Tag: US

Rig counts in the US and Canada were mixed, with US totals slipping and Canadian counts moving higher week on week (w/w) for the week ended Feb. 2, Baker Hughes’ latest data shows.

Just like doing business in any part of the steel supply chain, there are risks and unknowns in trading steel. But trading companies play an important part, helping businesses navigate the risks and unknowns as they pop up.

Speaking during a fireside chat at the Tampa Steel Conference on Monday, Jan. 29, Hybar CEO David Stickler provided a status update on the company’s new rebar mill project and its plans for the future, including the possibility of a flat-rolled steel mill.

The US Midwest premium was flat week over week (w/w) at 18.8–19.4¢/lb. Again, the premium has exhibited remarkably low levels of volatility and has yet to react to news in the geopolitical or macroeconomic spaces.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. announced on Feb. 2 that it has acquired Tifton, Ga.-based Cooksey Iron & Metal Co.

Three of Japan’s major banks have agreed to lend Nippon Steel a combined $16 billion for its $14.1-billion planned acquisition of United States Steel, provided the acquisition is completed, the Japanese steelmaker said.

SMU’s Current Steel Buyers Sentiment Index edged down this week, while the Future Sentiment Index remained flat, according to our most recent survey data.

I thought Nippon Steel’s $14.1-billion deal for U.S. Steel might become a political football in this year’s presidential election. Now there is little doubt that it will after Trump told reporters in Washington, D.C., earlier this week that he would “absolutely” block the transaction – and that he would do so “instantaneously.”

Steel mill lead times for sheet products saw substantial declines over the past two weeks, while production times for plate held steady during the month of January.

A weaker steel market and lower prices in Europe dragged down SSAB’s earnings during the last three months of 2023.

If reelected in the November presidential election, Donald Trump said he would block the sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. (NSC).

The pig iron market has risen in recent months from the high $390s per metric ton (mt) last fall to $490/mt for Brazilian material and a bit more for Ukrainian product - for an overall average of $495/mt CFR.

US hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices law little movement this week, a similar trend seen in offshore markets. Thus, the price premium domestic hot band carries over imported products was largely unchanged vs. the prior week.

The sun decided to greet us on the second day of the Tampa Steel Conference 2024. Attendees from the chillier northern parts of the continent got their dose of winter sunshine. But whatever the temps, it was inside the conference room where things really heated up. January is always a time to make sense of the year that’s just passed, and look out for the trends for the year ahead.

Sheet prices were mixed this week, with hot-rolled (HR) coil unchanged but cold-rolled and coated prices down.

Nucor is optimistic about long-term activity from bridges and highways, semiconductor chip plants and renewable energy, but still sees some short-term challenges. The North Carolina-headquartered steelmaker expects the federal programs that support these megatrends “to add somewhere between 5 million to 8 million tons of incremental annual demand for steel over the next several years,” […]

Algoma Steel is currently navigating a challenge as it deals with an unplanned outage at its blast furnace, but the company’s CEO is still bullish on its future as an EAF steelmaker.

Thyssenkrupp Materials de México is opening a new service center in San Luis Potosí.

Cleveland Cliffs executives didn’t mince words when opening its Q4’23 earnings call.

U.S. Steel is to permanently idle battery No. 15 at the Clairton coke plant in its Mon Valley works in Pennsylvania following a series of air pollution incidents and fines.

Rising geopolitical tensions may threaten stability, while other factors like a climbing stock market and growing government investment point to one thing in the economy: it’s complicated. “It’s an interesting contradiction out there,” said Dr. Walter Kemmsies, managing partner of The Kemmsies Group, at the Tampa Steel Conference this week. In his keynote speech on […]

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. shipped more than 4 million short tons (st) of steel in each quarter of 2023, pushing its full-year shipments to a record 16.4m st.

Domestic production of raw steel moved down marginally last week, according to the most recent data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The decline was the third straight dip in as many weeks. Steel output in the US totaled an estimated 1,680,000 short tons (st) in the week ended Jan. 27. That’s down […]

I’m writing these final thoughts from the JW Marriott in Tampa. And I’m looking forward to seeing some of you reading this in just a few hours at the opening networking reception of the Tampa Steel Conference. Nearly 550 people will be there – a new record for the event. If you’re looking for things […]

Trade is not the major focus of the campaigns for the 2024 elections, either at the presidential or congressional level. But it is there as a live issue for business. And last August, former President Trump suggested a 10% tariff on virtually all imports as a “ring around the collar” of the US economy.

The Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) outlined its praise for the US and EU extension on negotiations towards the proposed Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum.

A Jan. 24 SEC filing by U.S. Steel Corp. reveals further details about the company’s strategic review process.

Rig counts in the US and Canada both notched week-on-week increases for the week ended Jan. 26, Baker Hughes’ latest data shows.

This week Magnitude 7 Metals issued a statement to announce the curtailment of its New Madrid smelter in Marston, Mo. The plant, one of only five remaining primary smelters in the US, employs approximately 450 union workers. With over 275,000 metric tons (mt) of capacity per year, New Madrid is the second-largest plant by capacity […]

Steel Dynamics Inc. faces rising costs for its Columbus, Miss., aluminum rolling mill, but the project timeline remains on track.