Steel Market Update was forwarded the following article by one of our contacts in Asia. The article quotes the China Iron & Steel Association (CISA) which reported high levels of debt within the Chinese steel industry. The Chinese appear destined to repeat what happened to the U.S. steel industry during the early 2000’s when many […]
Castrip has advised Steel Market Update that a new flat rolled mill using Castrip technology will be built in North America by an EAF mill other than Nucor. Castrip LLC has signed a license agreement to build and operate a plant utilizing a Castrip thin-strip casting process for an unnamed North American steelmaker. The facility […]
This story was one of the popular points of discussion at the recent Metals Industry Dinner held in Chicago on May 1, 2014. Castrip has advised Steel Market Update that a new flat rolled mill using Castrip technology will be built in North America by an EAF mill other than Nucor. Castrip LLC has signed […]
Latin American steelmaker, Ternium, turned in a positive quarter with net sales up 2 percent to $2.149 from fourth quarter and 1 percent from Q1 2013. Net income was $188.2 million compared to $174.7 in the fourth quarter, and $164 million in Q1 2013. Ternium net steel sales increased 1% to $2,149.4 million. Operating income […]
Severstal NA reported revenue of $1,016 million in first quarter 2014, an increase of 1.4 percent from fourth quarter due to stronger steel selling prices. Revenue increase 9.2 percent year over year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell 18.5 percent sequentially to $75 million but was 50 percent higher than Q1 2013. […]
“We weathered not only the economic storm with five years of losses but also the first quarter’s extreme weather,” was one of the opening remarks by Executive Vice President & CFO David Burritt in the US Steel Conference Call on Thursday. Weather played a huge part in operations at US Steel in the first quarter. […]
Higher volumes increased Olympic Steel net sales 2.6 percent to $347 million in Q1 2014 from $338 million a year ago. Net sales increased sequentially by 19 percent despite adverse shipping conditions. Net income totaled $2.8 million, down from 5.16 million in 2013 Flat steel volume increased 3 percent y/y to 299,000 tons for the […]
US Steel reported a net income of $52 million for the first quarter of 2014 on net sales of $4.4 billion, compared to net income of $270 million (adjusted net income of $38 million) in fourth quarter 2013. Shipments for the quarter totaled 4.1 million tons. Flat rolled steel sales operating income in first quarter […]
Mill Steel Co, a flat rolled steel service center company in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is investing $16.2 million in the purchase, opening and expansion of operations in Jeffersonville, Indiana, at the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville. The existing 105,000 square foot facility will be expanded to 225,000 square feet and will house two state-of-the-art slitting lines in […]
AM Castle reported a consolidated net loss of $16 million for first quarter 2014, compared to net loss of 10.6 million in first quarter 2013. Metals segment net sales were $219.1 million, 15.2 percent lower than Q1 2013 due to decline in average pricing per ton and volume. Net volume improved by 13.4 percent from […]
Steel Market Update has been carefully watching the progress of iron ore shipments to U.S. Steel Gary Works. Earlier this month, US Steel reported the curtailment of steelmaking operations at the Gary Works plant. The Gary steel mill is the largest production facility for US Steel with four blast furnaces and two BOP’s with three […]
SMU was pleased to attend the Association of Steel Distributors (ASD) Regional Meeting in Pittsburgh at the Esmark Center on April 27. Esmark Steel CEO Jim Bouchard welcomed ASD members to its new “American steel built” global headquarters on the Ohio River. ASD members were treated to a cocktail hour followed by a presentation by […]
A large portion of the recent Nucor 1st Quarter earnings conference call with analysts was devoted to the progress of the company’s DRI (direct reduced iron) project which is called Nucor Louisiana. First Quarter 2014 was the first full quarter that the equipment was up and running. Nucor Louisiana is home to the largest single […]
Based on an article published in the Hamilton Spectator we have learned that US Steel intends to restart the coke batteries at Nanticoke in Hamilton, ONT, Canada starting October 1st of this year. The steel mill recently reopened this past September after a lock out in April 28th, 2013 over demands for contract changes. The […]
The US Army Corp of Engineers Buffalo District will be dredging the upper and lower Cuyahoga River in 2014 to improve the navigation canal that is used to deliver iron ore to Cleveland’s steel mills. Nearly 10 million tons of cargo travel through Cleveland Harbor and the Cuyahoga River each year according to the Port […]
