Producer prices rose at a slightly higher rate in October, according to data released by the Labor Department. Supply-chain bottlenecks and shortages continue to drive manufacturing and shipping costs, keeping the historic climb for the index and subcategories for final demand moving up. Since falling in early 2020, the composite Producer Price Index (PPI) of […]
Mill executives have been front and center over the past couple weeks during their earnings calls and the annual gathering of AISI and SMA members in Washington. Below is a sampling of some of their more notable remarks: • Just because the U.S. and EU managed to negotiate a quota to replace the controversial Section […]
The Chicago Business Barometer increased to 68.4 in October, according to MNI Indicators, following two consecutive months of decline. This is the fourth highest PMI level recorded in the last 10 years, following the May, July, and April 2021 highs. The October PMI is up 3.7 points from the month prior. MNI reports that order backlogs recovered more than […]
Evraz steel sales dropped in the third quarter as a strong showing from its North American operations only partially offset weaker demand as well as logistics and maintenance issues in Russia. The sales drop in Russia resulted in part from a slowdown in the local construction market. It also stemmed from bad weather and difficulty […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.’s earnings skyrocketed higher in the third quarter, and the steelmaker predicted that higher priced contract deals would protect it from any slip in spot prices in future quarters. The Cleveland-based steelmaker recorded net income of $1.28 billion in the third quarter of 2021, up from a mere $2 million in the same quarter […]
Steel Dynamics’ President and CEO Mark Millett expects “transformational change” from SDI’s new electric arc furnace mill nearing completion in Sinton, Texas. “We are not simply adding flat rolled steel production capacity. We have a differentiated product offering, a unique regional supply chain solution, a significant geographic lead time advantage and offer a sustainable alternative […]
Producer prices posted the smallest advance year-to-date in September, according to data released by the Labor Department. Despite supply chain snarls and shortages that have driven up manufacturing and shipping costs, the negligible expansion kept the historic climb for the index and subcategories for final demand going. Since the fall in early 2020, the composite […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Steel sheet price declines continue in the USA and Europe as lead times shorten further and inventories build. In the former market, small transactions are occurring at levels above $1,900 /s.ton, but there are many more deals occurring at well below this level. As […]
A BP joint venture has brought $285 million in private money to the table to fund Evraz North America’s goal of creating the first steel mill to run almost entirely on solar energy. Officially known as Bighorn Solar, the project will provide energy infrastructure for the Chicago-based steelmaker’s electric arc furnace (EAF) mill in Pueblo, […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has agreed to acquire Midwestern scrap recycler Ferrous Processing and Trading Co. (FPT) for $775 million. The deal means the Cleveland-based steelmaker has secured its own reserves of prime scrap, which Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves has previously characterized as a “precious metal.” FPT recorded earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has agreed to acquire Midwestern scrap recycler Ferrous Processing and Trading Co. (FPT) for $775 million. The deal means the Cleveland-based steelmaker has secured its own reserves of prime scrap, which Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves has previously characterized as a “precious metal.” FPT recorded earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization […]
L.B. Foster Company has completed the sale of its piling products division to JD Fields & Co. Inc. for $24 million. The business unit had $43 million in sales for the first six months of 2021 and $59 million in 2020. The deal, which concluded on Friday, Sept. 24., included inventory plus steel yards in […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is please to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Producer prices expanded further in August, albeit at a slower rate. The gains continued, however, maintaining the historic climb for the index and subcategories for final demand, which have […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) forecasts a new quarterly record in the third quarter of 2021 when it comes to steel operations’ profitability, according to guidance issued Wednesday. The gains versus second-quarter results come thanks to strong steel demand and significant metal spread expansion, the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaker said. “Third-quarter 2021 steel shipments are expected to be […]
A new North American railway network may soon become reality after a months-long saga. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP) and Kansas City Southern (KCS) initially agreed to a merger agreement in March that would establish the first railway network spanning Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. The deal was put on hold, however, after Canadian National Railway […]
