Market Segment
April 15, 2024
Written by Ethan Bernard
U.S. Steel’s No. 4 blast furnace (BF4) at its Gary Works in northwest Indiana is undergoing a 45-day maintenance outage that started on April 4.
A spokesperson for the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker confirmed the news on Monday with SMU, noting that the maintenance would include shotcrete (sprayed concrete), among other projects.
The current plate market squeeze has been driven by improved demand and heightened import barriers, including 50% Section 232 tariffs. But the timing of fall outages—even if they were planned—is exacerbating the supply crunch.
Metalformers’ optimism softened in the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) September Business Conditions Report.
SMU’s latest Flat-Rolled Steel Buyers Survey shows that in a tight US market marked by long lead times, low inventories, and rising prices, foreign products continue to gain the interest of domestic buyers.
Domestic raw steel output fell to a six-month low last week after hitting a multi-year high one week earlier, according to the latest American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) figures.
The proposed Hyundai-POSCO steel mill in Louisiana has been approved for up to $1.3 billion in bond financing, according to state records and local media reports.