SSAB Americas felt the effects of the winter freeze in the first quarter of 2014. Sales for the Americas segment were SEK 3,685 million ($559 million), down 2 percent from fourth quarter 2013 but 7 percent higher than Q1 2013. Higher prices and a favorable product mix were offset by lower volumes. External steel shipments […]
Earlier this week Steel Market Update published slab receipts and flat rolled sales for Novolipetsk (NLMK). We inadvertently used the Russian flat rolled figures in our comparison rather than the US data. Below is a correction to the article and table. We apologize for our error. Hot rolled steel tonnage sold by NLMK USA during […]
Nucor announced consolidated net earnings of $111 million for first quarter 2014, up from $84.8 million a year ago but down from $170.5 million in the previous quarter. Net sales were up 12 percent to $5.11 billion year over year and 4 percent from fourth quarter 2013. Tons shipped to outside customers increased 8 percent […]
Steel Technologies, which is a service center and a 50/50 joint venture between Nucor and Mitsui & Co. (USA), announced earlier this week the acquisition of Stripco LLC. Below is the press release provided to Steel Market Update by Steel Technologies: LOUISVILLE, KY (April 22, 2014) – Steel Technologies LLC (“Steel Technologies”) today announced its […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum, the largest metals service center in the United States, announced earnings earlier today. The company reported net income of $87.2 on sales totaling $2.09 billion. Sales included the recent acquisitions of Metals USA and Haskins Steel. The company reported an 8.4 percent improvement in same store sales over the same quarter […]
The enormous undertaking by the US and Canadian Coast Guard to clear the Great Lakes of ice this year underscores the need for passage of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). Over 200 million tons of cargo, including iron ore and coal for steel mills, are shipped every year through the Great Lakes, according to […]
AK Steel CEO James Wainscott, in the company’s earnings conference call with analysts, reported that their blast furnaces were running at reduced capacities due to the ice problems on the Great Lakes. US Steel has been upfront by reporting their Gary Works steelmaking operations are running at less than capacity as they struggle to get […]
Earlier today, Steel Market Update (SMU) participated in the monthly galvanized steel with members of HARDI. The last conference call was held the day after ArcelorMittal has announced the first of two price increases during the month of March (Galvanized base of $39.50/cwt). The purpose of today’s call was to discuss what has been happening […]
AK Steel reported a net loss of $86.1 million in the first quarter of 2014, compared to a net income of $35.2 million in the previous quarter. Net sales for Q1 were $1.38 billion on steel shipments of 1,262,100 tons, compared to Q1 2013 net sales of $1.37 billion on shipments of 1,289,800 tons, and […]
Novolipetsk (NLMK) reported flat rolled steel sales for their USA division.The parent company also provided slab sales from Russia to the USA division by quarter going back to Q1 2012. Hot rolled steel tonnage sold by NLMK USA during the 1st Quarter 2014 was 680,000 tons (net tons). Cold rolled sales totaled 403,000 tons and […]
Steel Dynanics CEO Mark Millett and other officers of the steel mill provided their review of the company’s first quarter earnings as well as their insights into the various markets they serve as well as the challenges and opportunities they see in front of them. SMU found one comment interesting as Mr. Millett feels there […]
John Correnti is moving forward with his plans for Big River Steel with groundbreaking anticipated in June. The air permit for the mill had been challenged by neighboring steel mill Nucor, but was upheld by a Mississippi County judge in March. The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission will vote on acceptance of the permit […]
Ice coverage on the Great Lakes is beginning to subside with 36.7 percent coverage reported by NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory as of April 19. Ice persists, however, in Lake Superior and the northern sections of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Ice continues to clog the locks through Sault Ste. Marie. It is the […]
Total service center carbon steel shipments in March rose by 283,700 tons to 3.515 million tons, more than making up for the February decline. Shipping days increased from 20 in February to 21 in March. Tons per day (t/d) shipments rose from 161,600 tons in February to 167,400 in March, both on a non-seasonally adjusted […]
Canadian service center steel shipments for all carbon steel products were reported at 499,700 net tons (NT) in March, up 11.4 percent over February figures and up 5.8 percent from March 2013 shipments. With 21 shipping days in March, daily steel shipments are calculated to have been 23,800 tons per day, up from 22,400 tons […]