Market Segment
October 4, 2015
Written by Sandy Williams
Essar Steel Algoma will begin laying off employees on Sunday evening (Oct. 4) starting with the evening shift.
USW Local 2551 received notice that approximately 100 workers will be cut, with the plate and cold mills most heavily affected.
Following the multi-year high recorded one week earlier, domestic raw steel output receded back down to typical levels this week, according to the latest American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) figures. Aside from a few blips in recent months, production has trended lower since peaking in May, though it remains historically strong compared to recent years. Total US raw steel mill output was estimated at 1,778,000 short tons (st) in the week ending Nov. 7 (Figure 1). Production was down 275,000 st (13.4%) from the prior week, driven primarily by a sharp reduction in output from the Southern region. This year we have seen weekly production rise as high as 2,053,000 st (last week, an 18-year high) and as low as 1,704,000 st (the first week of the year).
Russel Metals’ earnings soared in the third quarter amid strong market conditions as revenue hit a quarterly record. The Mississauga, Ontario-based metals distributor reported net earnings of Canadian $125.5 million (USD$88.8 million), 259% higher than CAD$35 million a year earlier. Net sales increased 56% to CAD$1.82 billion in the same comparison, a record quarterly level.
Nucor said on Monday, Nov. 9, that its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil will be $1,295 per short ton (st) this week, up $15/st from the prior week. The CSP for HR coil from California Steel Industries (CSI) on the West Coast will be $1,365/st, also up $15/st from last week. Nucor continues to offer lead times of three to five weeks, according to its letter to customers. You can track mill price announcements on our website. Steel Market Update (SMU) published a weekly price assessment on Tuesday, Nov. 3, showing HR coil prices averaging $1,350/st, up $45/st from the previous week. We will update our prices on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 10.
The election last Tuesday was a stunning rebuke to President Trump and many of his policies. High prices and pessimism about the economy were clearly on the minds of voters and the members of Congress they sent to Washington. Trade policy can help address those issues. Some trade experts think the new Congress could deal with tariffs on imports from Canada early on. I also expect hearings and new bills to more closely control presidential authority over tariffs. Much is unknown about what will happen come January, when new members convene. But some points are already obvious to those who see politics as a means to an end (governing) rather than as an end in itself (getting elected).
Canadian Minister of Industry Melanie Joly has urged that Canada’s Competition Bureau examine Cleveland-Cliffs’ conduct in the Canadian marketplace following its Stelco acquisition. Minister Joly sent a letter to Jeanne Pratt, Commissioner of Competition, on Friday, regarding testimony Cliffs Chairman and CEO Lourenco Goncalves made to the US Congressional Steel Caucus, and a subsequent interview to the CBC. oly said that in the Caucus testimony, “Goncalves stated that his company had acquired Stelco to ‘block’ it from selling into the US market.”