Steel Products
Cleveland Cliffs to Close Australian Business
Written by Sandy Williams
April 10, 2018
Cleveland Cliffs says it will exit its Australian iron ore operations by June 30, 2018. The company said in an April 6 SEC filing that increasingly discounted prices for lower-iron-content ore, the quality of the remaining iron ore reserves at APIO, and the lack of a legitimate offer from a qualified buyer, were factors in the decision.
Cliffs estimates total closing costs will be in the range of $140 million to $170 million exclusive of any proceeds received from sale of the assets.
The closure was expected at some point in 2018. CEO Lourenco Goncalves said during the last earnings conference call that the mining operations at Asia Pacific Iron Ore would occur when the mine was no longer profitable. The timing of the closure follows the March expiration of supply agreements with customers in China and Japan.
More details will be forthcoming during the first-quarter earnings call scheduled for April 20.
{loadposition reserved_message}
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Products
February service center shipments and inventories report
Flat rolled = 58.6 shipping days of supply Plate = 49 shipping days of supply Flat rolled With the rapid run up in prices, US service centers saw a significant pickup in orders that caused flat-rolled steel supply to decline in February. At the end of February, service centers carried 58.6 shipping days of flat-rolled […]
Leibowitz: Trade — bedrock economic relationships are circling the drain
Which is more important: producers or consumers? New (and arbitrary) steel and aluminum tariffs took effect last Wednesday. Based on the Section 232 trade restrictions initially imposed in 2018 – and kept by the Biden administration – they abrogate agreements between the US and Canada, Mexico, the UK, the EU, Argentina, Brazil, and Australia. They […]
Section 232 curbs US CRC price gains over imports
Fully restored Section 232 tariffs on steel on March 12 cut the widening premium US prices had over most imports on a landed basis.
Gap between US HR and offshore prices narrows on S232 reinstatement
Domestic hot-rolled (HR) coil prices moved higher this week, still largely outpacing increases seen in offshore markets. But the reinstatement of undiluted Section 232 tariffs on steel on March 12 cut the ballooning premium stateside prices had gained on most imports on a landed basis. The premium stateside tags had over prices abroad stood at […]
Nonresidential construction growth slowed in February: Dodge
The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) saw moderate growth in February after reaching a record high the month prior, according to the latest data released by Dodge Construction Network. The February DMI rose to 225.6, a 0.7% increase from January’s downwardly revised reading of 223.9 and 27% higher than levels one year prior. “Planning momentum moderated […]