NLMK says a full day of negotiations last Thursday failed to make any real progress on resolving the two-month-old strike at NLMK Pennsylvania. “It continues to appear that the USW leadership isn’t interested in getting the workers back to work as quickly as possible,” said a spokesperson for the company. NLMK is offering what it […]
U.S. Steel has successfully started its new electric arc furnace steelmaking facility at Fairfield, Ala. The EAF commenced its first arc, charged and melted scrap and on Oct. 20 tapped its first heat of liquid steel. EAF #1 at Fairfield Tubular will have an annual steelmaking capacity of 1.6 million tons and is part of […]
A cybersecurity attack at Canadian steel producer Stelco is a reminder to all in the steel industry to secure and protect their data and operations. Stelco announced Monday that it was the victim of a criminal attack on its information systems. Immediate countermeasures were implemented that limited the scope of the attack, but certain operations, […]
JSW Steel’s assets in Texas and Ohio both reported losses for the second quarter of FY 2021. At Baytown, the pipe mill remained idled and the plate mill operated at only 22 percent of capacity, producing 54,137 metric tons. EBITDA for the subsidiary was positive at $17.24 million, but only due to a $30.4 million […]
The return of automotive manufacturing after closures due to the pandemic boosted demand for Cleveland-Cliffs’ products and resulted in revenue of $1.6 billion and net income of $2 million for the third quarter of 2020. “We were significantly affected in Q2 by the unprecedented shutdowns that took place throughout the entire auto sector for an […]
North Star BlueScope continues to shine for Australian parent company BlueScope Steel. North Star continues to ship at full capacity in the first half of FY 2021 driven by the rebound in the U.S. auto industry. Steel spreads have improved in the half due to higher HRC pricing, although earnings are expected to be somewhat […]
Lower prices and planned maintenance contributed to reduced earnings for SSAB Americas in the third quarter of 2020. Revenue fell 16 percent from the prior quarter and 39 percent year-over-year to SEK 2,715 million ($309.5 million U.S.). The segment posted an operating loss of SEK 436 million ($49.7 million), down SEK 425 million from Q2 […]
Nucor reported better than expected results for the third quarter of 2020. The company’s bar and structural mills led earnings, benefiting from a good nonresidential construction market. Joist and deck orders, quotes and backlogs are up year-over year with strong demand from nonresidential, including data and distribution center construction, company executives told investors and analysts […]
Steel Dynamics’ CEO Mark Millett was upbeat on the prospects for steel demand in the fourth quarter and beyond. “You can clearly see what is happening in the marketplace through one’s order book—ours is in pretty good shape,” said Millett. Flat rolled demand and momentum remain strong, inventories are at historical lows, imports continue to […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan Smith and Research Manager Paul Butterworth CRU analyzes hydrogen-steelmaking costs in the EU and explains why CO2 prices of more than $200/t-CO2 are required to incentivize an EU industry shift to these technologies. Climate Goals vs. Economics The 2050 goal for the EU economy is to be climate-neutral, meaning that […]
Resilient construction demand enabled Commercial Metals Company to weather the COVID-19 crisis without disruption to productivity. CMC’s fourth-quarter FY 2020 earnings totaled $67.8 million, a 6.5 percent increase from the third quarter. Consolidated net sales totaled $1.4 billion, with sequential increases in both the North America and Europe segments. Net sales for the year reached […]
Ford has selected ArcelorMittal and its Fortiform 980 GI steel as its sole source of third-generation advanced high-strength steel for use in the 2021 Ford Bronco. The steel is produced at AM/NS Calvert and is designed for automotive application due to its strength and formability. “Ford called us to see if we could develop this […]
Canadian steel producer Stelco has completed the upgrade and reline of the blast furnace at Lake Erie Works and has commenced production. The upgrade will improve quality and increase metal production by up to 300,000 net tons per year and reduce costs to produce steel coils by CAD $30 ($22.84 U.S.) per ton. “We are […]
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. is considering selling its shares of I/N Tek and I/N Kote, rolling and galvanizing plants held in a 50-50 joint venture with ArcelorMittal, to Cleveland-Cliffs. Cliffs acquired ArcelorMittal’s shares of the two plants in New Carlisle, Ind., in a deal for the company’s U.S. assets last month. Nippon Steel […]
Sales at NLMK USA plunged 33 percent year-over-year in the third quarter of 2020 due to lower production resulting from the strike at NLMK Pennsylvania. Compared to the previous quarter, USA sales jumped 11 percent to 370,000 metric tons following the completion of repairs at NLMK Indiana and recovery in steel demand. Weak steel consumption […]
