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 […]
Stelco management presented an optimistic outlook for the Canadian mill in 2021. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 79 percent from the third quarter to CAD $424 million on higher steel pricing and increased volume. Shipments rose 46 percent sequentially to 489,000 net tons. Shipments are expected to jump another 35 percent in the first quarter of 2021. Stelco […]
Stelco management presented an optimistic outlook for the Canadian mill in 2021. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 79 percent from the third quarter to CAD $424 million on higher steel pricing and increased volume. Shipments rose 46 percent sequentially to 489,000 net tons. Shipments are expected to jump another 35 percent in the first quarter of 2021. Stelco […]
Rio Tinto, Paul Wurth SA and SHS Stahl Holding Saar are exploring a potential hydrogen-based hot-briquetted iron (HBI) operation in Canada. The Anglo-Australian miner, the equipment manufacturer and the German steelmaker have already inked a memorandum of understanding. They will now conduct a feasibility study about an “industrial-scale” low-carbon iron production plant, according to a […]
Nucor is investing to grow in capability not capacity, said Nucor President and CEO Leon Topalian in remarks Tuesday during the virtual Tampa Steel Conference, co-hosted by Steel Market Update. “It’s not about tons and volume, but about servicing customers’ long-term needs,” he said. One growing customer segment for Nucor is the auto industry. Nucor […]
Nucor is investing to grow in capability not capacity, said Nucor President and CEO Leon Topalian in remarks Tuesday during the virtual Tampa Steel Conference, co-hosted by Steel Market Update. “It’s not about tons and volume, but about servicing customers’ long-term needs,” he said. One growing customer segment for Nucor is the auto industry. Nucor […]
It might be T-shirt weather before steel buyers in Canada have access to spot tons of sheet and plate, according to market participants. The three main Canadian sheet suppliers–Algoma, Stelco and ArcelorMittal Dofasco–are largely sold out through May and are in some cases out as far as June. And when it comes to plate, Canada’s […]
It might be T-shirt weather before steel buyers in Canada have access to spot tons of sheet and plate, according to market participants. The three main Canadian sheet suppliers–Algoma, Stelco and ArcelorMittal Dofasco–are largely sold out through May and are in some cases out as far as June. And when it comes to plate, Canada’s […]
Stronger longer than many anticipated…. An interesting comment from a couple of service centers today, one in the South and another in the Midwest. These two companies agree that the last $100 to $150 per ton in price increases are from panicked buyers. Once those panic buyers are removed from the market…then what? I have […]
As lower-emission electric arc furnace (EAF) mills become the predominant steelmaking method in the United States and other parts of the world, demand for pig iron, used to dilute the inclusions in melted scrap, will only grow. This trend has fueled speculation that integrated producers in the U.S. may repurpose idled blast furnaces for commercial […]
“What a difference a quarter can make,” exclaimed U.S. Steel President and CEO David Burritt during the opening of the fourth-quarter 2020 earnings call. The company posted positive net earnings of $49 million following a net loss of $234 million in the third quarter and a net loss of $688 million in Q4 2019. Net […]
Canadian steelmaker Stelco has successfully commissioned its new pig iron caster at Lake Erie Works. The new caster has the capability to produce one million tons of pig iron per year and will offer an alternative to scrap for EAFs and Stelco’s own recently upgraded blast furnace. Pig iron is expected to be an attractive […]
Update on Tampa Steel Conference registrations: We are moving past 250 registered attendees for the Feb. 2 virtual conference. We fully anticipate the 32nd annual Tampa Steel Conference will attract 350-400+ attendees from manufacturing, distribution, steel mills, trading companies, logistics companies, ship lines, port facilities, toll processors and suppliers to those industries. You can learn more about the […]
As we enter the New Year registrations are starting to accelerate for the 32nd annual Tampa Steel Conference which will be held virtually on February 2nd of this year. We currently have 150 registrations, and we expect 300-500 attendees once the conference opens. Here are the companies registered. Those with an asterisk (*) next to […]
As we enter the New Year, registrations are starting to accelerate for the 32nd annual Tampa Steel Conference to be held virtually on Feb. 2. We currently have close to 200 registrations, and we expect 400-500 attendees once the conference opens. Here are the companies registered. Those with an asterisk (*) next to their name means they […]
