ArcelorMittal suffered a net loss of $447 million in the second quarter due to high raw material costs and sharply lower steel prices in the U.S. resulting in impairment charges on fixed assets in ArcelorMittal USA of $600 million. An additional impairment charge of $347 million occurred due to the sale of assets related to […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: In a tweet today, President Trump announced new tariffs on essentially all the $300 billion in imports from China not already covered by the Section 301 tariffs. The tariff of 10 percent will take effect Sept. 1. I […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Recent reports indicate that parts of the U.S. steel industry are being helped by the steel tariffs, while others are being hurt. Sixteen months into the trade war, the division of steel producers into three distinct industries (and perhaps […]
AK Steel’s net sales for the second quarter declined by 4 percent to about $1.68 billion due primarily to lower shipments to the slowing automotive market. Yet the steelmaker’s earnings for the quarter reached $66.8 million, an improvement from the $56.6 million in Q2 2018, though down from $72.9 million in the prior quarter. Hot rolled […]
By CRU Analyst Chris Bandmann CRU is launching weekly Turkish HR coil export prices, enhancing the existing suite of weekly Turkish long product and scrap prices. This Insight being offered for these other markets has now been brought to flats – and offers a window into the world of Turkish hot rolled coil exports. Turkey […]
Canadian ports in the Pacific Northwest have benefited from the U.S. trade war with China. Vancouver and Prince Rupert have seen combined market share for regional imports and exports increase from 59 percent in 2014 to 62.3 percent in the first half of 2019, according to JOC.com. The port at Seattle-Tacoma saw exports from the […]
The European Union has prepared a list of nearly $40 billion (€35 billion) in U.S. goods it will hit with retaliatory duties should President Trump decide to impose tariffs of 25 percent on imported cars and auto parts. EU Trade Commissioner Cecelia Malstrom said the list of targeted goods has been raised from €20 billion […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum reported net sales of $2.8 billion for the second quarter of 2019, a decrease of 2.5 percent from the first quarter. Net income totaled $183.1 million, down from $190.1 million in the prior quarter, while shipments totaled 1.5 million tons, up slightly (0.4 percent) from Q1. “We had a solid second […]
The wait is over—Steel Dynamics has announced it will build its new $1.9 billion flat rolled steel mill in Sinton, Texas, 30 miles northwest of Corpus Christi. The new steel mill will serve the four-state Texas area, the western U.S. and Mexico market regions, representing approximately 27 million tons of relevant flat rolled steel consumption—7 […]
Steel Dynamics is expecting modest growth for steel consumption in the second half of 2019 supported by the end of steel inventory destocking and further reduction of steel imports. “The team delivered a solid second-quarter performance in a challenging steel pricing environment,” said SDI President and CEO Mark Millett. “A weakening scrap price environment coupled […]
By CRU Analyst Jordan Permain Ironmakers are continuously seeking ways to increase production efficiency and reduce costs but, particularly when profitability is good, productivity is a focus area. To achieve this, ironmakers can increase their usage of metallics in the blast furnace (BF), and benefits include not only increased productivity but also a lower coke […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: President Trump made news this week, announcing potential changes to the Buy American Act regulations. The changes could give additional advantages in government procurement to domestically produced steel products. The Buy American Act was signed into law by […]
SSAB Americas saw a drop in sales from first to second quarter due to lower volumes and prices. Sales of SEK 4.5 billion ($485 million) were down 6 percent from Q1 but were 13 percent higher than a year ago. The company reported good demand in several segments but cautious buying and destocking at service […]
EVRAZ NA announced the resignation of president and chief executive officer Conrad Winkler and the appointment of James “Skip” Herald as the new CEO. The change in leadership will be effective Aug. 5, 2019. Winkler, CEO since July 2013, is leaving to pursue other opportunities, said a press release from the company. Winkler led the […]
Nucor reported a decline in earnings for the second quarter of 2019 due to lower shipments and pricing. A build-up of inventory before the Section 232 tariffs resulted in aggressive destocking at the end of 2018 and into 2019, which impacted order rates, along with an increase in domestic steel supply and a declining scrap […]
The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled today that imports of steel propane cylinders from China and Thailand are causing injury to the domestic industry, marking a victory for U.S. producers including Worthington Industries and Manchester Tank and Equipment. The ITC’s final determination places dumping and subsidy margins of 37-217 percent on China and 10.77 percent […]
