USW Local 2251 voted 98.6 percent in favor of ratification of a Support Agreement for an undisclosed party interested in acquiring the assets of Essar Steel Algoma Inc. The announcement was made April 10 in a press release signed by Local 2251 president Mike Da Prat. Da Prat told the Sault Star that he could […]
Steel Market Update took our latest Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals on the road today as we traveled to Delta, OH to tour the North Star Bluescope steel mini-mill. Our group consisted of attendees visiting a steel mill for the first time (one of our attendees was on the second day […]
AM Castle, a specialty metals company, announced it has reached an agreement with lenders to complete a comprehensive financial restructuring. The company posted a $114.1 million loss in FY 2016 compared to a loss of $218.8 million in 2015. Fourth quarter net sales totaled $113.7 million, down 14.2 percent compared to Q4 2015. Tons sold […]
WEST CHESTER, OH–(Marketwired – Apr 7, 2017) – AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) celebrated the grand opening of its new world-class Research and Innovation Center in Middletown, Ohio. The event marked the formal opening of the new $36 million, 135,000 square foot facility, built on 16-acres near AK Steel’s Middletown Works and its West Chester, Ohio […]
Most of the domestic mills and the large public service centers will be releasing their first quarter earnings and conducting conference call later this month. Here is a quick snapshot for those of you who might have an interest in listening in when the calls are made:
On Monday, Flack Global Metals announced the merger of Kenwood Painted Metals with Flack Global Metals. With the addition of KPM, Flack Global Metals is projecting sales for 2017 to be close to $400 million. Steel Market Update spoke with Flack Global Metals CEO, Jeremy Flack about their company’s drive to grow as a “Next […]
The following is just part of an article on China written by Gordon Orr, Director Emeritus at McKinsey & Company. The original article was published recently by the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS). You can link to the article here. “What if Steel Prices Decline? “Last year began with much fanfare over promised government-enforced […]
On Thursday SMU reported that tax incentives aimed at helping Big River Steel expand had passed the Arkansas Senate. The Senate Bill 688 has now been approved by the House in a 79-11 vote on Friday. SMU also received a comment on the legislation from Big River Steel’s CEO, Dave Stickler. Rep. Monte Hodges, D-Blytheville, […]
Essar Steel Algoma is making progress on paying its debts. According to the latest (27th) Monitors report, Algoma has repaid $42.7 million as of March 25, 2017 through weekly “cash sweeps” to its Debtor in Possession lenders. Another $2.5 million will be paid on April 3 which will result in reducing the outstanding balance under […]
Worthington Industries reported net sales of $703.4 million for third quarter FY 2017 and net earnings of $35.9 million. The company claimed inventory holding losses of $3 million and restructuring charges of $1.4 million. “We had a very good third quarter performance with Steel Processing contributing near record earnings and overall, we produced year-over-year growth, which […]
Big River Steel received an incentive to expand operations after the passage of Arkansas Senate Bill 688. The new bill changes the existing law on income tax credits allowed for the purchase of waste reduction, reuse, or recycling equipment and provides tax incentives for steel mills that begin qualified expansion projects. According to the Arkansas […]
Nucor Steel Hickman’s new specialty cold rolling mill complex will get equipment from the international technology group ANDRITZ. The expansion at the Arkansas mill was announced in September and is expected to cost an estimated $230 million. The mill will produce specialty grade steels including third generation advanced high strength steel, high-strength low-alloy steels and […]
The article title is “Dan DiMicco’s Nucor Has Killed Off More Of The American Steel Industry Than China Ever Has” and was written by Tim Worstall, a Fellow at the Adam Smith Institute in London, England. The article, which can be seen in its entirety online, points out, “That American steel industry which has suffered […]
Essar Steel Algoma will get a third loan extension while it continues to hash out an agreement to emerge from CCAA protection. The company has another thirty day extension before its debtor-in-possession financing expires on April 30. According to the Twenty-sixth Report of the Monitor filed on March 21, the extension comes at “a critical […]
Three Canadian Chambers of Commerce presented their concerns about unfairly traded steel to the Federal Government’s Standing Committee on International Trade on March 21. The Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce and its counterparts from Windsor-Essex and Hamilton were joined by key Canadian steel producers including Essar Steel Algoma, Stelco Inc., Gerdau Long Steel North […]
