Tag: steel

Former President Donald Trump discussed, if re-elected, placing a 60%-or-more tariff on all Chinese imports in an interview with Fox News on Sunday.

Domestic production of raw steel recovered a bit last week, according to the most recent data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The result was the first increase in roughly a month.

The head of SSAB Americas talked the company's commitment to Swedish parent SSAB’s mission statement of sustainability at the Tampa Steel Conference 2024.

While President Biden may have its back, the United Steelworkers (USW) union remains concerned about the proposed sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel Corp. (NSC).

SMU’s latest survey results make it clear that the sheet market has hit an inflection point and headed lower. But while some market participants think that sheet prices might bottom within the next month or so, others expect a more protracted downturn.

I participated in the 35th annual Tampa Steel Conference last week, a conclave of steel producers, consumers, traders, logisticians, and (a few) trade lawyers. I participated in a panel discussion concerning challenges in managing supply chains in these troubled times. Things appear to be heading in the wrong direction in this field. Supply chains were shown to be vulnerable to pandemics in 2020 and 2021, and, in 2022 and 2023, to regional conflicts and weather slowing or stopping the free movement of goods through trade bottlenecks (the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal, the Bosporus, etc.)

Rig counts in the US and Canada were mixed, with US totals slipping and Canadian counts moving higher week on week (w/w) for the week ended Feb. 2, Baker Hughes’ latest data shows.

Just like doing business in any part of the steel supply chain, there are risks and unknowns in trading steel. But trading companies play an important part, helping businesses navigate the risks and unknowns as they pop up.

Timna Tanners, managing director of equity research at Wolfe Research, will be the featured speaker on our next SMU Community Chat on Feb. 7.

The Department of Commerce has adjusted the countervailing duty (CVD) rates on imports of corrosion-resistant (galvanized/Galvalume) steel from South Korea after an administrative review.

Speaking during a fireside chat at the Tampa Steel Conference on Monday, Jan. 29, Hybar CEO David Stickler provided a status update on the company’s new rebar mill project and its plans for the future, including the possibility of a flat-rolled steel mill.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. announced on Feb. 2 that it has acquired Tifton, Ga.-based Cooksey Iron & Metal Co.

Three of Japan’s major banks have agreed to lend Nippon Steel a combined $16 billion for its $14.1-billion planned acquisition of United States Steel, provided the acquisition is completed, the Japanese steelmaker said.

SMU’s Current Steel Buyers Sentiment Index edged down this week, while the Future Sentiment Index remained flat, according to our most recent survey data.

Much has happened since we last met on Jan. 4. Cleveland-Cliffs announced a price increase on Jan. 3, lifting the futures market in the morning only for it to finish the day $20-$30 per short ton (st) below those morning highs. On Jan. 4, the futures curve was down another $10-$28/st. And in my column for SMU that evening, I asked a question: Would those aggressive sellers be met with a short-squeeze forcing them to cover, or had the market peaked with the negative price action to start the year the proverbial canary in the coal mine?

I thought Nippon Steel’s $14.1-billion deal for U.S. Steel might become a political football in this year’s presidential election. Now there is little doubt that it will after Trump told reporters in Washington, D.C., earlier this week that he would “absolutely” block the transaction – and that he would do so “instantaneously.”

U.S. Steel swung to a loss in Q4'23 in its first quarterly earnings since the announced sale to Japan's Nippon Steel.

Steel mill lead times for sheet products saw substantial declines over the past two weeks, while production times for plate held steady during the month of January.

Norfolk Iron & Metal is installing a new Butech Bliss temper mill cut-to-length line at its Port of Catoosa processing facility near Tulsa, Okla.

A weaker steel market and lower prices in Europe dragged down SSAB’s earnings during the last three months of 2023.

Steel buyers said mills were much more willing to negotiate spot pricing this week on all products SMU surveys, according to our most recent survey data.

If reelected in the November presidential election, Donald Trump said he would block the sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. (NSC).

The pig iron market has risen in recent months from the high $390s per metric ton (mt) last fall to $490/mt for Brazilian material and a bit more for Ukrainian product - for an overall average of $495/mt CFR.

US hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices law little movement this week, a similar trend seen in offshore markets. Thus, the price premium domestic hot band carries over imported products was largely unchanged vs. the prior week.

The sun decided to greet us on the second day of the Tampa Steel Conference 2024. Attendees from the chillier northern parts of the continent got their dose of winter sunshine. But whatever the temps, it was inside the conference room where things really heated up. January is always a time to make sense of the year that’s just passed, and look out for the trends for the year ahead.

Nucor is optimistic about long-term activity from bridges and highways, semiconductor chip plants and renewable energy, but still sees some short-term challenges. The North Carolina-headquartered steelmaker expects the federal programs that support these megatrends “to add somewhere between 5 million to 8 million tons of incremental annual demand for steel over the next several years,” […]

Algoma Steel is currently navigating a challenge as it deals with an unplanned outage at its blast furnace, but the company’s CEO is still bullish on its future as an EAF steelmaker.

Thyssenkrupp Materials de México is opening a new service center in San Luis Potosí.

Cleveland Cliffs executives didn’t mince words when opening its Q4’23 earnings call.

With rising steelmaking capacity and relatively flat demand, industry analysts are predicting lower prices for sheet products this year.