“Discouraged” is how the Canadian Steel Producers Association described its reaction to President Trump’s executive order on sourcing of steel for federal projects in the United States. Increasing the use of American-sourced steel from 50 percent to 95 percent is “a step in the wrong direction,” said CSPA President Catherine Cobden in comments to ConstructConnect. […]
Perhaps taking a page from automakers’ playbook, ArcelorMittal USA reportedly sent a letter to its suppliers last week stating that it planned to implement a 10 percent price reduction on all existing purchase agreements, effective July 31. S&P Global Platts reported that ArcelorMittal is calling on suppliers to help it cut costs as it works […]
To stiffen his Buy American policies, President Trump signed an executive order on Monday raising the threshold for American-made steel used in federal projects from 50 percent to 95 percent. The executive order states that the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council is to “consider proposing” within 180 days amendments to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) that […]
AK Steel union members at Butler Works in Pennsylvania ratified a new three-year labor agreement last week. The agreement covers about 1,200 members of the United Auto Workers Local 3303 and will be in effect until June 15, 2022. “We are pleased to have reached a labor agreement at Butler Works for our employees,” said […]
NLMK USA’s second-quarter sales dropped 3 percent from the previous quarter to 580,000 metric tons due to lower shipments in anticipation of further deterioration of steel prices. Flat steel prices in the U.S. went down by 6-11 percent from first to second quarter and 23-30 percent on a year-over-year basis. Pricing was impacted by steel […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Happy Bastille Day!! On Friday afternoon, which is traditionally the time to bury inconvenient news, the White House announced that President Trump had rejected the advice of the Secretary of Commerce to impose import restrictions on uranium trade. The […]
NLMK USA is blaming Trump’s tariffs for layoffs at its Pennsylvania steel mill. Last week, 80 to 100 workers were laid off at the hot mill at NLMK’s Farrell steel plant. NLMK USA CEO and President Robert Miller called the tariffs a “failed policy.” “This is what I predicted a year ago,’’ Miller told the […]
Mill Steel Co., the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based distributor of flat-rolled carbon steel, has rebranded of its steel framing company, Steel Structural Products, to Mill Steel Framing. The rebranding of the steel framing and accessory operations under the parent trademark is well-timed, the company said, as this year marks Mill Steel’s 60th anniversary. Mill Steel Framing […]
Liberty Steel is continuing its rapid expansion with completion of the €740 million ($833 million) acquisition of ArcelorMittal’s European assets. The company, owned by Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliances, has been on a worldwide buying spree, including a June purchase of former Bethlehem Steel property Johnston Wire Technologies. The ArcelorMittal assets include ArcelorMittal Ostrava (Czech Republic), […]
Canada’s Samuel, Son & Co., Limited, has named Colin Osborne to replace the retiring Bill Chisholm as the company’s president and chief executive officer, effective Aug. 1. Osborne has been transitioning to the leadership role since late 2018 as Samuel’s president and chief operating officer. Chisholm has served as CEO since 2013. “On behalf of […]
The final draft of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is not likely to be submitted to Congress until after Sept. 1, setting up possible ratification by the end of the year. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is waiting until House Speaker Nancy Pelosi assures him there are enough votes to pass the agreement in the House. Once […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Companies have filed thousands of requests seeking exclusions from the Trump administration’s Section 232 tariffs on steel imports, claiming the products they require are not available from domestic sources in the quantities or qualities required. The steel product […]
The steel price increases announced by the major mills have not had much effect on the HVAC sector yet, but members of the Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) are hopeful the market has bottomed and the value of their inventories has stabilized. “There hasn’t been much change in behavior on the street […]
A new tariff on fabricated structural steel from Mexico adds another complication to U.S./Mexico relations, but is not expected to threaten ratification of the USMCA. The U.S. Department of Commerce issued a preliminary ruling in a countervailing investigation that U.S. producers are being harmed by imports of fabricated structural steel from Mexico and China. Canada […]