I am writing these Final Thoughts from an exhibition hall at Tampa Marriot Water Street hotel, where we just wrapped up the Tampa Steel Conference. The table I’m writing from is about to be taken down and packed up, and I have to get to the airport soon – so forgive me for what tonight […]
US Steel restarted the No. 3 blast furnace at its Mon Valley Works in western Pennsylvania because of stronger demand, company executives said. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker intends to keep the No. 8 blast furnace at its Gary Works in northwest Indiana temporarily idled “for now,” chief financial officer Jessica Graziano said. “We’re watching the order […]
US Steel posted a drop in fourth-quarter 2022 profits partly attributable to lower flat-rolled steel shipment volumes and selling prices. But the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker nonetheless recorded the second-best annual profit in its history. “We are well-positioned for 2023. Our record cash and liquidity support a balanced capital allocation approach,” US president and CEO David Burritt […]
US Steel Corp. has completed the foundation, along with the first placement of structural steel, at its direct-reduced (DR)-grade pellet production facility in Keewatin, Minn. Completion of the $150-million Keetac project is expected later this year, with first pellets produced in 2024, the company said. US Steel broke ground on the facility in Q3 2022, as […]
We’re less than two weeks away from the Tampa Steel Conference. It’s not too late to register, but you should do it ASAP. The event will be at the Tampa Marriott Water Street hotel on Sunday-Tuesday Feb. 5-7. Approximately 445 people have already registered, which is more than total attendance last year. New companies are being added […]
US apparent steel supply dropped 6% in November to 8 million net tons compared to the previous month, according to data from the US Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Apparent steel supply is determined by combining domestic steel mill shipments and finished US steel imports, then deducting total US […]
US Steel is running all three blast furnaces at its steel mill in Košice, Slovakia, company spokespeople said. “I can confirm that all three blast furnaces have been in operation since the start of this week,” one said in an email to SMU. The Slovakian subsidiary of the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker restarted the No. 1 furnace in […]
US steel export volumes remained relatively flat in November compared to October, according to the latest US Commerce Department data. November’s exports total stood at 697,447 tons vs. 697,399 tons the previous month. October remains the lowest volume export month for 2022. In comparison to recent years, export levels had remained high for the majority of 2022. Of our six monitored […]
We’re less than two weeks away from the Tampa Steel Conference. It’s not too late to register, but you should do it ASAP. The event will be at the Tampa Marriott Water Street hotel on Sunday-Tuesday Feb. 5-7. Approximately 430 people have already registered, which is more than total attendace last year. We expect that number to […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and the United Steelworkers (USW) union have filed a trade case targeting imports of tin mill products from eight countries. The Cleveland-based steelmaker said the petition seeks antidumping duties against imports of tin- and chromium-coated sheet steel from Canada, China, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The case […]
The Great Lakes Clean Hydrogen Coalition (GLCH), which includes steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs, has been given green light to proceed with its full hydrogen hub application. GLCH has proposed to develop low-carbon hydrogen via electrolysis at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio, the coalition said. Hydrogen would then be distributed across the Great Lakes region by pipeline and […]
US Steel is increasing the warranty policy on Galvalume-coated coils. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker said it is doubling the standard limited warranty policy for Galvalume-coated coils used in nonresidential and residential building construction. The new warranties will range from 40-60 years vs. 20-25 years for existing warranties, the company said in a statement. “At US […]
As new capacity continues to come online, there’s a question of what that means for existing capacity. Will the market be flooded with too much supply and not enough demand? North American flat-rolled capacity has been growing and is expected to continue to into 2025. But Philip K. Bell, president of the Steel Manufacturer’s Association (SMA), […]
Nucor plans to increase base prices for all new orders of steel sheet by $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt). The price hike is effective immediately, the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Monday, Jan. 9. “We reserve the right to review and re-quote any offers that are not confirmed with […]
US Steel has announced the appointment of two new senior vice presidents. Christian Gianni has been named senior vice president and chief technology officer, and John Gordon has been named senior vice president of raw materials and sustainable resources. Gianni comes to US Steel from Deka Research and Development Corp., where he served as the executive […]
