Tag: steel

Domestic steel shipments ticked up month over month (m/m) in April but were down year over year.

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices both rebounded sharply this week, according to our most recent survey data.

Movements in steel mill lead times were mixed this week, according to our latest steel buyers survey results. Service centers and manufacturers reported short to average production times, little changed from our last report.

US hot-rolled (HR) coil prices ticked down again this past week, nearly reaching parity with offshore hot band prices on a landed basis. This week, domestic HR coil tags were $730 per short ton (st) on average based on SMU’s latest check of the market on Tuesday, June 4. Domestic HR coil prices are now […]

Steel buyers found mills more willing to negotiate spot pricing this week on all products SMU tracks with the exception of Galvalume, according to our most recent survey data.

Service center group O’Neal Steel has promoted three team members to positions of regional general managers.

The suspense about the drop in ferrous scrap pricing for June has ended with Delta, Ohio-based North Star BlueScope entering the market at significantly lower numbers than most predicted.

ArcelorMittal plans to continue to invest and expand its operations in North America, a senior company executive said in an exclusive interview with SMU. “People were talking about our demise in North America or maybe our exit. And I want to emphasize that nothing could be further from the truth,” said Brad Davey, executive vice president and head of corporate development at the company.

Steel production at ArcelorMittal Mexico has been interrupted due to an “illegal protest” and blockade outside the company’s mill in Lazaro Cardenas, Mich. Some Sindicato Minero union members, dissatisfied with the profit-sharing payments they received, have been obstructing access to the mill since Friday, May 24. As a result, ArcelorMittal had to stop blast furnace […]

When you step out of the airport in Phoenix in June, the heat tends to focus your mind. I was in town to attend the Steel Manufacturers Association/Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) annual meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz. The desert locale with palm trees, swimming pools, and the obligatory high-powered air conditioning was fitting for 2024. Between the presidential election and the geopolitical situation, things have definitely been heating up.

President Joe Biden announced that the US will extend the suspension of Section 232 tariffs on steel products imported from Ukraine for another year. The Biden administration first lifted the 25% Section 232 tariffs on steel imports from Ukraine after the breakout of war with Russia in 2022. The initial waiver was good for one […]

U.S. Steel Chief Commercial Officer Kenneth Jaycox has decided to leave the company, a company spokeswoman confirmed on Tuesday. Jaycox will transition his responsibilities to Jim Bruno from now through the end of June. Effective July 1, Bruno will be in charge of the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker’s commercial operations, she said. Bruno, who joined U.S. Steel […]

Raw steel production in the US moved higher for a fifth straight week, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported on Monday. AISI said US mills, operating at 78.5% of capabilities, produced an estimated 1,743,000 short tons (st) of raw steel in the week ended June 1. This was a 0.5% rise from the […]

Nucor will increase galvanized and galvannealed coating extras effective July 6, 2024.

US manufacturing activity contracted in May for the second month in a row, according to the latest report from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). After a brief expansion in March, ISM’s manufacturing index has since returned to contraction, where the manufacturing sector has been for 18 of the last 19 months. The ISM Manufacturing […]

The Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) has named Brandon Farris as vice president of government affairs

Nucor Corp. is adding another commercial door manufacturer to its growing portfolio of downstream companies. Charlotte, N.C.-based Nucor announced on Monday that it has agreed to purchase Rytec Corp. for $565 million in cash. Rytec produces high-speed, high-performance commercial doors at its two Wisconsin manufacturing facilities. The company’s rolling doors are used in warehouses, manufacturing […]

Nucor said on Monday that it would keep its weekly hot-rolled (HR) coil price flat this week. In a letter to customers, the company said its consumer spot price (CSP) for the week of June 3 will remain $780 per short ton (st). The sideways move comes after two consecutive weeks of a $10/st increases […]

There seems to be more question than usual about which way prices will go over the next few weeks. There is talk in some corners that Nucor’s announced $760 per short ton (st) for HR through mid-May, and subsequent increases marked a public attempt to call a price bottom. (Our price announcement calendar here is […]

As the US slides further into protectionism as the solution for our trade problems, a solution that will put us in a position to succeed in the growing economic battle with China is yet to be discovered. The tariffs on China, which President Biden doubled down on, are not working—at least if the goal to out-compete China and other growing economies. China is not our only problem. But it is our No. 1 challenge right now, in geopolitics, potential hostilities, and economics. EVs are a sign of this challenge.

A roundup of aluminum news from CRU.

Economic growth was modest, at best, from April through early May in most economic districts observed by the Federal Reserve.

We’re just a few months away from SMU’s Steel Summit 2024 – North America’s premier flat-rolled steel conference.

Hot-rolled coil prices are known for their volatility. There are a variety of hedging strategies industry players have used to manage it, one of them being the use of HRC futures. However, some have been hesitant to dip in their toe, and their money, in futures and have preferred other approaches.

Offshore cold-rolled (CR) coil prices remain significantly cheaper than domestic product. That remains the cause even as US CR coil prices continued to tick lower. All told, US CR prices are now 17.6% more expensive than imports. While still high, that premium is down from 19.4% last week and down from 31.5% in early January.

S drill rig activity held steady last week, remaining near two-year lows according to the latest update from Baker Hughes

A strike outside the ArcelorMittal Mexico plant in Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacán, is threatening to impact blast furnace operations at the mill.

Steel sheet prices across most regions of the world were little changed this week. European buyers remain cautious regarding their outlook towards end-use demand and largely remained out of the market. A similar trend was seen across Asia, although skepticism on real estate stimulus measures in China led to w/w price falls. In the US, […]

Week over week, the futures curve saw minimal change.

We have highlighted a few significant moment in steel history in our last few Final Thoughts crosswords. This week we decided to dedicate the entire crossword to history.