Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has commissioned the hot strip mill at its $1.9 billion steelmaking complex in Sinton, Texas, the company’s top executive said. “Both coating lines are running well. The hot strip mill has been commissioned using purchased slabs. The last component is the caster, which is in the home stretch,” SDI President and […]
Flat Rolled = 63.9 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 67.1 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled U.S. service center flat rolled inventories jumped in December, in line with seasonal trends. At the end of December, service centers carried 63.9 shipping days of supply on an adjusted basis, up from 57.1 in November, according to […]
Nucor Corp. has confirmed that its greenfield, $2.7 billion electric arc furnace (EAF) sheet mill will be built in West Virginia. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said the mill, expected to have capacity of three million tons per year, would be located in Mason County along the Ohio River. Additional sites in northern West Virginia are […]
West Virginia is on the cusp of announcing that it has been chosen for the site of Nucor Corp.’s new, $2.7 billion electric arc furnace (EAF) sheet mill, according to local media reports. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said when it announced the project last September that it was considering locations in three states: Ohio, Pennsylvania […]
Flat-rolled steel prices continue to fall, but the market participants I spoke to today were taking the news in stride. SMU’s average hot-rolled coil price now stands at $1,480 per ton ($74 per cwt), down $55 per ton from $1,535 per ton a week ago and down $475 per ton from a 2021 high – […]
SMU’s Community Chat webinar with Wolfe Research metals and mining managing director Timna Tanners last week was our second-best attended ever. With more than 800 registered attendees, Tanners topped her own previous record. Barry Zekelman, executive chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, still holds the title. But not by quite as wide a margin. We […]
Commercial Metals Co. (CMC) plans to build a “micro mill” to better serve markets in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. “The new micro mill will fortify our position in the large construction markets within the region and optimize CMC’s existing Eastern U.S. operational footprint,” CMC Chairman, President and CEO Barbara Smith said. The new mill […]
Nucor has decided to keep plate prices unchanged with the opening of its February order book. The current plate pricing levels – announced on Monday, Jan. 3, and effective immediately – are the same as those rolled out in late November for January orders. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker’s letter to customers also marks the first […]
Welcome back to those who took an extra day or two off after the New Year. This is my first article of the year as Michael and Tim continue to absorb more of my workload. For those of you who did not view or listen in on the SMU Community Chat we hosted yesterday with […]
For those of you who did not view or listen in on the SMU Community Chat we hosted on Wednesday, January 5th with Timna Tanners of Wolfe Research (she used to be with Bank of America), you missed an interesting webinar. You can find it on our website under the SMU Community Chat tab or […]
First the takeaway: Don’t overthink it on the way down. Prices are falling, like it or not. The good thing, demand is still good – so don’t let falling prices ruin your holidays. Now, let’s overthink it a little. We’ve seen some chunky declines in recent weeks: SMU’s hot-rolled coil price fell $70 per ton […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) has opened its February order book for flat-rolled steel and decreased prices significantly, according to market participants. That’s a big change from 2021, when the Fontana, Calif.-based slab converter often increased prices substantially from one month to the next. “Customers are reminded that prices are subject to change at any time […]
By Philip Bell, President, Steel Manufacturers Association As we approach the holidays, there are some who believe that a swift Section 232 deal with Japan is essential. Some also believe a Japanese deal should be equivalent to the deal reached with the European Union this October. The notion of a Jan. 1, 2022, deal deadline […]
We are quickly coming up to the Christmas and New Year’s Holidays. I hope everyone has been able to complete whatever shopping you need to do, sent out your cards and notes to your family and friends, and have ample snacks to get you through New Year’s Eve gatherings, football games, board or card games, […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has joined competitor Nucor in predicting another quarterly earnings record for the last quarter of 2021. The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker predicted fourth-quarter earnings in the range of $5.46 to $5.50 per diluted share, according to guidance released on Thursday, Dec. 16. That’s up from $4.85 per diluted share in the […]
