We will soon pass through 500 registered executives on our way to 1,200 executives at this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference. The conference will be held at the Georgia International Convention Center located next to the Atlanta International Airport. The dates for this year’s conference are Mon.-Weds., Aug. 22-24. You can learn more about our […]
Stelco Holdings Inc. heralded record first quarter net income, but the result nonetheless marked a nearly 50% decline from fourth quarter profit levels. The Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker chalked up lower quarter-over-quarter earnings to a drop in both shipment volumes and prices. “While in the early part of the first quarter we saw deterioration in both […]
The US steel market continues to revert to where it was before the outbreak of war in Ukraine. SMU’s prices for sheet products are lower. Prices abroad are too. The latest bit of evidence: Published mill lead times. Case in point: Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) published updated lead times on Tuesday, May 3. They indicated […]
Today we are sharing the full proposed agenda for the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. As you will note there are a few programs where we are in negotiations with speakers or working on making sure the program is fresh for those who have attended our conference in the past. There are several themes we […]
Today we are sharing the full proposed agenda for the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. As you will note there are a few programs where we are in negotiations with speakers or working on making sure the program is fresh for those who have attended our conference in the past. There are several themes we […]
Steel Market Update has added Stelco CEO Alan Kestenbaum to our list of keynote speakers. He will join Cleveland-Cliffs chairman, president and CEO Lourenco Goncalves; Steel Dynamics Inc. president and CEO Mark Millett; and ITR Economics president and principal Dr. Alan Beaulieu as featured speakers at the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. Steel Summit will […]
Steel Market Update has added Stelco CEO Alan Kestenbaum to our list of keynote speakers. He will join Cleveland-Cliffs chairman, president and CEO Lourenco Goncalves; Steel Dynamics Inc. president and CEO Mark Millett; and ITR Economics president and principal Dr. Alan Beaulieu as featured speakers at the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. Steel Summit will […]
You don’t need SMU pontificating about how the Russia-Ukraine conflict marks the end of the post-WWII order. Suffice it to say the world we woke up to today is vastly different from the one we reported on in our last edition. We’re also getting used to thinking about things we haven’t had to think about […]
Stelco Holdings Inc. posted record annual results in 2021 but warned – unlike other North American steelmakers – that the good times would not roll into this year. “We certainly benefited from exceptional price levels for much of the year,” Stelco Executive Chairman and CEO Alan Kestenbaum said. “In 2022, however, we expect to see […]
Algoma Steel Group Inc. said it expects its third-quarter fiscal 2022 financial results to align with its previous guidance despite lower-than-expected steel shipments for the quarter. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based steelmaker shipped roughly 550,000 net tons of steel in the third quarter of fiscal 2022 ended Dec. 30, 2021, below prior guidance of 590,000 […]
Stelco Holdings Inc. said its fourth-quarter steel shipments were negatively impacted by production challenges and unplanned outages. The Hamilton, Ontario-based steelmaker shipped roughly 625,000 net tons of steel in the fourth quarter of 2021, below prior guidance of 675,000 to 680,000 net tons. Shipments in the fourth quarter were lower than expected due to various […]
Stelco plans to enter the electric-vehicle (EV) battery recycling business with a new integrated shredding and hydrometallurgical refinery at its Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke, Ontario. The Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker said engineering studies for the new recycling operation are expected to be completed in mid-2022 with the plant anticipated to start up in 2023. The […]
Spot prices might be wobbling. But mill balance sheets are as strong as they’ve ever been – and the cash will continue to pour in as 2022 contracts reset at substantially higher numbers. Here are two opposing trends I’m keeping an eye on: (1) whether mills will use their cash hoards to expand outside of steel […]
Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker Stelco posted the highest quarterly profits in its history in the third quarter on strong demand, high prices and increased shipment volumes. And the Hamilton, Ontario-based company predicted that the momentum would roll into the fourth quarter too. “Once again, our business has demonstrated our ability to take full advantage of strong market conditions […]
