The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) announced that, effective April 11, 2017, Daniel DiMicco will serve as Chairman. CPA is a nonpartisan coalition of domestic manufacturing, organized labor, ranching and farming focused on U.S. policies that ensure fair trade for Americans. DiMicco was the former CEO of Nucor Corp and a member of President […]
USW Local 2251 voted 98.6 percent in favor of ratification of a Support Agreement for an undisclosed party interested in acquiring the assets of Essar Steel Algoma Inc. The announcement was made April 10 in a press release signed by Local 2251 president Mike Da Prat. Da Prat told the Sault Star that he could […]
There have been many press reports regarding the rumor that the Trump Administration is going to call for an “investigation” aimed at steel and aluminum. What our readers may find interesting is there are suggestions that the order may include manufactured products We have seen reports from the press and attorneys for steel service centers […]
Steel Market Update took our latest Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals on the road today as we traveled to Delta, OH to tour the North Star Bluescope steel mini-mill. Our group consisted of attendees visiting a steel mill for the first time (one of our attendees was on the second day […]
AM Castle, a specialty metals company, announced it has reached an agreement with lenders to complete a comprehensive financial restructuring. The company posted a $114.1 million loss in FY 2016 compared to a loss of $218.8 million in 2015. Fourth quarter net sales totaled $113.7 million, down 14.2 percent compared to Q4 2015. Tons sold […]
WEST CHESTER, OH–(Marketwired – Apr 7, 2017) – AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) celebrated the grand opening of its new world-class Research and Innovation Center in Middletown, Ohio. The event marked the formal opening of the new $36 million, 135,000 square foot facility, built on 16-acres near AK Steel’s Middletown Works and its West Chester, Ohio […]
Most of the domestic mills and the large public service centers will be releasing their first quarter earnings and conducting conference call later this month. Here is a quick snapshot for those of you who might have an interest in listening in when the calls are made:
There has been a lot of talk about infrastructure spending but not much in the way of actual spending or commitment to projects. Two members of the American Trucking Association told Congress on Tuesday that there is a real need for investment in the nation’s highway system. FedEx Freight President and CEO Mike Ducker and […]
On Monday, Flack Global Metals announced the merger of Kenwood Painted Metals with Flack Global Metals. With the addition of KPM, Flack Global Metals is projecting sales for 2017 to be close to $400 million. Steel Market Update spoke with Flack Global Metals CEO, Jeremy Flack about their company’s drive to grow as a “Next […]
The following is just part of an article on China written by Gordon Orr, Director Emeritus at McKinsey & Company. The original article was published recently by the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS). You can link to the article here. “What if Steel Prices Decline? “Last year began with much fanfare over promised government-enforced […]
The dry bulk freight market is through with its cyclic low and is headed toward a positive market, according to the latest MID-SHIP Report. MID-SHIP noted that Baltic Dry Index on March 29 was 1338, its highest rate since November 2014. As of today, April 4, the BDI has dropped to 1282. The shipping market […]
On Friday the President signed an executive order that is designed to enhance trade enforcement efforts by the Commerce Department. The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative Commerce are directed to develop a plan within 90 days that will […]
President Donald Trump signed new Executive Orders (XO’s) on trade and trade enforcement that contain no new initiatives. This is what we were told by trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz over the weekend. He told us: • “The Executive Order on trade enforcement has no new initiatives. It only requires the Commerce Department and Homeland Security […]
On Thursday SMU reported that tax incentives aimed at helping Big River Steel expand had passed the Arkansas Senate. The Senate Bill 688 has now been approved by the House in a 79-11 vote on Friday. SMU also received a comment on the legislation from Big River Steel’s CEO, Dave Stickler. Rep. Monte Hodges, D-Blytheville, […]
Essar Steel Algoma is making progress on paying its debts. According to the latest (27th) Monitors report, Algoma has repaid $42.7 million as of March 25, 2017 through weekly “cash sweeps” to its Debtor in Possession lenders. Another $2.5 million will be paid on April 3 which will result in reducing the outstanding balance under […]
