It has been almost 12 months in the making and, due to the pandemic, one of the most carefully crafted agendas ever presented for an SMU Steel Summit Conference. Here is the final agenda for this year’s “virtual” conference. All times referenced are Eastern Time. The programs on the agenda prior to 10:00 AM are […]
The service center and manufacturer executives who read Steel Market Update have been telling us for some time that they believe steel prices are near the bottom and poised to turn around soon. Our latest check of the market, with flat rolled steel prices up anywhere from $15 to $25 per ton, suggests the market […]
Four days to go… This will be our 10th SMU Steel Summit Conference. Over those 10 years the SMU team (and now CRU team) has built the most successful steel conference outside of mainland China. This year’s conference will be either the second or third most attended event we have had since the beginning. I don’t think we […]
Here is a listing of the companies registered for the SMU Steel Summit 2020 Virtual Conference as of last week. Note that those companies with an * after their name means more than one person is attending. If your company is missing, or if you have questions about your registration, please contact Events@SteelMarketUpdate.com. You can […]
Here is a listing of the companies registered for the SMU Steel Summit 2020 Virtual Conference as of last week. Note that those companies with an * after their name means more than one person is attending. If your company is missing, or if you have questions about your registration, please contact Events@SteelMarketUpdate.com. You can […]
NLMK USA saw shipments plummet 39 percent quarter-over-quarter to 330,000 metric tons as steel demand dropped in Q2 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Revenue fell 37 percent to $238 million. EBITDA was $3 million compared to -$22 million in Q1 and was attributed to “widening of the slabs to rolled product price spread” as well […]
NLMK Group reported a 2 percent year-over-year increase in sales during the second quarter of 2020 for total sales of 4.4. million metric tons. The increase was attributed to higher exports of slab and pig iron. Sales declined 3 percent from Q1 2020. Overall steel output declined to 3.9 million tons as a result of […]
Markets are vastly improved from where they were two months ago, said James Banker, Executive Vice President of NLMK USA, during Steel Market Update’s Community Chat on Wednesday. Conditions seem good, mostly because they are coming off a “really awful period,” he said. NLMK USA relies on its customers for information about the market, and […]
We had an exceptional SMU Community Chat on Wednesday with James Banker, Jr., of NLMK USA. Banker was candid, forthcoming (except when asked about steel pricing) and provided solid information for those who were on the webinar. The recording is available as are the PowerPoint slides used during the webinar. You can find both by […]
On Wednesday, June 10, we will host our next SMU Community Chat webinar with our guest speaker James Banker, Jr., Executive Vice President of NLMK USA. As with every SMU Community Chat webinar, this is free to the public. Feel free to invite others from your company as well as your suppliers and customers. Click […]
John Packard is working on another project. Steel prices have been on an upward trajectory, albeit a gradual one, since bottoming out in late April when the benchmark price of hot rolled hit a low of $460 per ton. The market plunged by $120 per ton in just six weeks from its mid-March high of […]
On Wednesday, June 10, we will host our next SMU Community Chat webinar with our guest speaker James Banker, Jr., Executive Vice President of NLMK USA. As with every SMU Community Chat webinar, this is free to the public. Feel free to invite others from your company as well as your suppliers and customers. Click […]
On Wednesday, June 10, we will host our next SMU Community Chat webinar with our guest speaker James Banker, Jr., Executive Vice President of NLMK USA. As with every SMU Community Chat webinar, this is free to the public. Feel free to invite others from your company as well as your suppliers and customers. Click […]
Section 232 tariffs will likely remain in place no matter who is the White House in January, said trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz during the SMU Community Chat on June 3. Legal challenges to the tariff measures, however, could cause a change. Firms are challenging the Section 232 exclusion process that appears skewed toward U.S. steel […]
James Banker, Executive Vice President of NLMK USA, will be the featured speaker at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, June 10, for our next SMU Community Chat webinar. Mr. Banker will share his views on the current state of steel production during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as various trade issues. The 45-minute webinar is […]
