U.S. Steel CEO, Mario Longhi told analysts this afternoon that the company will close its Hamilton, Ontario, Canada blast furnace by the end of the year. The company advised they will also close two coke batteries at U.S. Steel Gary Works (#5 & #7). The coke batteries and rolling mills at Hamilton Works will not […]
US Steel reported a net loss of $1.79 billion for the third quarter due primarily to a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $1.8 billion. Net loss for the quarter excluding the impairment charge totaled $20 million, compared to a net loss of$78 million the previous quarter, and profit of $44 million in Q3 2012. The […]
The European Steel Association (Eurofer) says the year-over-year decline in the European Union (EU) steel industry is beginning to lessen and should show positive growth in 2014, according to the Eurofer Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2013-2014. The SWIP (Steel Weighted Industrial Production) Index is expected to be down -1.1 percent in the third quarter […]
There were just too many “Breaking News” articles flying around the steel industry on Tuesday. By the end of the day the market was in a tizzy and my phone wouldn’t stop ringing (the phone part is good news – I like to both talk and listen). One breaking news article caught our attention because […]
Rene Obermann, chief executive of Deutsche Telekom AG, will replace Prof. Dr. Beatrice Weder di Mauro on the ThyssenKrupp Supervisory Board effective November 1, 2013. Economist Weder di Mauro resigned after being appointed to a European Commission group on fiscal development of the euro zone. Obermann was appointed to the Board by a local court […]
U.S. Steel will report their 3rd Quarter earnings this week. Prior to the announcement the company and its new CEO, Mario Longhi announced what many in the industry already knew – two asset purchases made in 2007 are not worth what the company paid for them. The result is USS is taking a non-cash goodwill […]
There has been great speculation and anticipation regarding the sale of the ThyssenKrupp Steel Americas steel mills since the parent company announced it was offering the plants for sale over one year ago. The Americas operations consist of the Calvert, Alabama facility as well as the CSA fully integrated slab mill with its two blast […]
SSAB Americas had sales of SEK 3,639 million ($575 million) in the third quarter of 2013 on shipments of 628 thousand tonnes (692,239 tons). Niche products accounted for 166 thousand tonnes (182,980 tons) or 26 percent of total shipments. In comparison, shipments were 16 percent higher year over year and 9 percent higher quarterly. Sales […]
AK Steel announced the election Mark G. Essig and Vicente Wright to its Board of Directors effective Nov. 1, 2013. Mark Essig is currently CEO of FKI Security group and has held several senior executive positions in the steel industry including executive vice president at AK Steel from 1991 to 1998. Vicente Wright served as […]
Commercial Metals Company reported earnings of $4.1 million on net sales of $1.7 billion for its FY 2013 fourth quarter (ending August 31, 2013). Net earnings included an asset impairment charge of $25.9 million related to its Australian operation. In comparison, CMC reported net earnings of $30.2 million in fourth quarter 2012. CMC net earnings […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum increased sales 18.9 percent to $2.44 billion in the third quarter 2013 from $2.06 billion in third quarter 2012. Tons sold were up 31.3 percent year-over-year to 1.45 billion tons. Net income was $95.1 million, down 3.1 percent from $98.1 million in the third quarter of 2012 and up 17.4 percent from […]
Completion of the Essar Steel Minnesota taconite project has been delayed until late 2015 according company officials. The facility, begun in 2008, was originally slated for completion in 2013 and would increase annual production of taconite pellets from 4 million tonnes to 7 million tonnes. Essar Steel Minnesota CEO and President Madhu Vuupuluri said production […]
AK Steel has posted losses for the past four quarters and has added third quarter 2013 to that trend. The company reported a net loss of $31.7 million compared to a loss of $40.4 million the previous quarter and $60.9 million in third quarter 2012. Net sales were $1.33 billion on shipments of 1.24 million […]
Pencil them in as non-believers. During our monthly steel conference call held with HARDI wholesalers who distribute steel sheet and coil, we were advised that it is only a matter of time before steel prices begin to falter. One of the wholesalers told the group, “…Forty dollars per hundredweight – How many months out of […]
NLMK USA steel sales totaled 451,000 metric tons (497,141 net tons) for third quarter of 2013, an increase of 5.1 percent from second quarter and 8.7 percent from third quarter 2012. The increase was due mostly to greater US sales for hot rolled coil (HRC) and galvanized steel—275,000 tonnes (303,135 net tons) and 65,000 tonnes […]
