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    Analysis

    Final thoughts

    Written by Brett Linton & Ethan Bernard


    In the Middle Ages, it is said scholars used to debate how many angels could dance on the head of a pin. Was that pin made of stainless? Definitely not, as stainless steel wasn’t invented until the 20th century. Still, there are many metal questions where the answers are not so clear cut. Some require a bit of number crunching. On the positive side, they are a lot less theoretical than the movement habits of supernatural creatures. Luckily, we have some pretty great number crunchers over here at SMU. So we’ve taken some time to supply you with a few handy-dandy production figures for 2024 presented in a unique way.

    Be prepared, this is the kind of info that you can use to impress at a party. Just be sure it’s a party related to the steel industry, or the people there have at least a passing interest in metal. If not, the results can be brutal. We’ve been there.

    Brett Linton

    Read more from Brett Linton

    Ethan Bernard

    Read more from Ethan Bernard

    Latest in Analysis

    Commerce lowers Mexico’s dumping rate in CORE case

    The US Department of Commerce has reduced the anti-dumping duty on corrosion-resistant steel (CORE) for some Mexican producers after a court order. On remand from the Court of International Trade (CIT), Commerce agreed that the record did not show that Galvasid SA de CV’s US customers separately negotiated or paid freight or insurance. The agency therefore removed the adjustment and recalculated the margin. As a result, the agency lowered Galvasid’s coated steel dumping rate to 14.54%, from 24.05%. The all-others rate is now 14.29%, down from 17.42%. Ternium’s rate is unchanged at 14.17%.

    Sheet and plate price gains accelerate as 2026 tons dry up

    Sheet and plate prices continue to push higher as mills charge a premium for what little spot tonnage remains for 2026, market participants said. SMU’s price assessment for hot-rolled (HR) coil now stands at $1,290 per short ton (st) on average, up $10/st week over week. HR price gains averaged $5/st w/w throughout July and August, with no changes in prices some weeks and gains of at most $15/st w/w. In September and October to date, in contrast, prices have increased every week—with the average gain at $11.25/st w/w and w/w gains as high as $20/st. Prices for cold-rolled and coated products continued to increase as well. SMU's price assessment for cold-rolled (CR) coil clocked in at...

    Cliffs shifts customers to index-linked, take-or-pay contracts

    Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. expects to earn more from the repricing of contract tonnage than it previously projected. The Cleveland-based steelmaker raised its estimate for the earnings benefit of the repricing to about $850 million from about $500 million. The company also said negotiations for 2027 contracts are progressing better than expected. More than half of the 2027 renewal process was complete as of Cliffs' third-quarter earnings call on Monday morning.

    Cleveland-Cliffs postpones Burns Harbor furnace reline to 2028

    Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has rescheduled the planned reline of the C blast furnace at its Burns Harbor steel mill in northwest Indiana from mid-2027 to April 2028, company executives said. The delay allows the Cleveland-based steelmaker to keep the furnace, which has annual capacity of ~2.2 million short tons, operating while steel prices and demand remain favorable for mills, they said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Monday.

    Brazilian pig iron trade with US stuck in doldrums

    The pig iron trade from Brazil into the US has been lackluster over the last month with minimal activity. Many players in the trade thought activity would increase after the International Iron Metallics Assn (IIMA) meeting in Chicago earlier this month, but it has not materialized so far. Part of the reason could be the US scrap buy for October stretched out longer than usual, as buyers and sellers haggled over price. Now that prices settled upward, there may be different ideas on where pig iron prices should settle.