CRU research manager Stephen Williamson shares an update on the aluminum market and pricing with SMU readers. This article was written The LME rallied in the days following the debt ceiling resolution by Congress and the price of aluminum pressed towards $2,300 per metric ton. This week, however, the price fell back through a key […]
US mills are now seeking as much as $950 per ton ($47.50 per cwt) for hot-rolled coil after the latest round of price hikes. The big question remains whether that figure will stick, “stop the bleeding,” or if it risks failing. It’s too early to provide any concrete answers to that. Our latest market survey found […]
The Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) and Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) kicked off their annual members conference on Wednesday, June 21. Members of both organizations have convened in Washington to discuss various topics related to the steel industry. A press conference on Wednesday afternoon included Philip K. Bell, president of SMA; Bob Weidner, president and CEO […]
In SMU’s market check this week, lead times for sheet and plate pulled back to some of the shortest times seen in several months. To see lead times this short, we have to go back to March for plate, January for galvanized sheet, and December for hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and Galvalume sheet. With mills pushing for […]
Algoma Steel said its transition to electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking would be delayed and over budget as it reported a loss in its fiscal fourth quarter. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based steelmaker said in a statement on Wednesday after markets closed that it estimated the project would exceed its original budget by Canadian $125 million to […]
Cleveland-Cliffs said Wednesday it has reached a new, three-year labor agreement with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union at its Coshocton Works in Ohio. The deal is slated to take effect July 31. The Cleveland-based steelmaker said the agreement is tentative, pending ratification by UAW local union membership, with ~330 UAW-represented workers covered. “We are pleased to reach […]
SMU’s Steel Summit Conference 2023 is two months away, and it’s never too early for attendees and prospective attendees to start preparing for how to take advantage of the conference’s resources. CRU principal analyst Josh Spoores sat down with SMU managing editor Michael Cowden and senior analyst David Schollaert on Tuesday for a webinar in […]
Overall housing starts hit a 13-month high in May as construction of both single-family and multi-family homes spiked. Total housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1.631 million units in May. This was a 22% rise from the month prior and a 6% increase year-on-year (YoY). May’s SAAR of single-family housing […]
ArcelorMittal has followed U.S. Steel and Nucor in an attempt to increase sheet prices by $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt). The Luxembourg-based steelmaker also specified new minimum base prices: $950 per ton for hot-rolled coil (HRC) and $1,150 per ton for cold-rolled and coated products. ArcelorMittal made the price hike announcement with the opening […]
Steel Dynamics (SDI) is expecting stronger earnings for the second quarter of 2023 vs. the previous quarter, but lower than the year-earlier period. The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker released Q2 earnings guidance on June 16 in the range of $4.78 to $4.82 per diluted share. This compares with Q1’s $3.70 per diluted share and prior-year Q2 […]
Nucor aims to increase base prices for new orders of steel sheet by at least $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt), effective immediately. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker also said that its new base price for hot-rolled coil (HRC) was $900 per ton. “We reserve the right to review and re-quote any offers that are not […]
Nucor Corp. said its second-quarter earnings should beat those of the prior quarter on strength in all its business segments. The steelmaker expects its Q2 earnings to be in the range of $5.45 to $5.55 per diluted share. Although down from the $9.67 per share posted in Q2 last year, it’s an improvement upon Q1 […]
The solution to the dilemmas faced by Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) is in the hands of the federal government, a spokesman for the Mexican steelmaker told a local news outlet. AHMSA spokesman Francisco Orduña was responding to comments last Friday by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador regarding restructuring the company’s debt, according to […]
U.S. Steel aims to increase base prices on spot orders of flat-rolled steel by at least $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt.) The move is effective immediately and applies to “all open quotations and/or negotiations where an agreement is yet to be concluded,” the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker said in a letter to it sales executives on […]
Nucor said Wednesday the location of its second utility structures production facility will be in Crawfordsville, Ind. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said the new operation it’s building will be located next to the Nucor Steel Crawfordsville steel mill, and is expected to create 200 full-time jobs. “With this second utility structure production facility, we are expanding our […]