Majestic Steel will be the presenting sponsor for the Sixth Annual Wine, Women & Shoes Gala to benefit Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland. Majestic Steel is a long-time supporter of RMHC, which provides critical support and medical services for families impacted by catastrophic illnesses or injuries. The Wine, Women & Shoes gala will be virtual […]
Workers at NLMK Pennsylvania in Farrell, Pa., are in their seventh week of a strike over healthcare and what they claim are unfair labor practices with little progress evident in negotiations. NLMK released a video for employees on Oct. 1 to explain the structure of the proposed new health plan and the savings for workers […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the United States’ awareness of its economic and security risks, said U.S. Steel President and CEO David Burritt, in an op-ed published by Fox Business. “Key among these risks: the hidden cost of our country’s high dependence on the global supply chain.” As the coronavirus took hold globally, critical supplies […]
By CRU China CEO John Johnson and CRU Senior Consultant Ashley Wang from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor On Sept. 22, in a statement to the United Nations General Assembly, President Xi Jinping announced to world leaders that China “aims to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060”. The part of this statement concerning CO2 was brief […]
Swedish initiative HYBRIT has received $2.5 million from the Swedish Energy Agency for a comprehensive study of steelmaking using hydrogen for the direct-reduction of iron ore. HYBRIT is a collaboration of steelmaker SSAB, iron ore producer LKAB, and electricity producer Vattenfall. HYBRIT seeks to replace coking coal used in ore-based steel making with hydrogen to create steel with […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Market Outlook In less than a year Cleveland-Cliffs has transformed themselves from a Great Lakes-based iron ore miner to the largest fully integrated flat rolled steel producer in the USA. Cliffs has done this by acquiring AK Steel earlier this year and now they […]
Recovery, fundamental, opportunity, strategic, exciting. These are the five words steel executives used during AIST’s Virtual Town Hall Forum Wednesday to describe the current state of steel. In the aftermath of an unprecedented upheaval for the economy and the industry caused by the COVID-19 crisis, executives from Big River Steel, Cleveland-Cliffs, Nucor, Steel Dynamics and […]
An explosion at ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s Machine Shop complex on Thursday afternoon destroyed a stress relieving furnace near the welding shop. The explosion was heard by the neighboring areas, but there was no offsite impact or serious injuries to Dofasco team members, the company said. Said spokesperson Marie Verdun in a statement to SMU: “We experienced […]
Cleveland-Cliffs’ purchase of ArcelorMittal USA took many steel buyers by surprise this week. Initial reactions from some Steel Market Update readers ranged from “a major development” to “business as usual.” Here are some of their comments: “Quite surprised by this development. Initial reaction is this gives them an incredibly strong position with automotive. Not sure […]
ArcelorMittal’s divestment of U.S. assets to Cleveland-Cliffs completes the company’s $2 billion asset portfolio optimization and strategically repositions its North American platform. “This transaction is a unique opportunity for ArcelorMittal to unlock significant value for shareholders while retaining exposure to the North American economy through our high-quality NAFTA assets alongside a participation in what will […]
U.S. Steel has selected Kenneth Jaycox to succeed Doug Matthew, who will retire in January, as Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. Jaycox will be responsible for all North American flat-rolled commercial activities with a focus on customer satisfaction, innovation, new business and market share growth. “We are building a more customer-focused company with our […]
Cleveland-Cliffs is about to become the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America. The company announced Monday that it will acquire the operations of ArcelorMittal USA and its subsidiaries for a purchase price of approximately $1.4 billion in equity and cash. The transaction includes 78.2 million shares of Cleveland-Cliffs common stock valued at $500 million, […]
Douglas Matthews, Senior Vice President – Chief Commercial & Technology Officer, Tubular and Mining Solutions, plans to retire in January 2021 after 33 years of service with U.S. Steel. “Doug Matthews has played an essential role in revitalizing U.S. Steel and helping us realize our ‘best of both’ integrated and mini-mill strategy,” said U.S. Steel […]
Steel Market Update has had conversations/communications with Robert Miller, CEO and James Banker, Jr., Executive Vice President of NLMK USA as we endeavor to learn more about the status of the strike against the Farrell, Pennsylvania facility, status of slabs for the Farrell mill, and gain a better understanding of the general flat rolled steel […]
Strong demand in auto, residential construction and consumer products benefited Worthington Industries in the first quarter of FY 2021. The company reported net sales of $702.9 million, an 18 percent decline from the first quarter of FY 2020. Net earnings totaled $616.7 million which included a net pre-tax gain of $746.6 million related to Worthington’s […]