Steel and metals companies need to up their cybersecurity game as digital thieves increasingly shift their focus from sophisticated data breaches to high-volume ransomware attacks. And doing so isn’t just the right thing to do, it might soon be required for insurance purposes and to qualify for Defense Department work, said Mike Del Giudice, principal […]
Steel prices will go higher and stay stronger, predicted company executives during Stelco’s second-quarter 2021 earnings call on Wednesday. The Hamilton, Ontario-based flat-rolled steelmaker was rather bullish on the prospect of steel prices and their general direction through 2022 and beyond. As the company claimed “industry-leading profit margins” and record-setting quarterly results due to a favorable pricing […]
Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker Stelco announced “industry-leading profit margins” and record-setting quarterly results for the second straight quarter in Q2 2021. The integrated steelmaker’s second-quarter adjusted net income was $380 million Canadian ($303.5 million U.S.) versus C$10 million ($7.99 million) in the year-ago quarter on revenue that soared 123% to C$918 million ($733.2 million). “We are […]
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 […]
One of two United Steelworkers (USW) locals at Algoma Steel is opposed to the Ontario mill’s proposed switch from integrated steelmaking to electric arc furnace (EAF) production. USW Local 2251 President Mike DaPrat went so far as to boycott an event at the mill – attended by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – to announce government-funding […]
To those of you in the United States, welcome back from the Fourth of July Holiday. For those of you in Canada, Mexico and elsewhere, thank you for bearing with us as we took our last holiday prior to our conference at the end of August (23-25). Square Peg in a Round Hole? As we move […]
Square Peg in a Round Hole? As we move about speaking to steel buyers, I get the impression they want to live by the rules of the market that have been in place for most of the last 30+ years. Flat rolled and plate steel buyers believe world steel prices will ultimately impact U.S. steel […]
The 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference is seven weeks away and the SMU and CRU events teams are fully focused on making this year’s event one to remember. As always, the place to be on Aug. 23-25 will be the Georgia International Convention Center, which is located right next to the Atlanta International Airport (ATL). […]
The 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference is seven weeks away and the SMU and CRU events teams are fully focused on making this year’s event one to remember. As always, the place to be on Aug. 23-25 will be the Georgia International Convention Center, which is located right next to the Atlanta International Airport (ATL). […]
SMU’s Community Chat webinar with Bank of America metals and mining analyst Timna Tanners last week was our second-best attended ever. Barry Zekelman, executive chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, still holds the title. But Tanners gave him a run for his money. We received more questions during the webinar than we were able to […]
Canadian steel producer Stelco is getting into the electric vehicle battery recycling business. The company announced it will enter into a joint venture with Primobious to build a facility in North America that will recover and recycle materials from EV batteries. Primobious is a 50-50 joint venture of Neometals Ltd and SMS Group, formed to […]
ArcelorMittal Mexico plans to start up its new hot strip mill in Lázaro Cárdenas in Mexico’s Michoacán state in the fourth quarter of this year, a company spokeswoman said. The hot strip mill cost $1 billion and is expected to have annual capacity of 2.75 million tons per year (tpy), according to an ArcelorMittal press […]
Canadian steel producer Stelco is seeing the impact of its upgraded smart blast furnace, reporting production records and higher profit in the first quarter due to higher steel prices and increased value-added shipments of cold rolled and coated products. Compared to the previous quarter, revenue increased 57%, shipments jumped 38% and operating income soared a whopping […]
Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker Stelco swung to a profit in the first quarter and expects high steel prices and sales volumes to galvanize results for the balance of the year. “All signs point to continued robust demand and strong pricing in the near term,” Stelco Executive Chairman and CEO Alan Kestenbaum said in a statement released […]
In the famous words of Isaac Newton, “what goes up must come down.” While he was not referring to steel prices per se, the sentiment still holds true. Steel tags can’t stay at record highs indefinitely. Supply will eventually catch up with demand. What happens then? Will prices see a sharp correction or a gradual […]
In the famous words of Isaac Newton, “what goes up must come down.” While he was not referring to steel prices per se, the sentiment still holds true. Steel tags can’t stay at record highs indefinitely. Supply will eventually catch up with demand. What happens then? Will prices see a sharp correction or a gradual […]