By CRU Aluminum Advisor Greg Wittbecker Steel and aluminum are vigorous competitors, but share a common plight, supply chain woes. Just-in-time manufacturing, lean manufacturing, vendor-managed inventory…we all know the buzzwords that have shaped the way both the aluminum and steel supply chains have operated for several decades. Since the Global Financial Crisis, the primary aluminum market […]
The first rule of predicting steel prices in 2021 is you don’t predict steel prices. I broke that rule last month when I called a peak. I still think I was right about that. But timing is everything. And when exactly we hit that peak remains a matter of debate. Some market participants think we’re […]
Here’s the Steel Summit program for Wednesday, Aug. 25, at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta: 7 a.m. – Doors open at GICC. All day beverage sponsored by Felux and pastries sponsored by Ratner Steel 8:20-8:30 a.m. – Opening Remarks by SMU President and CEO John Packard 8:30-9:30 a.m. – Steel […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with our Executive members. For information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Producer prices accelerated into midsummer, showing no signs of slowing down. The index and subcategories for final demand have fully recovered from the COVID-driven collapse and have overtaken pre-pandemic […]
The Senate passed a sweeping infrastructure bill on Tuesday – the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – that calls for a nearly $1 trillion federal investment in roads, bridges, rail, the electrical grid and broadband. Steel is chief among the industries that stand to benefit from this new spending over the next decade if the […]
Lapham-Hickey Steel Corp. has acquired Rebel Steel, a service center specializing in slitting of cold-rolled and coated steels based in Nashville, Tenn. “The acquisition of Rebel Steel is an exciting addition to our existing footprint. Having brick and mortar with rail access in the Nashville area will allow us to competitively service the Tennessee and […]
The U.S. Senate passed the $1 trillion infrastructure bill. The bill includes $550 billion in new spending. The bill calls for $110 billion for roads, bridges and major infrastructure projects. It also includes $40 billion for bridge repair and replacement, $39 billion to modernize public transit, $66 billion for passenger and freight rail, $65 billion to […]
Just because all major U.S.-based steel mills have reported quarterly results doesn’t mean that earnings season is over. Results from mills based abroad are coming in. And those of you still paying attention to earnings might have noticed a change in tone between when Steel Dynamics kicked things off on July 19 and when Evraz […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Analysis The $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill promises to deliver about $550 million in actual new investment. The breakdown of that investment looks as follow. Aluminum and steel have superior sustainability advantages and should exploit them. Clearly, the steel industry is cheering the passage as much as the aluminum industry. Both […]
Steel prices can’t go up forever and could correct downward from their historic highs later this year, steelmaker Evraz said. “Steel prices look unsustainable at current levels and there is a possibility of a gradual price decline in the coming months,” the company said in outlook commentary released with earnings data on Thursday, Aug. 5. […]
There are three weeks left before the start of the 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference at 9 a.m. on Aug. 23. The amount of effort and thought being put into this one event is monumental. The pandemic, and the resistance by some Americans to being vaccinated, has provided new challenges this year as we make our […]
There are three weeks left before the start of the 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference at 9 a.m. on Aug. 22. Even so, our virtual platform opened this morning which allows registered attendees to interact with one another directly through the platform. We have 900+ registered executives from manufacturing, steel distribution, steel mills, trading companies, toll […]
In a trading update for Q2 2021, Evraz reported favorable market conditions and a 6.1% increase in sales over the first quarter. Although demand remained high in North America throughout the quarter amid a rapid economic recovery from the pandemic, fewer imports and relatively low levels of distributor inventory impacted overall sales in the region. […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. reported the best quarterly results in the company’s history with net income of $795 million on revenues of $5.0 billion in the second quarter. That’s a huge turnaround from the pandemic-plagued quarter last year when the company lost $108 million on revenues of just $1.1 billion. “In the second quarter of 2021, we […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has joined the ranks of North American steel mills planning steep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions over the next 10 years. The iron ore miner, pellet producer and flat-rolled steelmaker aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030 versus 2017 levels. The company said it would do so by using less […]