Category: Mills

Canadian Minister of Industry Melanie Joly has urged that Canada’s Competition Bureau examine Cleveland-Cliffs’ conduct in the Canadian marketplace following its Stelco acquisition. Minister Joly sent a letter to Jeanne Pratt, Commissioner of Competition, on Friday, regarding testimony Cliffs Chairman and CEO Lourenco Goncalves made to the US Congressional Steel Caucus, and a subsequent interview to the CBC. oly said that in the Caucus testimony, “Goncalves stated that his company had acquired Stelco to ‘block’ it from selling into the US market.”

The United Steelworkers (USW) accused U.S. Steel of “dragging their feet” in labor contract negotiations on Friday. The USW said in a text to members that it delivered a proposed labor contract to U.S. Steel on Oct. 30 and that the company asked to meet with union negotiators the following Thursday and Friday. “When we met (Thursday), they gave us no response on wages or the majority of the outstanding items,” the USW said, adding that U.S. Steel’s lead negotiator unexpectedly left the bargaining table on Friday.

Cleveland-Cliffs and the United Steelworkers (USW) announced on Friday that they had reached a tentative deal for a new, four-year labor pact. The Cleveland-based steelmaker said the agreement covered approximately 12,000 USW members in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Michigan. The company noted that the deal included workers not only at its steel plants but also its mining operations—in other words, all of its USW labor contracts up for renewal. “Our USW-represented employees do work that is essential to Cleveland-Cliffs and to our country. These agreements recognize their contributions and give us the stability we need to invest, compete and continue strengthening American steelmaking," Cliffs Chairman and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said in a statement.

Nucor opened its secondary and excess product bid list across all its flat-rolled mills on Monday, as it typically does, market participants told SMU. But by Wednesday, when bidding was scheduled to close, Nucor notified buyers it would not be awarding any bids this week. The abrupt close sent a shock through the secondary market, they said. "Nucor pulled their excess and secondary lists this week and is not selling anything," a Midwest buyer said.

U.S. Steel’s profits soared in the third quarter amid higher steel prices and increased shipments. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker reported net earnings attributable to USS of $859 million in the third quarter, up 759% from $100 million a year earlier. Net sales rose 26% to $4.78 billion in the same comparison. The company said all four of its operating segments generated positive results in Q3’26. “Higher average realized prices and higher shipment volumes drove improvement across the portfolio,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.

ArcelorMittal expects North American steel shipments to be flat sequentially in the fourth quarter, as recovery from Canadian and Mexican disruptions is expected to be offset by normal seasonality and maintenance. The company reported third-quarter shipments of 2.645 million metric tons, down 6.6% sequentially but up 1% year over year (y/y). It attributed the shipment decline primarily to lower long product volumes. North America sales were nearly $3.7 billion in Q3’26, nearly level with the previous quarter but 11% higher y/y. Average selling prices rose 5.7% sequentially to $1,228 per metric ton (mt).

Algoma Steel has secured a contract to supply up to 24,000 metric tons of structural steel plate for Seaspan Shipyards’ Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker program. The agreement, valued at about $182 million Canadian, covers steel for up to six multi-purpose icebreakers, at ~4,000 metric tons per vessel. Algoma will produce the plate, with Stigterstaal Canada serving as the marine steel processing and distribution partner. The order is the largest polar-class steel order in Algoma’s history, according to the companies.

US steel shipments fell in September from the previous month but increased marginally on-year. Domestic mills shipped 8,047,607 short tons (st) in September, according to the latest figures from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). That’s down 2.1% from the 8,220,554 st shipped in August, but up slightly from 8,032,536 st in September 2025. Year-to-date (YTD) shipments through September stood at 72,014,802 st, up 4.8% vs. 68,732,750 st in the same period last year.

Ternium SA expects a modest seasonal decline in consolidated steel shipments in the fourth quarter, but sees Mexico revenue per ton continuing to rise with North American steel price trends. The outlook came as the company released its third-quarter earnings report and prepares to start steel shop production at its new Pesqueria slab mill in February. “We are seeing a strong demand in Mexico … strong demand in the US,” CEO Maximo Vedoya said on a conference call on Wednesday to discuss the quarterly earnings. Ternium reported Q3’26 net income of $368 million, compared with $465 million in Q2’26 and a $270-million loss in Q3’25.

Gerdau announced on Nov. 2 that it will raise special bar quality (SBQ) prices by $60 per short ton ($3/cwt). The increase is effective for all new orders and shipments starting Jan. 1, 2027, according to a letter sent to customers. It applies to all hot-rolled carbon and alloy SBQ products, including rounds, squares, flats, special sections, and thermally processed products.