Let’s play “fun facts.” Last week Steel Market Update published our average hot rolled spot price as $885 per ton ($44.25/cwt). With the domestic steel mills asking $900-$960 per ton for new orders of spot (if they are offering at all, which is a separate issue all by itself) SMU expects HRC spot prices to […]
Let’s play “fun facts.” Last week Steel Market Update published our average hot rolled steel spot price as $885 per ton ($44.25/cwt). With the domestic steel mills asking $900-$960 per ton for new orders of spot (if they are offering at all, which is a separate issue all by itself) SMU expects HRC spot prices […]
Steel supplies are so tight these days that $1,000 hot rolled is not out of the question. Which makes predictions of a coming “Steelmageddon” seem that much harder to believe. In fact, 60 percent of the service center and manufacturing executives who responded to Steel Market Update’s questionnaire this week do not view Steelmageddon as […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor U.S. Steel announced the full buyout of Big River Steel this week, while Cleveland-Cliffs closed on its acquisition of ArcelorMittal’s U.S. assets. In any other week, these headlines would drive the news flow for steel buyers and sellers. However, news this week remains […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. David has over 20 years of trading experience in financial markets and has been active in the ferrous futures space for over eight years. You can learn more at www.thefeldstein.com or add him on twitter @TheFeldstein and on Instragram at #thefeldstein. It now […]
Yesterday (Wednesday, Dec. 2) we hosted one of our SMU Community Chat Webinars. The guest speaker was Josh Spoores, Principal Analyst and editor of the Sheet Monitor for CRU. I thought it was one of the best presentations and discussions we have ever had at one of our webinars. You can see a recording and […]
The thought of a possible steel shortage gained new ground this past week as news of spreading coronavirus infections at ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor, the breakout at the No. 2 caster at Dofasco, the slow return of production at Stelco due to a hack of their computer systems, and the continued strike at the NLMK USA […]
Canadian steel producer Stelco has completed the blast furnace reline and modernization at Lake Erie Works and is “ready to roll.” Chairman and CEO Alan Kestenbaum said the project was on time and under budget and will be North America’s first truly “smart” blast furnace. The modernization boosts the mill’s production capacity by 300,000 net tons […]
The SMU Steel Price Momentum Indicators on all flat rolled and plate steel products are currently pointing toward higher prices over the next 30 days. We expect hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume and steel plate pricing to increase during the coming weeks. The two major reasons for our position are the limitations of supply […]
By CRU Analyst Estelle Tran, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service The U.S. market is at a unique point where steel buyers could be convinced to buy imports because of extreme supply tightness. With about 7Mt of blast furnace capacity remaining idled in the U.S. and Canada, sheet mills in operation are effectively running at […]
For those of us who live in the United States, today should be one where we recognize we have expressed our opinions about politics and politicians with our vote. We recognize the strength of our democracy is rooted in the belief that we are all Americans no matter our political ilk. To believe otherwise only […]
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Election Day – Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. If you have a mail-in ballot, it is now too late to put in the mail. You will need to personally drop the ballot off at a collection box. If you can vote early, I would highly recommend it (I voted last week in […]
A cybersecurity attack at Canadian steel producer Stelco is a reminder to all in the steel industry to secure and protect their data and operations. Stelco announced Monday that it was the victim of a criminal attack on its information systems. Immediate countermeasures were implemented that limited the scope of the attack, but certain operations, […]
Canadian steel producer Stelco has completed the upgrade and reline of the blast furnace at Lake Erie Works and has commenced production. The upgrade will improve quality and increase metal production by up to 300,000 net tons per year and reduce costs to produce steel coils by CAD $30 ($22.84 U.S.) per ton. “We are […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Market Outlook In less than a year Cleveland-Cliffs has transformed themselves from a Great Lakes-based iron ore miner to the largest fully integrated flat rolled steel producer in the USA. Cliffs has done this by acquiring AK Steel earlier this year and now they […]