I once asked a friend, who works for a large steel mill, how many different grades of steel they produced – he estimated the number at 1,000! On top of that, each grade can come in any gauge, any width and many may be coated. Mills make an almost unlimited number of different individual types […]
The rumor mill has been buzzing for a number of months about the potential for flat rolled steel dumping suits on galvanized and Galvalume steels. The focus of attention seems to be on China, India, Taiwan and South Korea as being the major offenders. However, Steel Market Update, which has a long background in coated […]
Canada was the highest volume exporter of all carbon and low alloy steel products to the US in both the last 12 and 3 month periods through January with 4,956,812 and 1,172,616 tons respectively (Figure 1). Mexico came in 4th in 12 months after Brazil and Korea but was bumped into 5th place by Russia […]
Total January 2014 US steel exports were 963,060 net tons (NT), a 10.5 percent increase over December 2013 figures but down 10.6 percent compared to January 2013. Total exports in January were above the three month moving average but below the twelve month moving average. The top countries receiving US exports were Canada at 54.8 […]
Steel Market Update received the following steel market analysis from one of our member companies based on the Academy Awards. Sometimes it is better to look at the flat rolled steel market with a sense of humor so here goes: Current Market Perspective (inspired by the Academy Awards): The US Steel market continues to be […]
The US Department of Commerce said it will maintain anti-dumping and countervailing duties on oil country tubular goods (OCTG) imported from China, in announcement made earlier this month (February). The recent decision closed loopholes in the 2009 AD/CV duties imposed by the International Trade Commission, which allowed pipe made in China but finished in other […]
US Steel Canada announced that 30-year Stelco and US Steel veteran Kevin Wong will take over as plant manager at US Steel Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke. Wong’s current position as plant manager at US Steel Hamilton Works will be eliminated. Wong will replace American manager David Armstrong II who will move to the Gary, […]
US Steel says it will lay off workers at its Lorain Tubular Operations. The number of affected employees and timeline has not yet been announced. The statement from US Steel regarding the layoffs is as follows: “We continually review and analyze business conditions and the impact they have on our customers. As a result of […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) participates in a monthly galvanized steel conference call with the HARDI wholesalers, manufacturing companies and service centers associated with the HVAC related organization. The wholesalers in the Upper Midwest, East Coast and as far west as Wichita, Kansas reported having lost 5-6 days of shipments due to inclement weather in their […]
For the last couple of weeks we have been discussing various kinds of ethical issues that come up in the steel business. This week we will deal with the issue of when flat rolled steel is rejectable. Buyers and sellers often find that they disagree about the quality of the steel. Generally this problem is […]
The US Department of Commerce said it will maintain anti-dumping and countervailing duties on oil country tubular goods (OCTG) imported from China, in announcement made earlier this week. The recent decision closed loopholes in the 2009 AD/CV duties imposed by the International Trade Commission, which allowed pipe made in China but finished in other countries […]
Mario Longhi, CEO of U.S. Steel announced to those on the US Steel conference call that the company has started the process of replacing the existing blast furnace at the Fairfield, Alabama facility with a brand new electric arc furnace (EAF). During the call, Mr. Longhi advised that the expect the permitting process to take […]
Earnings reports are accompanied by conference calls which allow us to get some insight on what the steel leaders are thinking about in the industry. SMU decided to look at the comments by AK Steel, Nucor, Steel Dynamics, and US Steel for ideas on where the steel industry is headed for 2014. All four of […]
Steel buyers reported a mixed bag this week with some mills quoting extremely long lead times (hot rolled at 6-8 weeks) while others were still willing to discuss pricing in early February if a reasonable order was connected to the competitive quotation. One service center executive told us about mill lead times, “USS is in […]
Mario Longhi, CEO of U.S. Steel announced to those on the US Steel conference call that the company has started the process of replacing the existing blast furnace at the Fairfield, Alabama facility with a brand new electric arc furnace (EAF). During the call, Mr. Longhi advised that the expect the permitting process to take […]
