Hello from Chicago, home of our first Managing Price Risk II: Strategies & Execution workshop. We have an excellent group in attendance and the program is going well. Tomorrow (Wednesday) is day 2 when we provide an opportunity to our attendees to do simulated trading based on profiles and directives that they have to meet […]
Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) announced today guidance for Q2 ending July 5, 2014. The full press release can be viewed here. Below are key sections of the report: Nucor expects second quarter results to be in the range of $0.35 to $0.40 per diluted share. This range represents an increase from the second quarter of 2013 […]
We have two markets developing for flat rolled steel imports: hot rolled imports are expected to actually begin to shrink from here as the offers out of Russia and Turkey for hot rolled pricing are approximately $600 per ton or higher. Since most foreign steel buyers tend to be buyers of large tonnage and thus […]
According to industry sources, SSAB Americas announced a price increase on plate products as well as hot rolled coil. The price increase was referenced at $30 per ton ($1.50/cwt) and are effective immediately. Nucor and ArcelorMittal advised their customers after the SSAB announcement was made supporting the $30 per ton move. SMU learned from multiple […]
The US steel industry is contemplating challenging a trade agreement with Russia that governs imports of hot rolled steel from Russia. A suspension agreement currently exempts Russian steelmakers from antidumping duties by setting a cap and minimum price on HRC imports. According to a Reuters article on Tuesday, US steel companies say the HRC pricing […]
The US steel industry is contemplating challenging a trade agreement with Russia that governs imports of hot rolled steel from Russia. A suspension agreement currently exempts Russian steelmakers from antidumping duties by setting a cap and minimum price on HRC imports. According to a Reuters article on Tuesday, US steel companies say the hot rolled […]
ArcelorMittal has agreed to pay a $90 million settlement in an antitrust lawsuit brought in the US District Court of the Northern District of Illinois. The class action lawsuit, filed in 2008 by Standard Iron Works on behalf of direct purchasers of steel products, alleged that eight U.S. steel producers violated federal antitrust laws by […]
Andre Marshall, CEO of Crunchrisk and our Managing Price Risk I & II workshops instructor writes about the financial and futures markets, including hot rolled futures and busheling scrap futures trading over the past week. You will also be able to see Andre speak at our Steel Summit Conference in September (3 & 4) in […]
According to SMU sources, last week ArcelorMittal USA raised the minimum selling price on secondary grades of steel to approximately $500-$520 per ton ($25.00/cwt-$26.00/cwt). This has caused some concern within the industry with one fabricator who has been involved with secondary steel for the past 15 years reporting to Steel Market Update, “…I have been […]
The terms Buy America and Buy American are not interchangeable. CSI Executive VP, Finance & Administration Brett Guge explains the difference: “The longstanding historical standard for direct government procurement is “Buy American,” which requires only that the steel products used in government projects must have been “substantially transformed” in the U.S. “Buy America,” on the […]
For those of you who are paying attention to our website you might have noticed we added a new sub-menu under the Resources tab. The new menu is called “The Truth About Selling Steel” and we have attempted to split out those articles associated with sales from our Steel Buyers Basics series of articles many […]
We have had a couple of minor bugs but we hope to have registration open for the 2014 SMU Steel Summit Conference by late Monday or Tuesday of this week. The dates for the conference are September 3 & 4 and the location is the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC) which is located right next […]
It is well known that Dan DiMicco, the former CEO of Nucor Steel, has been an advocate of holding the Chinese steel mills to tougher standards. He has been opposed to imports of Chinese steel into the United States since most of the industry is government controlled and, in his opinion, unfairly traded. In light […]
Iron ore spot prices in China have been falling and may continue to decline to the lows last seen in September 2012 when prices for 62% Fe fines reached into the $80’s (currently trading at $97.5/dmt). Steel Market Update has been reviewing the relationship between iron ore and ferrous scrap prices using shredded scrap as […]
The terms Buy America and Buy American are not interchangeable. CSI Executive VP, Finance & Administration Brett Guge explains the difference: “The longstanding historical standard for direct government procurement is “Buy American,” which requires only that the steel products used in government projects must have been “substantially transformed” in the U.S. “Buy America,” on the […]