Employees at Severstal Mountain State Carbon rejected a four-year contract offered by the company after more than a year at the bargaining table. The offer was defeated 181 to 7 by USW Local 1190. “We weren’t asking for the world,” said Don Hubbard a member of the union’s bargaining team. Worker demands included four weeks […]
Cevian Capital is making a move on ThyssenKrupp AG saying it will raise its stake in ThyssenKrupp to 10 percent by the end of the year and will seek a seat on the supervisory board, according to sources reported by German publication Manager Magazin. It is speculated that Cevian could fill one of three board […]
Total service center carbon steel shipments declined by 241,500 tons in September compared to August but shipping days also declined by two. As a result, tons per day shipments increased from 158,100 to 161,800. Month end inventory increased by 2,000 tons to 7,604,000 tons. Intake improved from 162,210 tons per day in August to 166,940 […]
Severstal NA reported sales of 1.2 million tonnes (1.32 million tons) of rolled products in the third quarter, a 2 percent increase over second quarter. Hot rolled coil and plate production decreased 2 percent to 642,729 tonnes (708,475 million tons) as compared to 656,574 tonnes (723,736 million tons) in the second quarter. […]
Steel Dynamics reported a strong third quarter net income of $57 million on net sales of $1.9 billion. In comparison, SDI reported $13 million net income on net sales of $1.7 billion in September 2012, and $29 million on net sales of $1.8 billion in second quarter 2013. “Our consolidated operating income increased 64 percent […]
Nucor announced consolidated net earnings of $147.6 million for the third quarter of 2013 as compared to net earnings of $85.1 million reported in the previous quarter and $110.3 million in third quarter of 2012. Net sales increased 6 percent to 4.94 billion, up slightly from $4.67 billion in the second quarter […]
Evraz North America announced Monday it would suspend operations at its steel mill in Claymont, Delaware on December 13th due to “subdued market demand and the high volume of imports.” The Russian-owned mill produces specialized steel plate and has an annual capacity of 500,000 tons but produced only 383,590 tons in 2012 and 189,025 tons […]
SMU learned in a recent conference call held by Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts that CSN is no longer interested in the ThyssenKrupp Brazil assets. Thiago Lofiego, senior Latin American Mining & Steel analyst at BofAML said CSN now appears to be interested in purchasing only the TK Alabama assets for a price in […]
Essar Algoma is looking for a few good men (or women) to fill three of its top positions: CEO, CFO, and Chief – Sales and Marketing. The position of chief executive officer is currently held by Kalyan Ghosh who stepped in as Interim CEO following Jim Hrusovsky’s resignation in November 2012 after sixteen months in […]
The following is an email we received from a service center executive regarding the current contract negotiations and their opinion as to how changes can change the mix of contracts to spot orders on with a mill and, price volatility in the marketplace. We have heard the same argument from others within the steel industry […]
You don’t usually think of fruit when visiting a domestic steel mill. However, our gracious hosts at Nucor Arkansas (Hickman) let us in on the secret of Strawberries – and that’s all I have to say about that. For more details talk to anyone associated with Nucor Arkansas and they will most likely let you […]
Kloeckner Metals Co. announced the opening of a new light gauge flat rolled processing center at the ThyssenKrupp Steel USA plant site in Calvert, Alabama. The service center will provide toll processing for ThyssenKrupp Steel USA based on a long-term, owner-independent exclusive contract. The 100,000 square foot facility will offer slitting first and will later […]
Gov. Robert Bentley of Alabama announced that IT-TRI LLC will build a steel tubing and manufacturing plant in Lawrence County. The Chicago-based company hopes to break ground in Trinity, Ala. this fall and begin operations in 2014. “Having two raw material suppliers in Alabama, Nucor Steel in Decatur and U.S. Steel in Birmingham, and due […]
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 7, 2013 — Nucor Corporation NUE +0.08% announced that The Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) presented Nucor’s Executive Chairman Dan DiMicco with its Iverson-Selig award, recognizing his outstanding contributions to the minimill steel industry. The award is named after Nucor’s founder Ken Iverson and Marvin Selig, founder of CMC Steel, who were two […]
Activist investor Cevian Capital announced it has increased its stake in ThyssenKrupp AG from 5.2 percent to 6.1 percent. You may be familiar with the definition of an activist as “a vigorous advocate of a cause” but an activist investor is not quite the same. Investopedia defines an activist investor as: An individual or group […]