Steel Mills
Steel Dynamics Guides Lower in Q2
Written by Sandy Williams
June 16, 2017
Steel Dynamics, Inc., reported lower earnings guidance for the second quarter due to operational issues at two of its plants. An upgrade to Steel Dynamics’ galvanizing line at Butler required a three week outage, diminishing second-quarter pretax earnings by $15 million. In addition, quality issues related to start-up of the new Galvalume and paint line at the Columbus Flat Roll Division increased costs and resulted in lower value shipments, reducing pretax earnings by another $15 million.
As a result, SDI announced earnings guidance for the quarter in the range of $0.60 to $0.64 per diluted share, down from earnings of $0.82 per diluted share in Q1 and below analyst consensus.
Increased average steel product pricing in the second quarter will not be enough to offset lower shipments and higher scrap costs during the quarter. SDI noted that 40 percent of its flat roll volume is tied to contracts that lag spot pricing by 1-2 months. Spot pricing for the remaining volume was lower in the second quarter than in the first quarter. SDI reports demand remains strong in automotive and construction, and energy demand is improving.
The company’s earnings from its metal recycling division and fabricated steel joist and deck products is expected to be steady compared to Q1.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills
ArcelorMittal Mexico to import from sister mills as it works to resume DRI production
ArcelorMittal has partially restarted operations at its direct reduction plant in Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan. An explosion on Aug. 18 rocked the massive steelworks on Mexico’s Pacific coast, impacting production of direct-reduced iron (DRI).
Fall maintenance outages are coming in hot
Labor Day has passed, the sun is starting to set a little earlier each day, and cooler weather has begun to find its way down to many of us across North America. And you know what that means for the steel industry… Fall maintenance outages!
AISI: Domestic steel production ticks up
US raw steel production ticked up in the week ending on Sept. 6 after a decrease the week before, according to the most recent data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).
Domestic mill shipments slip in July: AISI
US steel shipments decreased month over month in July, but were up from last year, according to the latest figures from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).
Nippon and USS drop litigation vs. USW and Cliffs
Another chapter of the Great U.S. Steel Buyout of the 2020s melodrama has closed, with all involved parties terminating the litigation disputes between them.