Despite the dramatic impact of the COVID-19 virus on the Chinese workforce and the nation’s commerce, the China Iron and Steel Association forecasts that steel production will decrease by only 2.7 percent in the first quarter. Crude steel production has actually increased by around 3 percent in February. Analysts warn that China’s steel production is […]
North Star BlueScope reported weaker earnings in the first half of FY 2020 due to softer prices and margin spreads and normal seasonality. Sales revenue of $592 million was down 32 percent from the first half of 2019. Weaker hot rolled coil prices were partly offset by lower raw material costs. Shipments for the half […]
International OCTG producer Tenaris had net sales of $7.3 billion in 2019, a 5 percent decrease from 2018 that reflected lower drilling activity in Canada and the U.S. and lower sales in the Middle East and Africa. Net income fell 16 percent to $731 million. Fourth-quarter North American tubular sales increased 1 percent to $779 million […]
A fire at ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor East on Friday resulted in the evacuation of workers from the hot strip mill. An ArcelorMittal spokesperson said the fire broke out at the 80-inch HSM #3 Coiler late Friday afternoon, Feb. 21. There were no injuries or explosions as a result of the fire. “The two other coilers […]
By CRU Research Manager Paul Butterworth and Analyst Zhenzhen Jiang, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service The loss of steel demand from Covid-19 has pushed Chinese steelmakers to either reduce utilization or idle capacity but, as steel stocks at mills reach critical levels, they will increasingly seek to offload in the export market. Decisions by […]
Olympic Steel missed its mark during a challenging year. The company reported net income of $3.9 million for 2019, down from $33.8 million in 2018. Net sales fell 8.3 percent year-over-year to $1.6 billion. Fourth-quarter sales slid 29 percent from a year ago to $320 million. The company posted a net loss of $890,000 in […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum announced a slew of records for its performance in 2019 and an increase in net income for the fourth quarter of 2019. “We challenged ourselves to drive continuous improvements in our business in 2019 and we are extremely pleased with the outcome of our performance,” said President and CEO Jim Hoffman. […]
“Transformational” is what Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves called the acquisition of AK Steel in remarks during the Q4 2019 earnings call Thursday. “With the acquisition of AK Steel, Cleveland-Cliffs becomes the most relevant supplier of steel to the automotive industry in the United States, fully integrated from iron ore in the ground to auto parts […]
Canadian steel producer Stelco Holdings cited challenging market conditions and an “unprecedented” drop in steel prices for its fourth-quarter loss. Stelco reported a net loss of $27 million for the quarter on sales of $435 million, down from $648 millon in the prior-year quarter, due to lower steel prices and shipping volumes. Full year net […]
While America’s integrated steel producers are investing millions in R&D to reduce harmful emissions from their steelmaking process, the nation’s minimill steel producers have already claimed the high ground for environmental stewardship. Integrated mills and their blast furnaces heat iron ore and coking coal at high temperatures to produce high-quality virgin pig iron and steel. […]
While business activity remains fairly strong in February, distributors of galvanized products to the HVAC industry are waiting and watching for some indication of which way steel prices will move. Steel Market Update is, too. SMU has moved its Price Momentum Indicator to Neutral until the market establishes a clear direction. Steel prices have softened […]
Writing with CRU’s Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen are Principal Consultant for Aluminum Wan Ling, Senior Analyst Richard Lu, Analyst Ruilin Wang and China office CEO John Johnson. Last week, CRU’s China offices in Shanghai and Beijing returned to work following the Chinese New Year holiday, which was extended due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus (Covid-19). This virus has had a heavy […]
China has begun a mass return to work following the Chinese New Year holiday that was extended due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (recently given the official name Covid-19). Labor and logistical constraints have hit the steel industry across the whole value chain from the supply of raw materials through to steel demand […]
Worthington Industries plans to close its manufacturing plant in Wooster, Ohio, this spring. The oil and gas equipment manufacturing operations will be consolidated into Worthington’s facility in Bremen, Ohio. “We believe the consolidation of our manufacturing footprint in the East will enable us to better serve our customers and accelerate transformation efforts already under way […]
NLMK USA saw sales decrease 14 percent to 470,000 metric tons during the fourth quarter of 2019. Revenue from the segment dropped 18 percent quarter-over-quarter to $322 million. Declines were attributed to softer demand and lower steel prices. NLMK Group noted weaker demand in energy, automotive and machinery segments and a 4 percent drop in […]
