. That year gave us the shock of […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. Rock provides customers attached to the steel industry with commodity price risk management services and market intelligence. RTA is registered with the National Futures Association as a Commodity Trade Advisor. David has over 20 years of professional trading experience and has been active […]
NLMK USA is seeking to increase spot base prices for carbon steel sheet by at least $75 per ton ($3.75 per cwt). The price increase is effective immediately and applies equally to all new orders of hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and coated products in North America, the company said in a letter to its customers on Friday, […]
ArcelorMittal SA has agreed to buy Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém (CSP) from Brazilian iron ore miner Vale SA and shareholders. The deal is worth $2.2 billion and is expected to be completed late this year. CSP is a joint venture between Vale, which holds a 50% stake in the company, and South Korean steelmakers […]
UPI made downward revisions to most of its galvanized coating extras on Monday, with new extras going into effect immediately. Over the last few weeks, Steel Dynamics, NLMK USA, Wheeling-Nippon, and US Steel also revised their coating extras. SMU provides an updated comparison of mill galvanized coating extras in the Resources section of our website, comparing […]
NLMK USA’s second quarter and first half sales dropped on a slowdown in demand and high inventories, according to data from its parent company NLMK Group – Russia’s largest steelmaker . The US segment’s sales of 370,000 metric tons (407,855 tons) were down 5% from the prior quarter and down 26% year-on-year. The lower sales […]
Nucor made downward revisions to most of its galvanized coating extras on Friday, with new extras going into effect Sept. 3, 2022. “Consistent with our practice to monitor the cost of zinc, we have revised our galvanized coating weight extras effective with orders acknowledged for week ending September 3, 2022,” a Nucor press release reads. “Price […]