Steel Mills

NLMK USA Posts Strong Q2 While Facing Tariffs
Written by Sandy Williams
July 31, 2018
NLMK USA sales jumped 15 percent to 640,000 metric tons in second-quarter 2018. Revenue for the U.S. segment totaled $590 million, up 37 percent quarter-over-quarter and 35 percent year-over-year, due to rising demand and recent steel import restrictions.
EBITDA for NLMK USA increased 90 percent quarter-over-quarter to $76 million supported by growing sales volume and a widening spread between slab and finished steel prices. Average selling price jumped 19 percent from the previous quarter as a result of Section 232 measures, the company said.
Slab sales from NLMK’s Russian flat division to NLMK USA dropped 43 percent in the second quarter due to the imposition of Section 232 tariffs. Slab sales during the quarter totaled 285,000 metric tons compared to 503,000 tons in the first quarter and 551,000 tons in Q2 2017.
Although NLMK USA benefits from higher steel prices resulting from Section 232, CEO Robert Miller says the company will be forced out of business if it is not exempted from the 25 percent tariff on imported steel. Miller said last week that the company has already paid $80 million in duties on slabs from its parent in Russia. American steel manufacturers are blocking the company’s request for an exemption from Section 232 tariffs by stating “literal untruths” in their objections, said Miller. He asserts, along with California Steel Industries, that there is not enough slab availability in the United States despite insistence by U.S. Steel and Nucor to the contrary.
NLMK Group shipments increased 6.0 percent on strong demand for Russian and NLMK USA flat products, which offset declines in other segments. Revenue for the group was up 11 percent quarter-over-quarter to $3.1 billion for net income of $581 million and its highest second-quarter earnings in a decade.

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills

AHMSA opens doors to potential buyers as $1.3B asset auction nears
AHMSA is opening its doors to potential buyers to tour its steel plant and mining operations in northern Mexico in preparation for the next stage of its bankruptcy process: the auction of its assets.

USW seeks clarity on USS plans for Granite City Works
The United Steelworkers union has asked U.S. Steel to elaborate on its Granite City Works plans following reports that the steelmaker is ending processing at the facility.

Nucor maintains plate prices, opens October order book
Nucor aims to keep plate prices flat for a seventh straight month with the opening of its October order book.

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!