James Banker, Executive Vice President of NLMK USA, will be the featured speaker at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, June 10, for our next SMU Community Chat webinar. Mr. Banker will share his views on the current state of steel production during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as various trade issues. The 45-minute webinar is […]
We had a good webinar with Lewis Leibowitz yesterday (Wednesday). Our next SMU Community Chat webinar will be held next Wednesday, June 10, and our featured guest speaker will be James Banker, Jr., Executive Vice President, NLMK USA. Banker will be the first steel mill to participate in one of our webinars. Jim has a […]
While it seems counterintuitive given the difficult market conditions and weak demand due to the coronavirus, domestic steelmakers have raised flat rolled prices for the second time this month. Nucor, U.S. Steel, USS-POSCO Industries (UPI), AK Steel and NLMK USA informed customers today that prices for spot orders of hot rolled, cold rolled and coated […]
While it seems counterintuitive given the difficult market conditions and weak demand due to the coronavirus, domestic steelmakers have raised flat rolled prices for the second time this month. U.S. Steel, USS-POSCO Industries (UPI) and NLMK USA informed customers today that prices for spot orders of hot rolled, cold rolled and coated products have increased […]
If there is one thing you can count on with the steel industry, it’s for rumors to begin flying as soon as the mills appear to have seized pricing momentum. The domestic steel mills, led by ArcelorMittal USA, began announcing price increases the week ending May 1. The announcements ranged from $50 to $60 per […]
If there is one thing you can count on with the steel industry, it’s for rumors to begin flying as soon as the mills appear to have seized pricing momentum. The domestic steel mills, led by ArcelorMittal USA, began announcing price increases the week ending May 1. The announcements ranged from $50 to $60 per […]
Demand for steel has suffered a serious blow from the coronavirus shutdowns. Not surprisingly, steel prices have been hurt as well, with hot rolled plunging by $80 per ton since mid-March. What is surprising is that the mills are hoping they can establish a floor for steel prices, even as the economy and demand yet […]
“Vacation: An extended period of recreating, especially one spent away from home or traveling.” Last week I took “vacation” time off, and unlike the definition above I did little recreating, rarely strayed from home, and did no traveling. How restful is that? The big news from last week was an apparent “firming” of steel prices. […]
Despite a flurry of maintenance projects completed in the second half of 2019, several steelmakers are planning outages or idling of operations during the next few months. Steel producing mills have been designated as essential critical infrastructure and are not subject to state COVID-19 shutdowns. ArcelorMittal, however, is adjusting production by idling its IH-4 furnace at Indiana Harbor […]
NLMK USA’s plant in Farrell, Pa., is running a full schedule right now, but will idle its hot strip mill next week as the plant is low on slabs. The mill is dependent on imports of slabs. Its allocation of slabs for the second quarter does not open until April 1. The mill expects slabs […]
NLMK USA has filed a complaint with the U.S. Court of International Trade alleging that NLMK’s requests for steel slab exclusions from Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act have been wrongfully denied. The Indiana and Pennsylvania mills use imported steel slab to process into finished products. The 250-255 mm thick slab (nominally “10 inch”) […]
NLMK USA saw sales decrease 14 percent to 470,000 metric tons during the fourth quarter of 2019. Revenue from the segment dropped 18 percent quarter-over-quarter to $322 million. Declines were attributed to softer demand and lower steel prices. NLMK Group noted weaker demand in energy, automotive and machinery segments and a 4 percent drop in […]
NLMK USA sold 472,000 metric tons of steel in the fourth quarter of 2019, a decline of 14 percent from the previous quarter and 6 percent from a year ago. The decrease was attributed to a seasonal slowdown in steel buying activity. Sales for the full year of 2019 declined 3.0 percent to 2.2 million […]
As widely expected, Nucor was the first to announce another $40 increase in flat rolled steel prices Wednesday, followed closely by ArcelorMittal USA, NLMK USA, California Steel Industries, USS-POSCO Industries and Algoma Steel. This represents the fifth round of price hikes by the major mills since late October totaling around $190 per ton. In a […]
Happy Holidays! I expect this week to be a tad on the slow side as buyers and sellers of steel celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas. One year ago, benchmark hot rolled prices were averaging $745 per ton ($37.25/cwt), down from the cycle peak achieved the week of July 23, 2018, at $915 per ton ($45.75/cwt). Since […]