U.S. Steel Corp. has made additional cuts to staff at its Indiana operations as part of its operating and organizational improvements. Amanda Malkowski, spokeswoman for U.S. Steel, said recent cuts affect non-union employees. Said Malkowski in a statement: “In line with the enhanced operating model and organizational structure announced in October 2019, U.S. Steel has […]
ArcelorMittal posted a net loss of $1.9 billion for the fourth quarter of 2019. In comparison, the global steelmaker posted a loss of $539 million in Q3 and a net profit of $1.19 billion in Q4 2018. For the entire year 2019, ArcelorMittal posted a net loss of $2.5 billion compared to net income of […]
The frightening coronavirus outbreak in China has disrupted manufacturing and construction, which may lead to lower steel prices. Commerce at China’s many ports has also been impacted to varying degrees, reports a Steel Market Update source in Beijing. At some Chinese ports, ships are able to berth and unberth as normal. In other locations, loading […]
U.S. Steel reported a net loss of $680 million for the fourth quarter of 2019 and a loss of $642 million for the year, but counts the quarter a success by exceeding its previously lowered Q4 expectations. The steelmaker sees last year as one of notable strategic progress. Sales for the year totaled $12.9 billion, […]
By Principal Analyst James Campbell, from CRU’s Steel Plate Products Market Outlook The coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan has led to Chinese New Year holidays being extended and transportation restrictions introduced in order to contain the spread of the virus. Steel demand is normally weak during this period, but production continues as usual. Every day of […]
Nucor beat analysts’ estimates for the fourth quarter, reporting net earnings of $107.8 million due to an unexpected surge in sales during December. “Stronger than expected steel mill segment performance in December was the primary driver for higher actual fourth-quarter earnings than we indicated in our mid-December quantitative guidance,” said Leon Topalian, Nucor’s new president […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen Given the importance of China to our industry, this Insight sets out the potential impact of the Wuhan coronavirus on commodity markets. Using the SARS episode as a benchmark, the impact on Chinese GDP and industrial production could be as large as 1 percent—but that estimate comes with a […]
SSAB Americas posted a loss of $23 million (-222 million SEK) for the fourth quarter of 2019 due to lower realized steel prices and maintenance costs associated with a planned outage in Mobile, Ala. Heavy plate demand was good in the first half of the year, but weakened in the fourth quarter due to inventory […]
Canadian steel producer Stelco will return Alan Kestenbaum to the position of chief executive officer, effective Feb. 21. Current CEO David Cheney will step down and return to his previous role at Bedrock Industries. Kestenbaum served as Stelco’s CEO from the closing of the company’s initial public offering in November 2017 until February 2019 and […]
A fire at the AK Steel Mansfield facility reportedly caused serious burns to a female employee who was working near the ladle in the melt shop. Mansfield Fire Department received a call at 5:12 pm regarding an explosion and fire at the plant. By the time firefighters arrived the fire was under control by AK […]
JSW Steel USA reported dismal results for the third quarter of 2020, but the company expects losses will be reduced substantially in the fourth quarter. JSW Steel – Baytown produced 70,479 metric tons of plate and 14,669 MT of pipes during the third quarter of 2020, reported JSW Steel India. The plate mill operated at […]
Michelle Pearson-Casey has returned to Olympic Steel as Vice-President-Corporate Communications & Marketing after a five-year hiatus. Pearson-Casey joined Olympic Steel in 1999 and left her role as Director-Human Resources in 2015 to pursue opportunities in consumer packaged goods and as a communications and change management consultant supporting global organizations. She brings nearly 20 years of […]
Steel Dynamics reported record steel shipments of 10.8 million tons and net sales of $10.5 billion in 2019 for the company’s second-best sales performance. Steel fabrication also set a yearly record with shipments of 644,000 tons, and almost doubled its operating income from 2018. Sales declined 11 percent to $11.5 billion from the record high […]
NLMK USA sold 472,000 metric tons of steel in the fourth quarter of 2019, a decline of 14 percent from the previous quarter and 6 percent from a year ago. The decrease was attributed to a seasonal slowdown in steel buying activity. Sales for the full year of 2019 declined 3.0 percent to 2.2 million […]
Acknowledging that “it’s a lot easier to sell steel when the price is going up,” distributors of steel products to the HVAC sector reported strong sales in the first month of the new year despite galvanized base prices that have risen by about $130 in the past 12 weeks to the current $800 per ton. […]