Worthington Industries reported net sales of $703.4 million for third quarter FY 2017 and net earnings of $35.9 million. The company claimed inventory holding losses of $3 million and restructuring charges of $1.4 million. “We had a very good third quarter performance with Steel Processing contributing near record earnings and overall, we produced year-over-year growth, which […]
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced today that a final finding has been made on the dumping of carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length (CTL) plate into the U.S. from eight countries. Commerce affirmed that dumping had occurred regarding imports of CTL from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan and imposed duties ranging […]
Big River Steel received an incentive to expand operations after the passage of Arkansas Senate Bill 688. The new bill changes the existing law on income tax credits allowed for the purchase of waste reduction, reuse, or recycling equipment and provides tax incentives for steel mills that begin qualified expansion projects. According to the Arkansas […]
Nucor Steel Hickman’s new specialty cold rolling mill complex will get equipment from the international technology group ANDRITZ. The expansion at the Arkansas mill was announced in September and is expected to cost an estimated $230 million. The mill will produce specialty grade steels including third generation advanced high strength steel, high-strength low-alloy steels and […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) published an article in Tuesday evening’s newsletter entitled, “The Data Shows the Trade Cases Have Failed. The Question is Why?” and we have gotten some responses to this article that we would like to share with our readers. A manufacturing company sent us the following note: “Steel will “leak” into the […]
If the goal of the 2015 CORE, cold rolled and hot rolled trade cases was to reduce the number of foreign steel tons coming into the United States, well, the data says the cases did not complete their mission. There is one exception, hot rolled steel imports did indeed move lower and continue to move […]
The article title is “Dan DiMicco’s Nucor Has Killed Off More Of The American Steel Industry Than China Ever Has” and was written by Tim Worstall, a Fellow at the Adam Smith Institute in London, England. The article, which can be seen in its entirety online, points out, “That American steel industry which has suffered […]
Essar Steel Algoma will get a third loan extension while it continues to hash out an agreement to emerge from CCAA protection. The company has another thirty day extension before its debtor-in-possession financing expires on April 30. According to the Twenty-sixth Report of the Monitor filed on March 21, the extension comes at “a critical […]
Germany is seeking help from the European Union in its dispute with the United States regarding the alleged dumping of steel into the U.S. market. In a letter to EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel asked the Commission to urge the United States to follow World Trade Organization rules when deciding […]
Three Canadian Chambers of Commerce presented their concerns about unfairly traded steel to the Federal Government’s Standing Committee on International Trade on March 21. The Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce and its counterparts from Windsor-Essex and Hamilton were joined by key Canadian steel producers including Essar Steel Algoma, Stelco Inc., Gerdau Long Steel North […]
February service center shipments were almost exactly normal on a month/month basis though there were some bright spots. Daily shipments decreased by 0.6 percent from January. Since 2009 on average, February has decreased by 0.8 percent. Carbon steel shipments were 148,900 tons per day. The number of shipping days decreased from 21 to 20. Intake […]
Demand for HVAC products was coined as being “good” or “very good” by the wholesalers who participated in the monthly HARDI galvanized steel conference call. The wholesalers who spoke on the call earlier today reported strong first quarter sales for their full product line but a few complained of lower steel sales compared to year […]
The shipping season opened on the Great Lakes this month. In general, freight shipments within the U.S. are moving without complications in March. Rate increases have been noted for most seaborne freight with the Baltic Dry Index approaching highs last seen in November 2016. Seaborne Freight The Panama Canal continues to break monthly records for […]
Steel Dynamics expects a meaningful increase in first quarter profits. Earnings per diluted share are expected to be in the range of $0.77 to $0.81 compared to $0.08 per diluted share in Q4 2016 and $0.26 per diluted share in Q1 2016. In first quarter guidance comments, SDI attributed stronger results to higher shipments and […]
More complications for Essar Steel Algoma as it nears a deadline to emerge from the CCAA protection. Union disputes and lawsuits continue to frustrate the process. Labor Negotiations Union workers were reportedly outraged by a mandate by Superior Court Justice Frank Newbould requiring parties involved in the collective agreement negotiations to keep a lid on […]