Distributors/Service Centers
April 30, 2021
Written by Michael Cowden
Klöckner & Co. SE posted its best quarterly results in more than 12 years thanks to high steel prices, short supplies and a strong showing from its digital operations.
The Duisburg, Germany-based service center, which has significant operations in the U.S., expects the good times to continue to roll in the second quarter.
Tinplate and specialty flat-rolled products supplier Titan Steel has closed on its acquisition of Randall Metals. Further terms of the deal were not disclosed. Randall Metals is a family-owned metals service center, specializing in tin mill and flat-rolled metals products.
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. The company said Q3’26 shipments from its metal service centers fell 3% vs. the second quarter due to normal seasonal factors but rose 29% from a year earlier.
Worthington Steel Chief Executive Geoff Gilmore said this is the toughest steel market he's seen in his nearly three decades in the industry. Gilmore, president and CEO of Columbus, Ohio-based Worthington Steel, recently spoke to SMU about the progression of the company’s acquisition of Germany-based Kloeckner & Co, as well as trends he’s seeing in the market and in the service center space. “I've been in the business for 28 years, and this is the toughest market that I've encountered,” Gilmore told SMU. He cited factors such as stretched lead times, mill consolidation, maintenance outages, and very limited imports affecting availability.
Buyers in SMU’s latest Flat-Rolled Steel Survey increasingly expect hot-rolled (HR) coil prices to keep climbing into year-end and beyond. But competitive import offers have not yet eased concerns about tight availability: most surveyed manufacturers and service centers said foreign suppliers were quoting competitive prices, while many service centers said they were still buying imports to secure additional tons. As of Tuesday, Oct. 27, current spot prices for HR coil range from $1,280 per short ton (st) to $1,330/st, averaging $1,305/st, according to SMU’s market survey. Looking two months ahead, 41% of respondents to our Oct. 28 survey expected HR coil prices to be $1,300-1,349 per short ton (st) in two months, down from 47% in our survey two weeks earlier.
National Material Company has completed its acquisition of Arlington Metals Corp., the companies said in a joint press release. National Materials, a service center based in East Chicago, Ind., said the acquisition of Arlington Metals, a Franklin Park, Ill.-based toll processor, will allow it to serve customers across a broader range of markets and metals. "Arlington Metals is a great fit for us," said Blake Johnson, president of National Material.