Hot-rolled coil steel from Germany, China and France may soon be subjected to antidumping duties from Mexico. Mexico’s Ministry of economy has launched an investigation following a complaint by Ternium Mexico and Altos Hornos de Mexico (AHMSA) that imports of HRC from the three countries between 2011 and 2013 lowered prices and harmed Mexican producers. […]
On Monday, Nucor announced their intention to acquire Gallatin Steel and its approximately 1.8 million tons of hot rolling capacity. Today, AK Steel and Steel Dynamics (SDI) completed the purchase of the Severstal North America assets. The biggest pieces of the Severstal deal are the Dearborn steel mill, which went to AK Steel, and the Columbus […]
On Monday, Nucor announced their intention to acquire Gallatin Steel and its approximately 1.8 million tons of hot rolling capacity. On Tuesday, AK Steel and Steel Dynamics (SDI) completed the purchase of the Severstal North America assets. The biggest pieces of the Severstal deal are the Dearborn steel mill, which went to AK Steel, and the […]
Iron ore smuggling has become a concern of the Mexican government with the diversification of the Knights Templar drug cartel into mining operations in the western state of Michoacán. Mexican authorities have seized nearly 200,000 tons of illegally mined and shipped iron ore headed for China so far this year. Last week a ship was […]
Latin American steelmaker, Ternium, turned in a positive quarter with net sales up 2 percent to $2.149 from fourth quarter and 1 percent from Q1 2013. Net income was $188.2 million compared to $174.7 in the fourth quarter, and $164 million in Q1 2013. Ternium net steel sales increased 1% to $2,149.4 million. Operating income […]
Latin America steel producer Ternium reports net sales of $2.1 billion on 2.23 million tons of steel shipments and 994,000 tons of iron ore shipments in the fourth quarter 2013. Steel shipments were down 3 percent from third quarter but up 3.0 percent from fourth quarter 2012. Net income was $171.1 million, up from $136 […]
Majestic Steel USA, a flat-rolled steel service center located in Cleveland, Ohio, plans to expand its staff by 80 positions in 2014. The family-owned and operated company has entered into a period of what they are calling “hyper growth.” “We’re invested in the industry and looking to hire additional resources to help us take steel […]
Of the three main ways of procuring prepainted flat rolled steel described in my last article, buying from a service center is the simplest. Service Centers will quote a price that can be compared apples to apples against one other. In addition a good Service Center can consult on the correct specifications and will also […]
Latin American steel mill Ternium reported net sales of 2.14 billion on shipments of 2.3 million tons of steel and 930 thousand tons of iron ore. Steel shipments were up 4 percent from second quarter and 2 percent from third quarter 2012. Iron ore shipments were down 24 percent from second quarter but up 106 […]
It seems to be a foregone conclusion that there will be a flat rolled price increase announcement within the next few working days. Spot prices have remained firm with benchmark hot rolled averaging $665 per ton ($650-$680 range) based on our SMU index. Scrap is forecast to be up by $20 to $40 per gross […]
There has been great speculation and anticipation regarding the sale of the ThyssenKrupp Steel Americas steel mills since the parent company announced it was offering the plants for sale over one year ago. The Americas operations consist of the Calvert, Alabama facility as well as the CSA fully integrated slab mill with its two blast […]
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. and Ternium SA announced the start-up of its joint venture steel operation, Tenigal, near Monterrey City, Mexico on Sept. 18. Tenigal is part of Ternium’s Pesqueria Project, a $1.1 billion steel complex that includes a cold-rolling plant with a 1.5 million ton annual capacity. Tenigal will produce automotive […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) has received many emails from our readers as well as interested parties regarding our SMU Price Momentum Indicator which we have had at Neutral since Friday, August 23, 2013. Since that time we have seen hot rolled pricing remain in the $630-$660 per ton level (see Comparison Price Indices article below) […]
On July 22nd the Ternium Guerrero plant suffered an explosion during maintenance at the electric arc furnace (EAF) which resulted in the deaths of 11 employees. Late last week Paulo Rocca, Ternium CEO, announced the company was investing $225 million on plant safety, environmental measures, maintenance and remodeling of the Guerrero facilities. In a […]
Ternium, Tenaris and Tecpetrol will jointly build and operate a natural-gas fired combined cycle electric power plant in the Pesqueria area of the State of Neuvo Leon, Mexico. The joint venture, named Techgen, S.A. de C.V., will be owned 30 percent by Tecpetrol, 22 percent by Tenaris and 48 percent by Ternium. The power […]
The main issue driving steel prices during the month of July was supply and the constraints in supply related to production issues at the North American steel producers. U.S. Steel Lake Erie Works continued to be on lockout throughout July. The 2.5 million ton a year slab and hot rolled mill was first locked out […]
According to SMU sources combined with an article written by Jose Manuel Saavedra & Ivo Ribeiro we have discovered that CSN has not yet made a firm proposal on the assets of ThyssenKrupp Steel Americas steel mills. The Brazilian article reported that CSN is requesting an extension of time in order to conclude their negotiations […]
Question is can TK get two or more mills in a bidding war? Our sources advise SMU that the binding bids for the ThyssenKrupp Americas plants (Calvert, Alabama and CSA in Brazil) – the ones which truly count – are to be submitted by the end of this week. There are a number of prospective […]
Written by: John Packard & Sandy Williams “Clear preference for cash” ThyssenKrupp AG officials declined to talk about the Steel Americas sale during their 1st Quarter 2013 earnings conference call, but CFO Guido Kerkhoff said he can say that the company has a “clear preference for cash” and that the bidders understand that message. The […]
Written by: Sandy Williams ArcelorMittal Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico recently launched production of specialized slabs for use in pipelines that transport sour gas. Lázaro Cárdenas is known as a leading producer of high quality, value added steel. In order to increase its share of the growing market for API (American Petroleum Institute) pipes, best technological practices […]
SMU has been asked about the status of the negotiations regarding the sale of the ThyssenKrupp Steel Americas assets. This includes ThyssenKrupp Steel USA and their sister facility in Brazil which produces slabs – CSA. We understand the due diligence process continues and a number of mills have been through both facilities. Based on SMU […]