Category: Mills

Participants in the hot- and cold-rolled coils market are optimistic about the market's health.

Service centers held only 2.24 months of supply (49.3 days of supply) of sheet products in March, according to our latest figures. If you check our archives, you’ll see that's the lowest sheet inventories we’ve seen since June 2021 – which was hardly a bad year for steel.

Steel mill lead times remained elevated this week, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.

There are several factors buttressing the ferrous scrap market against it seasonal fall in the spring months. We all know about the Iran War and the rise in fuel costs. Other factors include strong steelmaking activity, rising steel prices, lighter inbound scrap flows, and firm export markets.

U.S. Steel announced plans to restart tin production at its Gary Tin Mill at the integrated Gary Works steelmaking facility outside Chicago.

Nucor announced its fuel surcharge for plate will be at least $10 per short ton, effective with shipments beginning May 1.

Hyundai Steel and France-based Fives Group announced the signing of a contract for coil finishing lines for the Hyundai-POSCO joint steel mill proposed in Louisiana.

Canada’s ArcelorMittal Dofasco completed the final push of coke at its No. 3 Coke Plant on April 13. It marks the beginning of a controlled shutdown and the next step in the company’s decarbonization pathway, first announced in 2021.

Raw steel production increased for the fourth-consecutive week last week to a new multi-year high, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

Nucor has increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $1,045 per short ton (st), a $5/st bump from last week.

Remember the “Got Milk?” advertising campaign of the 1990s. Maybe we should start a “Got Steel?” campaign. Or maybe “Got Spot Tons?” would be more accurate, if less catchy.

What a local media report described as an "explosion" on Friday night at U.S. Steel's Gary Works in Northwest Indiana has not disrupted production or resulted in any injuries, that company said.

Steel output will carry on in Iran despite repeated US-Israeli air strikes on key industrial sites, including the Mobarakeh and Khuzestan steel companies, according to a senior Iranian industry official.

A New York Times report says the White House has secured tens of millions of dollars’ worth of donated foreign steel for President Trump’s planned $400 million ballroom project.

Plate market participants we spoke to this week offered a long list of concerns: escalating fuel and freight expenses, consolidated sources of end-market demand, tariff-related complications, as well as long lead times and delivery delays from US mills. The cherry on top? An ever shrinking availability of spot tons from domestic mills.

The US scrap market has largely settled at prices most predicted in late March. The prevailing view then: shredded and other obsolete grades, like HMS, would drop $10-20 per gross ton (gt) despite higher transportation costs. And prime grades, like #1 busheling and bundles, would trade sideways thanks to better demand and static supply. This is essentially what has happened.

The president’s April 2 proclamation restructures how derivative products are classified, valued, and tariffed – a shift that industry groups say will close loopholes but could raise costs for certain downstream imports.

US raw steel production increased both week over week and year over year in the week ended April 4, according to the latest data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

Nucor plans to increase its list price for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $1,040 per short ton (st), up $5/st from last week.

At least two major US plate producers - SSAB Americas and Nucor - plan to increase plate prices by at least $60 per short ton (st).

Algoma Steel Group Inc. released first-quarter earnings guidance, expecting to report a significant decline in shipments and adjusted EBITDA as the steelmaker continues its transition to electric-arc furnace steelmaking.

POSCO has reiterated its interest in expanding in the US market. The South Korean steelmaker also confirmed it remains in talks with Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.

U.S. Steel has confirmed the restart of the B blast furnace at its Granite City Works near St. Louis.

Raw steel production recovered for the second-consecutive week and is now just 14,000 short tons below the four-year high production rate witnessed in mid-February.

Nucor has increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $1,035 per short ton (st), a $10/st bump from last week.

U.S. Steel confirmed it is in the process of restarting one of its two Granite City Works blast furnaces. Local media reports suggest iron- and steelmaking will have resumed over weekend.

Global raw steel production declined 3.7% from January to an estimated 141.8 million metric tons (mt) in February, according worldsteel data. Output was one of the lowest totals over the past three years.

Domestic mill production was estimated at 1.78 million short tons last week, near the four-year high set one month ago.

Nucor raised its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $1,025 per short ton (st), up $10/st from last week.

As spot prices for hot- and cold-rolled coils edge higher, mill capacity utilization rates hover below 80%, raising concern among some market participants.