Steel Mills

Nucor: Q3 Profits Will Be Highest in Company History
Written by Michael Cowden
September 16, 2021
Nucor predicts that its third quarter earnings will be the highest in its history – surpassing a previous highwater market set in the second quarter.
The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker forecast third quarter earnings of $7.30-7.40 per diluted share, up from $5.04 per diluted share int the second quarter in guidance released on Thursday.
And the good times are expected to roll into the fourth quarter, which Nucor said would “continue the trend of exceptional performance” seen throughout 2021.
Ballooning profits come thanks in large part to Nucor’s steel mill segment, which is expected to post “significantly” higher third quarter earnings even when compared to an already stellar second quarter.
The company’s downstream steel products segment is also anticipated to record substantially increased earnings on higher selling prices and expanding margins. Its recycling operations, in contrast, are forecast to see third quarter results roughly in line with those reported in the second quarter.
It’s a good time to be a steel mill.
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), one of Nucor’s primary domestic competitors, also predicted record third-quarter earnings.
The raft of record results come on the heels of record high steel prices.
Hot-rolled coil prices stands at $1,950 per ton ($97.50 per hundredweight), down $5 per ton from a week ago but more than triple $580 per ton in mid-September of last year, according to SMU’s interactive pricing tool.
Scrap prices, in contrast, have fallen a sharper $40-50 per gross ton this month.
By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Michael Cowden
Read more from Michael CowdenLatest in Steel Mills

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!

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).