There has been a debate which goes back to the 1930’s regarding what “Buy American” means when it comes to steel products. The issue is whether those mills who do not make steel, such as NLMK USA (in their Pennsylvania plant) and California Steel Industries as well as the former ThyssenKrupp plant in Calvert, Alabama […]
Steel Market Update attended SMDI’s “Great Designs in Steel” conference on May 14. This was the 12th year of the popular GDIS conference, and it was well attended with over 1200 auto steel players. The focus of the conference was on auto light weighting through the use of advanced high strength steels (AHSS). There were […]
On Wednesday, Steel Market Update adjusted our SMU Price Momentum Indicator to Neutral from Higher. Our Price Momentum Indicator had been pointing toward Higher prices ever since March 25, 2014. Over the past seven weeks, hot rolled coil prices advanced from $630 to a high of $685 per ton based on the Steel Market Update […]
Mark Millet, president and chief executive officer of Steel Dynamics Inc. has been named “Steelmaker of the Year” by the Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST). The award is presented annually to recognize notable leaders for their impact on the steel industry. Millet also received the AIST William T. Hogan SJ Lecture Award for […]
CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Nucor Corporation announced today that Chad Utermark, Vice President and General Manager of Nucor-Yamato Steel Company, has been promoted to Executive Vice President of beam and plate products effective May 11, 2014. Joe Stratman, who has served as Executive Vice President of beam and plate products since 2007, will […]
John Correnti let loose strong criticism of the latest attempt by Nucor Steel to delay the Big River Steel project. Nucor attorney David Taggart told Osceola City council members on Tuesday that the company intends to file a lawsuit in federal court against Big River Steel under the Clean Air Act, according to a report […]
When Nucor announced their earnings on April 24th they held a conference call with analysts to discuss their business and to make statements about their company, the markets they serve and about the economy in general. John Ferriola, Nucor’s Chairman, CEO and President, provided an opening statement during which he made the following remarks regarding […]
The $156 million judgment against Nucor, Reliance Steel & Aluminum, American Alloy Steel and JSW Steel (USA) will be delayed two weeks while the defendants file a motion for a new trial in the anti-trust lawsuit brought by MM Steel LLC. Last week US District Judge Kenneth Hoyt ruled that a $52 million jury verdict […]
Mike Rippey, president and CEO of ArcelorMittal USA, has been elected Chairman of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Rippey will serve as chairman until May 2015, leading advocacy efforts on behalf of AISI and the industry to advance pro-manufacturing polices that will enhance the competitiveness of the North American steel industry. “Mike’s been a strong […]
Damages in an anti-trust lawsuit against Nucor Corp, Reliance Steel & Aluminum, American Alloy Steel, JSW Steel and one individual defendant have been tripled to a final judgment of $156 million. US District Judge Kenneth Hoyt granted MM Steel LP’s motion to treble the $52 million jury verdict, rejecting motions by the defendants to delay […]
Castrip has advised Steel Market Update that a new flat rolled mill using Castrip technology will be built in North America by an EAF mill other than Nucor. Castrip LLC has signed a license agreement to build and operate a plant utilizing a Castrip thin-strip casting process for an unnamed North American steelmaker. The facility […]
This story was one of the popular points of discussion at the recent Metals Industry Dinner held in Chicago on May 1, 2014. Castrip has advised Steel Market Update that a new flat rolled mill using Castrip technology will be built in North America by an EAF mill other than Nucor. Castrip LLC has signed […]
Flat rolled steel prices continued to rise for the 6th week (according to SMU HRC average) with the benchmark hot rolled coil price average just below $680 per ton and just a few dollars away from the $685 announced by Nucor and a number of other mills at the beginning of April. For the first […]
A large portion of the recent Nucor 1st Quarter earnings conference call with analysts was devoted to the progress of the company’s DRI (direct reduced iron) project which is called Nucor Louisiana. First Quarter 2014 was the first full quarter that the equipment was up and running. Nucor Louisiana is home to the largest single […]
With the various flat rolled indexes reporting hot rolled pricing approaching $680 per ton in the mill spot market we are quite close to the $685 announced by Nucor on April 4th and matched by a number of the domestic steel mills. The question now is will the mills attempt to move prices up to […]