Category: Region

Domestic mill production ticked up to a new multi-year high last week, according to recently published American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) figures.

Steel Dynamics Inc.’s first-quarter 2026 earnings soared on record steel shipments and a jump in steel prices.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. executives on Monday detailed a series of operational moves aimed at improving efficiency, lowering costs, and tightening the company’s production footprint.

Revelar Capital's portfolio firm, Steele Solutions, plans to accelerate the pace of operational growth at newly acquired Maysteel Industries.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. reported improving supply-demand fundamentals in the first quarter and expects stronger conditions through the rest of 2026.

Varsteel Ltd said acquiring Pacifica Steel’s structural steel division supports its geographic expansion strategy. 

Pig iron availability in the US is in short supply, various sources reported to SMU. However, based upon figures for Q1'26, pig iron shipments from Ukraine and Brazil are at high levels.

Core to the negotiations will be the need for a fundamental rebalancing of the relationship between the United States, Mexico, and Canada - especially when it comes to the steel and autos supply chain.

Apparent steel supply declined 3% from January to February to the third-lowest rate recorded in the past two years, just 5% above the near-five-year low set last November.

Rocky Mountain Steel Mills has signed a new seven-year contract with Union Pacific Railroad for the domestic production of steel rails.

Toyota Motor Corp.’s $1 billion investment in its Kentucky and Indiana plants aims to expand production of aluminum-intensive vehicles, particularly across high-volume models and future battery electric platforms.

Factors like fluctuating demand, import availability, domestic product lead times, fuel surcharges, and end-user consumption left plate sources feeling unsettled.  

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

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices indicate that steel buyers remain highly optimistic about their businesses’ chances for current and future success.

Conditions in the US market remain tight as domestic demand is holding up with support from border wall projects and data center investments. The supply side has struggled to keep pace with weak import volumes, impacting the market. 

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.

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

US manufacturing activity edged higher across most Federal Reserve Districts, with the Beige Book describing gains ranging from slight to moderate as producers navigated rising input costs and heightened geopolitical uncertainty.

Most sheet and plate buyers continue to report that mills are not negotiable on new order spot prices, according to our latest market survey conducted this week.

Thyssenkrupp Materials Services announced its majority stake acquisition of Aceroteca Trading, S.A.P.I. de C.V. in Santa Catarina, Nuevo León, Mexico.  

US steel exports held steady from January to February and remain near historical lows.

Participants in the galvanized steel market remain encouraged by strengthening product prices, even as increases unfold at a subdued pace.  

Manufacturing activity in New York state strengthened in April, with steel-adjacent producers reporting firmer demand and improving throughput, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey.

Sheet and plate prices increased yet again this week on an increasingly tight spot market. It's gotten so tight that some market participants say they're becoming more concerned about availability than about price.

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.

Global steel demand is stabilizing and poised for a gradual recovery through 2027, with North America expected to post solid, policy-supported gains, according to the World Steel Association’s latest Short Range Outlook.

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).

Ken Simonson, chief economist for The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), will join SMU for a Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, April 15, at 11 a.m. ET.

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.