Steel Markets

Honda Begins Production at New Mexican Plant
Written by Sandy Williams
February 25, 2014
Honda began production of the 2015 Honda Fit last week at its new Honda de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (HDM) plant, located in Celaya, Guanajuato. The plant will increase Honda’s annual automotive production capacity in North America to around 1.92 million units. Currently 90 percent of Hondas sold in the US are built in North America; Celaya production will boost that percentage to 95 percent when full capacity is reached.
The $800 million plant took two years to build, will employ 3,200 associates and have an annual production capacity of 200,000 vehicles and engines. An all-new compact SUV will be added to the production line later this year.
The Celaya plant will exclusively build sub-compact vehicles using advanced technologies that increase quality and efficiency while remaining environmentally sound.
The Celaya Auto Plant is the second plant for Honda de Mexico; the first is located near Guadalajara. HDMs current auto production capacity is 63,000 units annually.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Markets
Buyers say plate market rejected last round of mill hikes
Participants in the domestic steel plate market said the plate market never accepted mill-issued spot price increases.
Cliffs touts steel stamping solution to replace aluminum in automotive
Cliffs said it successfully completed a defect-free trial production of exposed steel parts using aluminum-forming equipment in collaboration with an unnamed OEM,
Hot-rolled market anticipates no change despite mill mark-ups
Domestic sheet market participants say recent spot price hikes from NLMK USA and Nucor will do little to shake-up stagnant market conditions. Price increases in the current market On Friday Oct. 24, NLMK customers learned that the producer’s hot- and cold-rolled prices increased $50 per short ton (st) and its coated products were $100/st higher. […]
Market sources say regional activity is dictating plate demand
Demand for plate on the spot market remains soft by comparison to years past. However, this week regional demand variations grew more pronounced.
AISI: Raw steel production bounces back
Domestic mill production rebounded last week, according to the latest production figures released by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Production had been historically strong over the summer months before softening in early October.