February service center shipments were almost exactly normal on a month/month basis though there were some bright spots. Daily shipments decreased by 0.6 percent from January. Since 2009 on average, February has decreased by 0.8 percent. Carbon steel shipments were 148,900 tons per day. The number of shipping days decreased from 21 to 20. Intake […]
Demand for HVAC products was coined as being “good” or “very good” by the wholesalers who participated in the monthly HARDI galvanized steel conference call. The wholesalers who spoke on the call earlier today reported strong first quarter sales for their full product line but a few complained of lower steel sales compared to year […]
Steel Dynamics expects a meaningful increase in first quarter profits. Earnings per diluted share are expected to be in the range of $0.77 to $0.81 compared to $0.08 per diluted share in Q4 2016 and $0.26 per diluted share in Q1 2016. In first quarter guidance comments, SDI attributed stronger results to higher shipments and […]
More complications for Essar Steel Algoma as it nears a deadline to emerge from the CCAA protection. Union disputes and lawsuits continue to frustrate the process. Labor Negotiations Union workers were reportedly outraged by a mandate by Superior Court Justice Frank Newbould requiring parties involved in the collective agreement negotiations to keep a lid on […]
Steel service centers in the United States have seen inventories reach a bottom after years of decline and appear to be slowly bouncing back (see graphic below). This appears to be true for all steel products combined as well as flat rolled, plate, and pipe & tube segments. During the month of February 2017, U.S. […]
Total Canadian steel shipments for all products in February were 365,700 net tons, a decrease of 11.2 percent from the month before and a decrease of 7.8 percent from February 2017. Do keep in mind that total January shipments were at an 18 month high. Total steel inventories at the end of the month stood […]
Nucor Corporation increased its earnings guidance for first quarter 2017 to $1.10-$1.15 per diluted share, more than double its consolidated net earnings of $0.50 per diluted share in fourth quarter and well above analyst consensus of $0.69 EPS. Increased profitability is due to stronger performance of Nucor’s sheet and plate mills. Nucor said in its […]
Ryerson Holdings saw a challenging year in 2016 with demand contracting but pricing improving. CEO Edward Lehner noted, “Carbon steel prices recovered from decade lows at the end of 2015, peaked in June of 2016, and deflated again in October of 2016 before starting in upward trajectory that has continued into the first quarter of […]
Stelco, the former US Steel Canada, took another procedural step on March 10 to facilitate the sale of the company to Bedrock Industries. Stelco filed its final Plan of Compromise, Arrangement and Reorganization with the Ontario Superior Court that addresses restructuring Stelco’s liabilities and the transaction with Bedrock. The plan “would result in the Company […]
US Steel announced it will permanently close the No. 6 Quench and Temper Mill at Lorain Tubular Operations. The line has been idle since March 2015 and will be permanently shut down by June 8. “This proposed action is a strategic decision for the company after considering a number of factors, including challenging market conditions […]
Essar Steel Algoma’s oppression case against Essar Global received mixed results in a decision by Superior Court Judge Frank Newbould. In a decision on Monday, Newbould agreed that the lease agreement made by Essar Global with the Port of Algoma (Portco) in 2014, was “unfairly prejudicial to, and unfairly disregarded, the interests of Algoma’s trade […]
The following analysis of the steel markets in China is from Beijing Metal Import & Export Co.,Ltd and is being reproduced by Steel Market Update with permission. We edited the original copy to assist our readers in understanding what the group is trying to relay to us. Here is what they had to say (edited […]
An antitrust lawsuit filed by indirect steel purchasers against ArcelorMittal USA, US Steel and other steel mills was dismissed in the US District Court of Northern Illinois last week. In 2008, Supreme Auto Transport LLC, based in Michigan, filed a complaint alleging that ArcelorMittal and others were among a group of steel producers who schemed […]
A US Steel worker was killed in an incident at Granite City Works on Sunday morning. The incident occurred in the rail yard around 10:00 am, said company spokesperson Erin DiPietro. No details were revealed concerning the nature of the incident and the name of the worker has not been released. Said DiPietro, “An investigation […]
Steel Market Update recently published a “letter to the editor” regarding the domestic mills need to compete in a world market. We received comments from a mill based source who asked they not be identified. The original letter is below with the response being the “bold” print below: I guess it’s fine for the US […]