Mill Steel Co., one of the nation’s largest distributors of flat-rolled carbon steel, has acquired certain assets of S&S Steel Services, Inc. (S&S), an Indianapolis/Anderson based supplier of carbon flat-rolled steel service. Terms of the deal, which closed on January 11, 2016, were not disclosed. S&S Steel services manufacturing customers in the Midwest, Mid-South and […]
During their earnings conference call with the financial analysts, ArcelorMittal spoke about excess Chinese steelmaking capacity which needs to be removed from the markets as well as demand outlook which they believe will improve in the United States and Europe during 2016. The following selected comments were taken directly from the ArcelorMittal conference call transcript […]
The year 2015 was a brutal one for the domestic steel mills as well as the distributors who service the end user markets on a spot basis. Many of the service centers who purchase secondary (non-prime or excess) steel have suffered and have had to change the way they conduct business in order to survive. […]
Contract negotiations continue at ArcelorMittal without any progress reported. In the latest update to union members, the USW said it had made proposals in late January to the company that would “save the company millions of dollars in liability and legacy costs over the course of the contract.” The USW says it has addressed the […]
US Steel Canada is officially for sale again. A press release by USSC announced the company is commencing a sale and investment solicitation process under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). US Steel Canada is authorized by order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice “to pursue all avenues of a sale or refinancing of […]
USW members ratified a new three year contract with US Steel on Monday. The ratification passed by a 2-1 margin and will take effect immediately. “I am extremely proud of the solidarity and the commitment to fairness that the Steelworkers showed throughout this process,” said USW International Vice President Tom Conway, who led the union’s […]
Japan’s number one steelmaker Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp (NSSMC) announced it has begun discussions to buy fourth-ranked rival Nisshin Steel. The target date for the proposed acquisition is March 2017. The global imbalance of steel supply and demand led Nisshan to consider rationalizing its iron and steel making by shutting down operations at […]
US Steel told analysts this week that the company was down to 3 steelmaking facilities and 5 finishing mills as they try to right size to the market conditions. U.S. Steel conducted their earnings conference call with financial analysts on Wednesday of this week. During the call, CEO Mario Longhi and other executives with the […]
Impairment charges contributed to a $62 million net loss for Nucor Corp. in fourth quarter 2015. An impairment charge of $153 million was recorded for the Duferdofin Nucor plant in Italy due to low operating performance. The company also took an $84.1 million non-cash write-down after deciding not to proceed with plans for a blast […]
Closing arguments were heard Wednesday in the eight-day trial to determine if US Steel is owed more than $2.2 billion in debt by US Steel Canada. Lawyers for the union and province said that US Steel is calling equity investments debt as a way to recoup the cost of buying the former Stelco facilities. “What […]
Significantly lower prices and weakened demand for flat rolled and tubular products resulted in big losses for US Steel last year and the outlook for 2016 is not much better. US Steel reported a fourth quarter net loss of $999 million and a net loss of $1.5 billion for full year 2015. The company continues […]
Mexican steelmaker, TYASA, plans to build the first Castrip® mill outside of Nucor at its mini-mill in Ixtaczoquitlan. The new facility will have the capability to produce 500,000 tons of thin-gauge, high-strength. The TYASA steel campus in the state of Veracruz, Mexico is designed to be highly efficiently with environmentally-friendly low emissions. The Simetal EAF […]
USW members outside ArcelorMittal headquarters in Chicago on Wednesday were granted an unexpected interview with Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lakshmi Mittal. Mittal spoke with union members outside asking why they were rallying. Union leaders were invited in for coffee and a brief discussion with Mittal and ArcelorMittal Americas CEO Lou Schorsch. Union leaders told […]
Steel Market Update is a member of an association connected to the construction industry called HARDI. HARDI stands for Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International. HARDI and The Institute for Trend Research (ITR), an economic forecasting company, work together to gather economic data to provide a forecast to the HARDI members located in the United […]
Steel Dynamics’ struggling recycling segment widened the company’s net loss to $253 million in fourth quarter 2015. It was determined that the book value of the metals recycling segment recorded $435 million in non-cash goodwill and other related asset impairment charge. Excluding the metals recycling charges, adjusted net income was $22 million on net sales […]
