At every Steel Summit, a few themes seem to emerge that I didn’t anticipate. In 2021, I remember the theme being that scrap would be the next precious metal. (And also that Cleveland-Cliffs planned to expand in to the scrap market.) This year, I expected that there would be a lot of discussion about decarbonization. What I didn’t entirely expect was that we’d be talking so much about electricity and power generation.
I am happy to announce that there are officially now more than 1,400 people attending SMU Steel Summit next week in Atlanta. That’s a new record for us, and I thank all of you for making it possible. I am also happy to say that Barry Zekelman, executive chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, will be joining us for the first fireside chat of Steel Summit on Monday, Aug. 21, at 3:40 pm ET.
US service center flat-rolled steel inventories spiked in July with a slowdown in shipments. At the end of July, service centers carried 56.1 shipping days of flat roll supply, according to adjusted SMU data.
US plate producers were successful in their most recent effort to have the suspension agreement on cut-to-length plate imports from Russia removed and replaced with antidumping duties.
Certain welded pipe and tube products being exported from Vietnam to the US are not circumventing antidumping duties on Taiwanese pipe products, the US Department of Commerce said this week.
Nucor Corp. announced it will be providing steel to help build a new solar project in Kentucky. In addition, the steelmaker has agreed to purchase power from the project.
The Global Steel Climate Council (GSCC) has officially published its Steel Climate Standard.
Nucor plans to keep plate prices flat for yet another month.
Nucor has received its final federal permit to begin construction on its sheet mill in Mason County, W.Va.
Nucor has received its final federal permit to begin construction on its sheet mill in Mason County, W.Va. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said it received the permit on Friday from the US Army Corps of Engineers to start work on the ~$3.1-billion project. Construction is set to begin immediately and expected to last approximately two years, Nucor […]
U.S. Steel recorded lower profits in Q2’23 compared to Q2’22 on the heels of a drop in steel prices and a dip in shipments. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker reported net income of $477 million in Q2’23, down 51% from $978 million in Q2’22 on sales that fell 20% to $5.01 billion over the same period. The […]
Nucor’s growth strategy goal “is not simply about being the biggest steel company,” Nucor chair, president and CEO Leon Topalian said.
Nucor’s growth strategy goal “is not simply about being the biggest steel company,” Nucor chair, president and CEO Leon Topalian said. “As we evaluate and pursue new, ‘expand beyond’ platforms, we’re focused on opportunities that leverage our core capability as an efficient industrial manufacturer and are aligned with steel-intensive mega-trends or themes,” Topalian said. He […]
A stable market and steady lead times have led to decent demand, but companies are still keeping a close eye on where the market is headed, according HARDI members.
We weren’t supposed to see hot-rolled coil prices dip below $800 per ton ($40 per cwt) anytime soon.
Nucor has completed slightly more than 50% of a $10-billion capital expenditures plan to grow its core steelmaking operations, Leon Topalian, company chair, president, and CEO, said in a second-quarter earnings conference call with investors.
We weren’t supposed to see hot-rolled coil prices dip below $800 per ton ($40 per cwt) anytime soon. Or at least that seemed to be the consensus in mid-June after mills rolled out a round of $50-per-ton price hikes, with a second round rumored to be in the works. That second round of price hikes […]
Nucor has completed slightly more than 50% of a $10-billion capital expenditures plan to grow its core steelmaking operations, Leon Topalian, company chair, president, and CEO, said in a second-quarter earnings conference call with investors. Here is an update regarding several of the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker’s projects. Nucor Steel Gallatin (Sheet and Tube) Topalian said the […]
A stable market and steady lead times have led to decent demand, but companies are still keeping a close eye on where the market is headed, according to members of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) speaking on the July 25 meeting of its Sheet Metal/Air Handling Council. During June’s meeting, 36% of […]
Nucor reported sequentially higher second quarter earnings but warned that results would be worse in the third quarter. "We expect earnings in the third quarter of 2023 to decrease compared to the second quarter of 2023," the company said in comments released with Q2 earnings results on Monday, July 24.
Nucor reported sequentially higher second quarter earnings but warned that results would be worse in the third quarter. “We expect earnings in the third quarter of 2023 to decrease compared to the second quarter of 2023,” the company said in comments released with Q2 earnings results on Monday, July 24. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker posted […]
June 1 was the most recent low for CME Midwest HRC futures. At that time, the curve was approximately flat around $800 per short ton (st). Since then, the August future has rallied $188/st, settling today at $983/st, while the September future has rallied $160/st, settling today at $953/st. The chart below compares the curve […]
Join us for SMU’s next Community Chat webinar with Wolfe Research managing director Timna Tanners. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, July 12, at 11 a.m. ET. It’s free for all to attend. A recording will be available to SMU members. You can register here. We’ll talk about what Tanners describes as “the myth […]
Sheet prices were little changed this week amid typically slower activity around the Fourth of July. Market participants said that another round of sheet price hikes might come later this week or early next to shore up an initial round of price increases announced in mid-June. In the meantime, some of the heavy discounting that […]
Join us for SMU’s next Community Chat webinar with Wolfe Research managing director Timna Tanners. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, July 12, at 11 am ET. It’s free for all to attend. A recording will be available to SMU members. You can register here. We’ll talk about what Tanners describes as “the myth […]
It’s been a wild ride in the HRC futures market since we last wrote this column. The chart below shows the CME Futures curve at our last publication at the beginning of June (yellow) and the last three weeks since Nucor’s initial price announcement (blue). A month ago, the physical market was in the doldrums. […]
The pressure that comes with being a CEO is not for the faint of heart. With every decision they make, CEOs have to keep in mind what’s best for the company. Karla Lewis, president and CEO of Reliance Steel & Aluminum, and Leon Topalian, president and CEO of Nucor Corp., sat down with Metal Service […]
Companies should keep a watchful eye on pricing and lead times, according to members of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) speaking on the June 27 meeting of its Sheet Metal/Air Handling Council. During May’s meeting, most HARDI participants thought that prices would continue to drop. Over half of the individuals thought it […]
Our latest survey results indicate that the round of $50/ton ($2.50/cwt) sheet price hikes have a good chance of at least stabilizing prices or increasing them modestly. To be clear, SMU does not make formal forecasts. I’m basing this on what we’re seeing in past survey results following price hikes compared to what we’re seeing […]
Decarbonization was among the key topics at the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) and Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) annual meeting last week in Washington, D.C. Greg Bertelsen, CEO of the Climate Leadership Council, joined Katie McCall Larson, vice president of government affairs and sustainability for SSAB, and Dan Needham, executive vice president of commercial at […]