Swedish steelmaker SSAB says its plate mill in Montpelier, Iowa, is not on for sale. “Regarding … the Iowa mill, SSAB currently has no plans to divest assets,” an SSAB Americas spokesperson said in an email to Steel Market Update. SSAB’s U.S. operations are comprised of two plate mills – one in Mobile, Ala., and […]
Nucor Corp. expects earnings this quarter to be the highest in the company’s history, surpassing the previous quarterly record of $7.28 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2021. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker predicted fourth-quarter earnings would be in the range of $7.65 to $7.75 per share. “Steel mill segment earnings in the fourth quarter of 2021 remain robust and […]
U.S. Steel has released updated galvanized steel coating extras, with new prices going into effect on Jan. 2, 2022. Other mills have also adjusted their coating extras due to rising zinc costs in recent months; NLMK, Big River Steel, and Nucor all have revised extras going into effect in January 2022, and ArcelorMittal USA and […]
Steel Technologies, Louisville, Ky., has agreed to purchase the assets of Calstrip Industries, Inc., expanding Steel Technologies’ North American steel processing platform to 31 facilities, including joint-venture operations, located throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. The transaction is expected to close late this month. Calstrip – a flat-rolled processor with operations in California, New […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) has closed its January order book for flat-rolled steel – but doing so took significantly longer than in past months. “We will contact you when we open the flat rolled order book for February 2022,” the Fontana, Calif.-based slab converted said in a letter to customers on Monday, Dec. 13. The company […]
Nucor has acquired a majority stake in California Steel Industries (CSI) for approximately $400 million in a deal that will significantly expand its presence on the West Coast. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker paid that amount for Brazilian iron ore miner Vale’s 50% stake in Fontana, Calif.-based CSI. It also acquired 1% of Japanese steelmaker’s JFE […]
On Friday, the Labor Department announced the inflation rate for November. At 0.8%, it was a tick lower than the October inflation rate of 0.9%. But most observers paid more attention to the annual rate of inflation. At 6.8% compared to prices one year ago, the inflation rate was the highest it’s been since 1982. […]
Flat-rolled steel inventories continue to rise at service centers, and steel buyers are not flocking to do their normal end-of-year deals with steel mills. Steel Market Update has not yet produced our final Service Center Inventories and Shipment report. But we have published our “Flash” report, which we provide to our data providers after collecting five […]
Flat-rolled steel inventories continue to rise at service centers, and steel buyers are not flocking to do their normal end-of-year deals with steel mills. Steel Market Update has not yet produced our final Service Center Inventories and Shipment report. But we have published our “Flash” report, which we provide to our data providers after collecting five […]
The 33rd Tampa Steel Conference will be live and in-person as we return to the Marriott Water Street Hotel in Tampa, Fla. The conference dates are Feb. 14 (networking opportunities and first day of Introduction to Hedging Workshop), Feb. 15 (golf outing, boat tour, and hedging workshop in the morning followed by the beginning of the […]
The 33rd Tampa Steel Conference will be live and in-person as we return to the Marriott Water Street Hotel in Tampa, Fla. The conference dates are Feb. 14 (networking opportunities and first day of Introduction to Hedging Workshop), Feb. 15 (golf outing, boat tour, and hedging workshop in the morning followed by the beginning of the […]
Brazilian iron ore miner Vale is in an “advanced stage of negotiations” to sell its stake in California Steel Industries (CSI), according to an investor day presentation. The presentation did not say which company Vale was in talks with. CSI is a Fontana, Calif.-based slab converter. It is also a 50-50 joint venture between Vale […]
Nucor Corp. plans to build a new, $350 million rebar “micro mill” in the South Atlantic region of the U.S. The new mill is expected to have capacity of 430,000 tons per year, the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said. “We have recently executed two successful rebar micro mill start-ups and believe the East Coast market will be in […]
Late last week both Nucor and Big River Steel notified customers of an upward revision to their galvanized steel coating extras. A letter from Nucor stated, “Consistent with our practice to monitor the cost of zinc, we have revised our galvanized coating weight extras effective with orders acknowledged for the week ending Jan. 8, 2022.” […]
Nucor and Big River Steel have joined the ranks of sheet mills announcing new coating extras for 2022. “Consistent with our practice to monitor the cost of zinc, we have revised our galvanized coating weight extras,” Charlotte, N.C.-based Nucor said in a letter to customers on Wednesday, Dec. 1. The new coating extras will be […]