Steel Products Prices North America

United Taconite Restart Moved Up to August
Written by Sandy Williams
June 9, 2016
Cliffs Natural Resources announced today that it will restart its United Taconite mining facility in August. The restart was originally scheduled for October but will occur two months early due to additional pellet tonnage ordered by US Steel Canada.
Cliffs is revising its 2016 sales volume guidance to 18 million tonnes from 17.5 million tonnes. Production volume has been increased by 500,000 tonnes to 16.5 million tonnes.
Lourenco Goncalves, Cliffs’ Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated: “The vast majority of the steel companies in North America are currently enjoying stronger order books, and their demand for high quality iron ore pellets from a reliable supplier is increasing. With that, Cliffs’ business continues to gain very positive momentum, with the improvement of the existing business with our long established clients and the addition of new ones.”
“We are very pleased to announce an increase of our pellet supply to U.S. Steel Canada, who became a new Cliffs’ client in 2016. US Steel Canada used to be a captive client of its former parent company U.S. Steel Corporation.
“We are also very pleased to announce a higher sales guidance for 2016, thanks to this new business with U.S. Steel Canada, which came at a higher tonnage than we had previously anticipated. Most importantly, I am happy to bring our entire UTAC team back to work a lot earlier than previously announced last week.”
SMU Note: Steel Market Update will welcome Lourenco Goncalves, Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO, as one of our Steel Summit 2016 keynote speakers. Mr. Goncalves, a highly entertaining speaker will discuss the iron ore markets as well as factors in the world affecting those doing business in North America with those attending our 6th Steel Summit Conference on August 29-31 in Atlanta, Georgia. Details can be found on our website: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
Atlas Tube up $50/ton following NLMK USA sheet price hike
Atlas Tube, in a leading move, said it aims to increase prices for mechanical tubing, hollow structural sections (HSS), and piling products by at least $50 per short ton (st).
NLMK USA up $50/ton on HR and CR, up $100/ton on coated
NLMK USA plans to increase prices for hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil by at least $50 per short ton (st). The move is effective immediately for all spot orders, the steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Friday.
SMU Price Ranges: Sheet floor holds as market debates upside
Our average HR coil price increased $5/short ton from last week, marking a second consecutive week of modest gains. Market participants generally attributed the increase to...
Thin demand keeps plate prices hovering at lowest levels since February
Participants in the domestic plate market say spot prices appear to have hit the floor, and they continue to linger there. They say demand for steel remains thin, with plate products no exception.
SMU Price Ranges: HR crawls back to $800/ton
SMU’s HR price stands at $800/st on average, up $5/st from last week. The modest gain came as the low end of our range firmed, and despite the high end of our range declining slightly.