U.S. Steel published its 2022 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report in which the Pittsburgh-based steel maker said it has dedicated itself to creating sustainable steel and contributing to a greener economy. The report, titled “Essential for Our Future,” reaffirms how essential steel is to creating green technology such as wind turbines solar fields, and […]
SSAB Americas, MidAmerican Energy, and Arcosa Wind Towers met on Tuesday, June 7, with Iowa governor Kim Reynolds to discuss increasing sustainable product solutions, highlighting the companies’ circular supply chain. All three companies are based in the state, with steelmaker SSAB Americas part of Swedish parent company SSAB; Arcosa Wind Towers making energy products; and […]
NLMK USA has published new, lower coating extras that are effective June 8. The steelmaker’s Sharon, Pa.-based galvanizing facility has reduced extras by an average of nearly 14%, according to market participants and the new coating extras sheet. NLMK’s prior extras had taken effect on Aug. 1, 2022. Our website reflects NLMK’s latest coating extras, as […]
General Motors Co. recently announced a series of investments to bolster its automobile manufacturing in the US – and it’s not all just for electric vehicles (EVs). Internal Combustion Engines The Detroit-based automaker plans to inject $1 billion into two of its manufacturing sites in Flint, Mich., for the production of heavy-duty trucks with internal […]
General Motors will soon be sourcing low-carbon steel from ArcelorMittal North America. The steelmaker said it will provide the Detroit-based automaker with its XCarb™ recycled and renewably produced (RRP) steel made at its ArcelorMittal Dofasco plant in Hamilton, Ontario. Shipments are anticipated to begin in the current quarter, ArcelorMittal said in a statement. Made via […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has published new, lower coating extras that are effective July 3. The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker has reduced extras by an average of 10%, according to market participants and the new coating extras sheet. SDI’s current extras took effect on Aug. 1, 2022. Under that schedule, a 0.07-0.054 G90 coating was […]
The sale of Mexican steelmaker Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) has reportedly stalled because the investment capital has not yet been received, according to a local media report. The remarks were made by AHMSA’s Alonso Ancira Elizondo in a meeting he had with union officials in San Antonio, Texas, according to an article in Mexico’s […]
Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) workers and their wives demonstrated peacefully on Thursday, according to a local media report. Monclova Mayor Mario Dávila expressed solidarity with the workers who met on Thursday morning at the municipal presidency building looking for support, according to an article in El Periódico La Voz on Thursday. The action was taken because of […]
PGT Trucking has delivered its inaugural shipment of low-greenhouse gas (GHG) steel via electric vehicle from Nucor’s Brandenburg, Ky., plate mill to a nearby fabricator. The Aliquippa, Pa.-based flatbed transportation company said its truck was a Nikola Class 8 battery-electric vehicle. The three companies commemorated the first-ever shipment of low GHG intensity steel by a Class 8 zero-emissions […]
Swedish steelmaker SSAB is urging ambitious standards for the steel industry’s transition to green steelmaking as the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) meeting takes place in Luleå, Sweden, on May 30-31. Martin Lindqvist, president and CEO of SSAB, said that to succeed in the transition, effective frameworks, political leadership, and action are needed. “It is also […]
Nucor Corp. will keep plate prices unchanged with the opening of its July order book. The sideways move by the steelmaker comes after it increased plate prices in March and April, by $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt) and $40 per ton ($2.00 per cwt), respectively, according to SMU’s steel mill price increase calendar. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker […]
Cleveland-Cliffs has been granted state mineral leases for over 2,600 acres of iron ore in Itasca County, Minn., the company announced on May 25. The leases are at the Nashwauk mine site located in the Iron Range region, just north of Grand Rapids, Minn. Cliffs said this approval is a final action and the company has now […]
Nucor announced a reorganization of its plate mill group, including the closure of Nucor Steel Longview and a production shift to its new mill in Brandenburg, Ky. The production phase out at the 100,000-ton-per-year mill in Longview, Texas, will occur in the third quarter of this year, Nucor said in a statement on Wednesday, May […]
As pricing and lead times continue to drop, buyers are keeping a close eye on the market, according to members of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) speaking on the Tuesday, May 23, meeting of its Sheet Metal/Air Handling Council. Cautious optimism carried over from April’s meeting. Currently, 90% of galvanized buyers say […]
Indian steelmaker JSW reported its results for its fiscal fourth quarter and financial year ended March 31, noting a sequential rise in quarterly shipments and sales at its JSW Steel USA operations. JSW Steel USA’s Mingo Junction, Ohio, mill operated at 64% of capacity during Q4, producing 86,203 metric tons of HRC and 231,908 metric […]