US Steel reported a net loss of $122 million for the fourth quarter of 2013, compared to a Q3 net loss of $1,791 million and $50 million net loss in Q4 2012. The fourth quarter loss was due mostly to $302 million of charges related to the shutdown of the Hamilton steel making facility. Adjusted […]
US Steel Canada announced on Friday several executive management changes that will go into effect on Feb. 1. Michael A. McQuade will succeed Anton Jura as President and General manager of US Steel Canada. Anton Jura will take on a new assignment in US Steel’s flat rolled operations in the United States. McQuade currently serves […]
In the 12 months through November the US imported 29,129,427 tons of all steel products including semi finished, exported 11,594,574 tons for a net steel trade deficit of 17,534,853 tons. The major net importer was Brazil with 3,591,401 tons. Canada and Mexico both imported more from the US than they exported to the US resulting […]
The Federal Reserve publishes a trade weighted index of the value of the US$ against a basket of the currencies of our major trading partners weekly and monthly. The H.10 weekly release contains daily rates of exchange of major foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar. The data are noon buying rates in New York for […]
November steel export data indicates total US steel exports were 939,185 net tons (NT) for the month of November 2013, the lowest levels seen since December 2010 when exports were 934,471 NT. Total November steel trade to countries outside of the United States is down 17.1 percent compared to October levels and down 6.0 percent […]
USS-POSCO (UPI) in Pittsburg, California, filed a layoff warning with the California Economic Development Department (CED) that created concern that 690 employees would be laid off effective January 14, 2014. USS-POSCO says media reports of a layoff were in error. A spokesperson for USS-POSCO said the company has “no imminent plans to lay off any employees […]
Ferrous scrap prices are expected to rise as we enter the New Year. Early indications are for scrap prices to make a rather serious move as cold weather sets into the North, further reducing already weak flows of the material into the scrap yards. Prices are forecast to move a minimum of $20-$30 per gross […]
In a letter to their customers dated today, Monday, December 23, 2013 – NLMK USA opened their February order book and advised their customers of their “minimum” new base price levels: Hot Rolled $35.00/cwt ($700 per ton)Cold Rolled $40.50/cwt ($810 per ton)Coated $40.50/cwt ($810 per ton)Specialty $25/ton increase on all high […]
A Christmas Eve start-up of the Nucor direct reduced iron (DRI) facility in St. Louis Parish, Louisiana, came off without a hitch. Within 24 hours the output quality matched best-in-class levels of Nucor’s Trinidad plant, said the company. “We are very pleased to announce this important step in executing our raw materials strategy,” said John […]
On Monday U.S. Steel put out a letter to their customers announcing a $20 per ton flat rolled spot price increase. The letter was from RY Kopf, General Manager North American Flat-Rolled Marketing and it read as follows: Effective immediately, base pricing for all new Flat-rolled products spot orders is increased by a minimum of […]
U.S. Steel announced a price increase on Monday and the market appears to be cautiously optimistic as we enter the end of 2013 and look out into the New Year. The announcement itself was termed a “non-event” by one of the construction related steel mills with whom we spoke this afternoon as increases had previously […]
An explosion and fire at the US Steel Great Lakes Works in Ecorse, Mich., has killed a worker and halted steel production. The Ecorse fire department was called to the scene of the fire at 2:50 am on Sunday morning. US Steel spokesman Courtney Boone said that the explosion occurred at the plant’s steel shop […]
US Steel announced the election by the board of directors of David S. Sutherland to the position of independent, non-executive chairman effective Jan. 1, 2014. Sutherland will replace executive chairman John Surma who will retire on Dec. 31. US Steel split the roles of CEO and chairman when Mario Longhi succeeded Surma as CEO in […]
Last week I discussed how Steel Mills calculate thickness and width extras. This week we will look at Mill coating extras for Galvanized and Galvalume coated steel coil. I am going to refer again to US Steel’s published list of price extras which you can find on their website. Other mills tend to have similar […]
ThyssenKrupp AG put out a press release late this afternoon postponing their annual financial statements which were originally scheduled for this Thursday, November 21st. The reason being provided is the company is involved in “..exclusive negotiations on the potential sale of the US steel plant in Calvert/Alabama (ThyssenKrupp Steel USA). The talks also include a […]