This is the final Final Thoughts of 2022. We made it! This time last year I was talking to customers about processing orders. This year I’m writing about market tends. So things are a bit different. But I still notice the steel industry’s typical holiday lull. This week we saw that consumer confidence increased, the USW […]
US Steel Corp. and the United Steelworkers (USW) union announced on Tuesday they have agreed to a new labor pact after USW members ratified the terms of a new, four-year collective agreement. The USW-represented employees — roughly 11,0000 across 13 US Steel flat-rolled, iron ore mining, and tubular operations — voted “overwhelmingly” in favor of […]
US Steel said sourcing pig iron from its Gary Works in Indiana in the first half of 2023, and working through the remainder of the high-priced raw materials, are expected to improve its mini mill segment’s financial results. However, in guidance released Thursday, Dec. 15, the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker said the mini mill segment’s adjusted earnings […]
We’re nearing the end of 2022, which means it’s time to register for the Tampa Steel Conference as you make your travel plans for 2023. The event will be at the Tampa Marriott Water Street hotel again this year. Mark your calendar for Sunday-Tuesday Feb. 5-7. Nearly 200 of you have registered already. We’re on track […]
We’re nearing the end of 2022, which means it’s time to register for the Tampa Steel Conference as you make your travel plans for 2023. The event will be at the Tampa Marriott Water Street hotel again this year. Mark your calendar for Sunday-Tuesday Feb. 5-7. Nearly 200 of you have registered already. We’re on track […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor Michael D’Angelo is a researcher and trader at Marex. In his role, Mike performs fundamental and quantitative analysis, which directly leads to actionable trading/risk management strategies across the base, precious, and ferrous metals derivative spaces. Prior to joining Marex, Mike received a BA in economics with a minor in finance from […]
Domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) continues to hold a competitive price advantage over imported steel, though that advantage is slightly easing, according to our latest analysis. US HRC is theoretically 3–13% cheaper than foreign prices this week, after consideration of freight costs, trader margins, and any applicable tariffs. This is the seventh consecutive week domestic prices […]
US apparent steel supply ticked up 3% in October to 8.5 million net tons, according to data from the US Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Recall that apparent supply had fallen to a 19-month low in September—so while levels increased in October, it represents the third-lowest figure recorded in […]
US Steel said hot commissioning is underway, and the first small batch of pig iron was cast at its Gary Works in northwest Indiana. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker said it has cast several full ladles of hot iron and produced over 1,000 tons of pig iron. This occurred months ahead of schedule, while maintaining a perfect […]
North America could be a bright spot in the global steel industry in a mostly gloomy outlook for 2023, according to a report from Fitch Ratings. The report said that in some markets, “including North America, India, Turkey and Brazil, sentiment remains more positive than our mid-cycle assumptions.” Reasons cited included benefits from protectionist trade […]
US steel export volumes eased further from September to October, falling 4% to 697,000 net tons, according to the latest US Commerce Department data. Exports are now at a nine-month low, with October being the third slowest month of trade over the past 20 months. Exports have trended downwards since peaking in March and April of this […]
The Biden administration sent a proposition to the European Union (EU) Dec. 7 for a potential trade alliance between nations that use lower carbon emissions to produce metals. In October 2021 the US lifted the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the EU, which was replaced by the tariff rate quota (TRQ) […]
Domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) continues to hold a competitive price advantage over imported steel, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic price analysis. US HRC is approximately 6–15% cheaper than foreign prices this week, after consideration of freight costs, trader margins, and any applicable tariffs. This is the sixth consecutive week US prices […]
Nucor Corp. has partnered with Boulder, Colo.-based startup Electra to develop “carbon-free” iron. The goal is to further reduce greenhouse gas emission in Nucor’s steelmaking operations. “Just as Nucor changed the face of the steel industry 53 years ago with our first electric arc furnace, successfully developing and scaling up a zero-carbon iron product is the […]
US Steel has idled a second blast furnace at its Košice steelworks in Slovakia. The No. 1 BF at Košice has been temporarily idled as of Dec. 2 “as a result of very high energy prices, low market demand and surging imports,” a US Steel spokeswoman confirmed to SMU in an email Tuesday, Dec. 6. […]