Steel Mills

Steel Imports Affecting Nucor 4Q Earnings
Written by Sandy Williams
December 16, 2014
Nucor Corporation expects a “moderate” decrease in earnings in the fourth quarter along with a seasonal drop in operating performance. In the company’s fourth quarter earnings guidance, Nucor noted that exceptionally high import levels have put pressure on steel production and margins. A larger than expected decrease in outside shipments is expected in the fourth quarter.
The company is forecasting earnings of $0.50 to $0.55 per share which is lower than industry analysts consensus of $0.65 per share.
Nucor Steel Louisiana DRI operations remain idle since the process gas heater failure on November 2, 2014. Operations are not expected to resume until first quarter 2015 due to the lead times on specialty steel pipes that must be replaced. An operating loss of approximately $30 million is expected at the Louisiana operations.
Nucor’s guidance also stated that their scrap processing business is also expected to show decreased performance during fourth quarter 2014.
Nucor anticipates that Nucor Gallatin profits will more than offset $9 million of purchase accounting expenses incurred during the quarter.

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills

SDI concerned with potential Brazil pig iron tariffs
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) executives called a 50% tariff on Brazilian pig iron “concerning,” but think tariffs will be a “mainstay” of trade agreements going forward.

SDI earnings slip in Q2 as trade volatility hits customer orders
SDI profits slipped in second quarter amid trade policy volatility.

Cliffs puts ‘for sale’ signs up after another big quarterly loss
Cleveland-Cliffs lost more than $400 million for the third consecutive quarter but predicted results would improve in the second half of the year. And shares of the Cleveland-based steelmaker surged after company executives said during its Q2 earnings call on Monday that they could make billions by courting foreign investors or selling assets.

Algoma sees narrower Q2 loss but feels tariff sting
Algoma Steel expects a narrower sequential loss in the second quarter, but the company continues to be impacted by the US tariff situation.

Nippon plans to double steel output at USS operations: Report
Now that it has acquired U.S. Steel, Nippon Steel is planning a significant expansion of its US operations, including the construction of a new mill and more than doubling its steel output.