AK Steel has intentionally been reducing their exposure to the low-priced spot markets and instead they are looking at the higher end value added products going to automotive and other contract customers. AK Steel results exceeded analyst expectations for fourth quarter. The company reported a net loss of $147.1 million for the fourth quarter of […]
Essar Steel Algoma has received permission from a Toronto court to suspend special payments to its pension fund. The announcement alarmed retirees who were unsure what the suspension meant for their monthly pensions and benefits. Would they receive their checks? The decision was explained by Don Barill, president of the Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees […]
Steel Market Update is a member of an association connected to the construction industry called HARDI. HARDI stands for Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International. HARDI and The Institute for Trend Research (ITR), an economic forecasting company, work together to gather economic data to provide a forecast to the HARDI members located in the United […]
Today is Day 4 in a scheduled six day trial to settle the question of US Steel’s claim to $2.2 billion in debt from US Steel Canada. Day 1 (Jan. 14) began with a recap of the purchase of the former Stelco steel company. Larry Brockway, a vice-president at US Steel that was involved with […]
A rally on Friday in support of workers from Allegheny Technologies will be attended by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). Brown sent a letter to ATI President and CEO Richard Harshman in December calling for an end to the lockout. “ATI’s reputation and its market penetration is due to a highly-skilled workforce that is recognized […]
Moon Township, Pa., January 21, 2016—CENTRIA Coating Services (CCS), a leading provider of custom coil coating services, precise color matching and rapid turnaround for both small and large orders, is proud to announce the appointment of Jerry T. Hatley, Jr. as Vice President, CENTRIA Coating Services. “We are proud to welcome Jerry to the CENTRIA […]
A reaction in one of the furnaces in the melt shop at AK Steel Butler led to two employees receiving non-life threatening injuries on Wednesday afternoon. According to AK Steel spokesperson Lisa Jester, reports that the furnace exploded are exaggerated. “To be clear, the reaction was inside the furnace and the furnace is intact–it would […]
US Steel may temporarily lay off almost 700 workers at US Steel Tubular Products-Lone Star in Houston. Employees were advised by US Steel that operations may be adjusted “due to softening market conditions.” WARN notice listed by the Texas Workforce Commission on Jan 11 shows 679 employees slated for possible layoff beginning March 16, 2016. […]
NLMK USA crude steel production for Q4 2015 totaled 0.08 million tonnes (metric tons), a drop of 46 percent from the previous quarter and 50 percent from the prior year. Finished steel output fell to 0.35 million tons in the quarter (-30% qoq and -27% yoy). NLMK attributed lower production to challenging market conditions and […]
Canadian shipments for all steel products in the month of December were 302,700 net tons, a decrease of 24.1 percent from the month before and decrease of 19.2 percent from December 2014. Inventories at the end of the month stood at 1,297,000 tons, up 0.8 percent from last month but down 21.7 percent from the […]
The article below is normally reserved for our Premium members, but we thought our Executive members would appreciate seeing the MSCI data from a different viewpoint with more analysis than what they normally see from us. Based on Steel Market Update (SMU) analysis of the recently released MSCI service center inventory and shipment data, total […]
Essar Steel Algoma will begin the process of looking for a buyer or investor next month according to letters sent to suppliers by CEO Kalyan Ghosh. Under terms of the Debtor In Possession (DIP) Agreement, the company must get court approval for a “broad and investment solicitation process (SISP)” by February 1, 2016. “While we […]
There are zombie factories in China. No, they are not making zombies but the factories themselves are the equivalent of the walking dead–steel mills hanging on by a thread, not making money, reducing workforces, but clinging to life when they are all but dead. The China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) is painting a grim […]
The USW and Allegheny Technologies continue to wrangle over issues in an attempt to find a contract proposal that will appease both parties. Meetings were held at USW headquarters last week with a mediator present and without. The USW reports that there has been some progress on minor issues but ATI continues “to argue for […]
USW and ArcelorMittal negotiations resumed last week with hope of a possible compromise after a tentative contract was reached at US Steel. According to the latest information update from the USW, an impasse between the parties still continues concerning retiree benefits and contract language that could affect future labor agreements. “While ArcelorMittal has dropped its […]