Metallus reported improved year-over-year profitability in the third quarter, but expects seasonal softness and planned maintenance to weigh on fourth-quarter results. The specialty metals producer pointed to continued demand and a new defense contract as supports for growth.

Mexican longs producer Deacero has cast the first billet at its new minimill in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, moving the Danieli-supplied caster into commissioning. It's a key milestone for Deacero's $600-million Ramos II mini-mill, said Italian plant engineering and equipment provider. "The achievement further strengthens the long-standing collaboration between Deacero and Danieli, and further confirms Danieli’s already-established presence in the Mexican long-products market," the company said in a statement on Nov. 2.

The United Steelworkers (USW) union and U.S. Steel remain at loggerheads on key issues more than two months after the original deadline for negotiating a new contract passed. “We are not here to bargain concessions,” the USW said in a text to union members on Friday afternoon. The USW’s text on Friday afternoon came after the union said U.S. Steel had presented a proposed labor contract that contained “nothing new on wages (their proposal is just too low)”.

Domestic raw steel production surged last week, reaching its highest output in almost two decades, according to the latest American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) figures. While the seesaw pattern continued for US production this past week, production swelled to its highest reading since Aug. 23, 2008, driven by a massive swing in the South. The increase reversed the recent downward trend, with a sharp rebound in the South accounting for nearly all the weekly gain. Production has fluctuated considerably over the past two months, reaching both an 18-year high and its lowest level since January.

Nucor said on Monday, Nov. 2, that its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil will be $1,280 per short ton (st) this week, up $10/st from last week. The CSP for HR coil from California Steel Industries (CSI) on the West Coast will be $1,350/st, also up $10/st from a week earlier. Nucor continues to offer lead times of three to five weeks, according to its letter to customers. You can track mill price announcements on our website. Steel Market Update published a weekly price assessment on Tuesday, Oct. 27, showing HR coil prices averaging $1,305/st, up $15/st from the previous week.

The majority of steel buyers responding to our latest market survey reported that mills continue to hold a firm grip on prices. The share of buyers reporting that mills were negotiable fell this week to the lowest rate seen in over five years. Every two weeks, SMU surveys service center and manufacturer buyers asking if mills are negotiable on new spot sheet and plate orders. In this week’s survey, just 3% of respondents said mills were willing to talk price to secure an order (Figure 1). This is down 11 percentage points from our mid-October survey.

Algoma’s net loss narrowed in the third quarter, but the company continues to be affected by US tariffs and the transition to electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based steelmaker reported a net loss of Canadian $129.6 million (USD$92.6 million) in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, narrowing 73% from CAD$485.1 million a year earlier. Net sales dropped 52% to CAD$249.4 million in the same comparison.

The results of the latest Steel Market Update (SMU) flat-rolled market survey are now available on our website to all premium members. After logging in, look under the Data tab for Market Reports, and there you will find the Flat-Rolled Survey Results section. Previous survey results are also available on that page. If you need help accessing these results, or if your company would like to have your voice heard in our future surveys, contact smu@crugroup.com.

Lead times for sheet and plate products continued to lengthen amid historically tight supply, according to the latest SMU steel market survey data. Average lead times now extend into January 2027, with some mills quoting availability well into February. Lead times for all sheet products except Galvalume stand at their highest point since the post-Covid demand snapback in 2021. Plate lead times exceed their 2021 peak, setting a record in our data series, which dates to 2018. (We started collecting sheet lead times earlier, in 2011.)

In-person labor contract negotiations resumed this week between the United Steelworkers (USW) union, U.S. Steel, and Cleveland-Cliffs, the union said. The USW said it presented its latest counterproposal to U.S. Steel on Wednesday. “All of our big issues remain on the table, including wages, health care, retirement, safety, capital investments, successorship, and greater transparency around profit sharing,” the USW said in a text to members on Wednesday.

The busy fall maintenance season isn’t over yet. Mill outages have rolled along since September, squeezing an already tight sheet market heading into November and beyond. Another round of scheduled maintenance is approaching, with outages still ahead at North Star BlueScope, ArcelorMittal Calvert, and Nucor Berkeley. Much of the fall maintenance calendar is now in the rearview mirror. September and October outages included U.S. Steel’s Gary Works; Nucor’s Hickman, Decatur, Gallatin and Crawfordsville operations; Steel Dynamics’ Sinton and Columbus mills; Cleveland-Cliffs’ Dearborn hot strip mill; NLMK Portage; and Big River Steel Works.

Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said Stelco is not for sale, but he might sell it after operating the company for a period. He said he had come to understand that he was unwelcome in Canada. Separately, in a statement to SMU on Wednesday, Goncalves said he would consider a sale only after Stelco records one year of higher production and brings back all laid-off workers. He clarified it was 175 workers, not 500. He also said he would speak with no potential buyers “real or imaginary” now or during the next calendar year.

SSAB Americas delivered slightly lower shipments and operating results in the third quarter of 2026 due to a planned maintenance outage. Still, the company saw strong demand in key US end markets, specifically in heavy industrial segments. The Swedish steelmaker’s Americas division shipped 446,000 metric tons (mt) in Q3’26, down from 473,000 mt in the previous quarter but up from 440,000 mt in Q3’25, according to its 2026 third quarter report. SSAB President and CEO Johnny Sjöström described stable shipments vs. year-ago results. On an earnings conference call, he highlighted strong underlying demand and higher prices, “up higher than we guided for, by roughly 8%.” Results came in despite maintenance-related volume fluctuations related to a planned outage at the company’s mill in Montpelier, Iowa, during the quarter.

Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau’s North American operations posted higher profits in the third quarter as shipments increased. The company posted adjusted EBITDA of 2,912 million reais (USD$567 million) in the third quarter ended Sept. 30 for its North American operations, up 60% from 1,820 million reais from a year earlier. Net sales rose 14% to 10,512 million reais in the same comparison.

United States Steel Corp. plans to break ground on its direct-reduced iron (DRI) production facility in Arkansas this week. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker will hold a ceremonial groundbreaking on Friday morning, according to a media advisory sent to SMU. The DRI facility will be located next door to the Big River 2 steel plant in Osceola, Ark. U.S. Steel said the new facility will utilize iron ore sourced from the company’s Minnesota Ore operations. BRS2 will transfer hot DRI to its two electric-arc furnaces to produce steel for the automotive, solar, packaging, and construction industries.

Nucor expects steel mill shipments to grow closer to the upper end of its 5-10% range in 2026, President and COO Steve Laxton said on the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Tuesday. He cited demand from infrastructure, reshoring, digital infrastructure, and energy investment as demand drivers. A presentation released with the company’s Q3’26 earnings report said manufacturing construction spending remained near $170 billion annually, with activity broadening beyond chip plants to include power equipment, aerospace and defense, pharmaceuticals, and automotive. Data center construction spending doubled from 2024 to 2026, with a 20% compound annual growth rate projected through 2031.

Canada’s Minister of Industry Melanie Joly has said she won’t meet with Cleveland-Cliffs until it presents a plan and a timeline to restore jobs at its Stelco operations in Hamilton, Ontario. This follows the Cleveland-based steelmaker saying on Monday it was in full compliance with undertakings related to its buy of Stelco in 2024. Stelco announced layoffs affecting up to 500 workers last month. The company cited the impact of US Section 232 tariffs. Subsequently, the Canadian government alleged that the layoffs violated commitments Cliffs made when it purchased Stelco in 2024.

Nucor has been awarded an entire General Motors platform for exposed automotive sheet, Chair and CEO Leon Topalian said on a call Tuesday discussing the company’s third-quarter earnings. Topalian described the award as a breakthrough for Nucor in a product area he said integrated steelmakers had long dominated. Nucor plans to shift related process engineering and quality control work to its new West Virginia sheet mill as the facility ramps up, Topalian said. He said the mill would be capable of producing high-end automotive steel. Noah Hanners, executive VP of sheet products, said West Virginia automotive tons would begin customer qualifications in 2028.

JSW Steel’s US operations reported higher EBITDA in the second quarter of FY 2026-27, as improved sales realizations offset lower production at its Ohio and Texas facilities. The company's electric-arc furnace (EAF) facility in Ohio produced 224,933 short tons (st) of slabs in the quarter, at 62% capacity utilization. Slab production fell quarter over quarter, primarily because of a scheduled shutdown for electrical upgrades and maintenance, the company said. Sales were 112,663 st of slabs and 91,198 st of hot-rolled (HR) coil. EBITDA rose 22% q/q to $5.85 million, driven by better sales realizations, which partly offset the effect of lower volumes.

Nucor's net earnings more than doubled in the third quarter of this year compared to the same quarter last year on higher steel prices and sales volumes. The strong showing was supported by "robust demand across key end markets," company Chair and CEO Leon Topalian said in a statement released with Q3'26 earnings data after the close of markets on Monday. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker reported net earnings of $1.32 billion in Q3'26, more than double earnings of $607 million in Q3'25 on sales that rose 32% to $11.25 billion in the same comparison.