Category: Market Segment

While President Biden may have its back, the United Steelworkers (USW) union remains concerned about the proposed sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel Corp. (NSC).

I participated in the 35th annual Tampa Steel Conference last week, a conclave of steel producers, consumers, traders, logisticians, and (a few) trade lawyers. I participated in a panel discussion concerning challenges in managing supply chains in these troubled times. Things appear to be heading in the wrong direction in this field. Supply chains were shown to be vulnerable to pandemics in 2020 and 2021, and, in 2022 and 2023, to regional conflicts and weather slowing or stopping the free movement of goods through trade bottlenecks (the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal, the Bosporus, etc.)

Just like doing business in any part of the steel supply chain, there are risks and unknowns in trading steel. But trading companies play an important part, helping businesses navigate the risks and unknowns as they pop up.

The Department of Commerce has adjusted the countervailing duty (CVD) rates on imports of corrosion-resistant (galvanized/Galvalume) steel from South Korea after an administrative review.

Speaking during a fireside chat at the Tampa Steel Conference on Monday, Jan. 29, Hybar CEO David Stickler provided a status update on the company’s new rebar mill project and its plans for the future, including the possibility of a flat-rolled steel mill.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. announced on Feb. 2 that it has acquired Tifton, Ga.-based Cooksey Iron & Metal Co.

Three of Japan’s major banks have agreed to lend Nippon Steel a combined $16 billion for its $14.1-billion planned acquisition of United States Steel, provided the acquisition is completed, the Japanese steelmaker said.

U.S. Steel swung to a loss in Q4'23 in its first quarterly earnings since the announced sale to Japan's Nippon Steel.

Norfolk Iron & Metal is installing a new Butech Bliss temper mill cut-to-length line at its Port of Catoosa processing facility near Tulsa, Okla.

A weaker steel market and lower prices in Europe dragged down SSAB’s earnings during the last three months of 2023.

If reelected in the November presidential election, Donald Trump said he would block the sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. (NSC).

Nucor Corp. announced that its plate mill group would cut prices for as-rolled, discrete, and normalized plate with the opening of its March order book. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Tuesday, Jan. 30, that tags would be lowered by $50 per short ton (st) to $1,380/st.

Nucor is optimistic about long-term activity from bridges and highways, semiconductor chip plants and renewable energy, but still sees some short-term challenges. The North Carolina-headquartered steelmaker expects the federal programs that support these megatrends “to add somewhere between 5 million to 8 million tons of incremental annual demand for steel over the next several years,” […]

Algoma Steel is currently navigating a challenge as it deals with an unplanned outage at its blast furnace, but the company’s CEO is still bullish on its future as an EAF steelmaker.

Thyssenkrupp Materials de México is opening a new service center in San Luis Potosí.

Cleveland Cliffs executives didn’t mince words when opening its Q4’23 earnings call.

U.S. Steel is to permanently idle battery No. 15 at the Clairton coke plant in its Mon Valley works in Pennsylvania following a series of air pollution incidents and fines.

Nucor Corp. reported a decline in profits during the fourth quarter due to lower pricing and volumes.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. shipped more than 4 million short tons (st) of steel in each quarter of 2023, pushing its full-year shipments to a record 16.4m st.

Trade is not the major focus of the campaigns for the 2024 elections, either at the presidential or congressional level. But it is there as a live issue for business. And last August, former President Trump suggested a 10% tariff on virtually all imports as a “ring around the collar” of the US economy.

A Jan. 24 SEC filing by U.S. Steel Corp. reveals further details about the company’s strategic review process.

Steel Dynamics Inc. faces rising costs for its Columbus, Miss., aluminum rolling mill, but the project timeline remains on track.

Cleveland-Cliffs has successfully completed a hydrogen injection trial at its Indiana Harbor #7 blast furnace in East Chicago, Ind., near Chicago.

December’s import level was slightly lower than an earlier license count had suggested, resulting in December marking the second-slowest month for imports in 2023.

Brazilian steel maker Usiminas has resumed operations at blast furnace (BF) No. 3 at its Ipatinga works in the state of Minas Gerais. The restart comes after a BRL2.7-billion ($546-million) refurbishment on the unit, which has capacity of three million metric tons (mt) per year.

The American steel market, including the stainless steel market, continues to face serious threats from subsidized and dumped imports resulting from foreign government policies creating an unfair playing field. It is no secret that China is a major culprit.

U.S. Steel has idled its USS-UPI LLC subsidiary in Pittsburg, Calif., a company spokesperson confirmed. The idling happened in December, they said in an email to SMU.

Steel Dynamics Inc. executives said the company’s Sinton, Texas, flat-rolled steel is now Ebitda positive.

Steel Dynamics Inc.’s (SDI’s) top executive sees hot band demand remaining strong in 2024, which should support pricing.

JSW Steel USA has teamed up with Primetals Technologies to upgrade its slab casting capabilities at the company's Mingo Junction, Ohio, slab and hot-rolled sheet mill.