The Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) released service center shipment and inventories data earlier this week. According to the MSCI data, flat rolled inventories now average 2.1 months of supply based on the 104,600 tons per day shipment rate reported for the month of October. October 2017 shipments were 9.6 percent better than one year […]
Steel shipments by Canadian service centers in October totaled 391,700 net tons, up 9.8 percent from the previous month, and also up 9.8 percent from October 2016, reports the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI). On a daily basis, total shipments were 18,700 tons per day in October (a 21-day month), up from 17,800 tons per […]
Canada’s Stelco, Inc., reported revenues totaling $1.15 billion (all figures Canadian) for the nine months ended Sept. 30, an increase of 16 percent over the prior-year period. Operating profit totaled $61 million, up from $8 million last year. The average selling price for the year to date was $814 per net ton, up from $654 […]
Members of the United Steel Workers Local 1915 have ratified a three-year labor agreement with AK Tube LLC, a subsidiary of AK Steel, covering about 100 hourly production employees at the company’s Walbridge, Ohio, facility. The new agreement is effective from Jan. 22, 2018, to Jan. 22, 2021. “We are pleased to have reached an agreement […]
The Chicago Tribune was the first to report that U.S. Steel released toxic chromium into Lake Michigan on Oct. 26 due to a malfunction in the wastewater treatment system at the steelmaker’s Midwest Plant in Portage, Ind. The 56.7 pounds of chromium was 89 percent higher than U.S. Steel’s water pollution permit allows in a […]
Will the rest of the domestic steel mills announce new coating extras in first-quarter 2018, raising the price on galvanized steel? There was no clear consensus among members of the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) during their monthly conference call earlier today. Recent mill price announcements have stemmed the decline in galvanized prices, […]
Stelco, Inc., Canada’s iconic steelmaker, has new life under the new ownership of Bedrock Industries. Bedrock Executive Chairman and CEO Alan Kestenbaum makes a strong case that the oft-troubled steelmaker is poised for a turnaround. Stelco went into creditor protection in 2004, was bought by U.S. Steel in 2007, then went back into bankruptcy in […]
ArcelorMittal reported its best third-quarter shipment performance since 2008. Shipments of 21.7 million tons were 1.0 percent higher than second-quarter due to a 1.2 percent increase in Brazil shipments, a 4.3 percent increase in NAFTA shipments, and a 3.2 percent increase from the ACIS segment. Shipments from the three segments offset a decline of 3.3 […]
Ryerson Holding Corp. posted net income of $1.7 million in the third quarter, up from $600,000 in the second quarter, but down from $8.2 million in third-quarter 2016, as commodity challenges pressured margins. “The third quarter of 2017 can best be described by margin compression, driven primarily by nickel and chrome deflation in the second […]
Olympic Steel posted significantly improved results for third-quarter 2017. Demand is strong across all three business segments at Olympic, but is expected to soften due to seasonality and the holidays. “Looking ahead, we are encouraged by both the positive demand trends our customers are projecting for 2018 and by the market’s outlook for improved metal […]
ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor will get a $100 million upgrade over the next year. The investment is part of $276 million in capital spending the steelmaker plans for it U.S. operations next year. Work is set to begin on Indiana Harbor’s continuous anneal line, No. 2 coating line and cold mill complex, said Indiana Harbor General […]
A rail line servicing Canada’s Algoma steel mill is in financial jeopardy over track maintenance costs. The Huron Central Railway, which connects Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury, needs $46 million to cover infrastructure repairs over the next five years. This is the second time in the last decade that Huron Central has appealed to Ottawa […]
U.S. Steel is undertaking a massive asset revitalization program to reduce unplanned outages and improve profitability and competitiveness. The company plans to invest approximately $1.2 billion from 2017 through 2020 on repairs and upgrades. By 2020, slab production capability at Gary Works, Great Lakes Works and Mon Valley works will be increased by 1 million […]
Allegheny Technologies, Inc., has agreed to form a 50-50 joint venture with an affiliate of China’s Tsingshan Group to manufacture and sell 60-inch-wide stainless sheet in North America. Tsingshan is the world’s largest stainless steel producer. The joint venture, which still needs regulatory approval, expects to begin shipping products in early 2018. Tsingshan’s operation in […]
AK Steel reported a net loss of $5.8 million in the third quarter compared to net income of $50.9 million in Q3 2016. Results were impacted by $13.1 million in acquisition and debt refinancing costs and a LIFO charge of $49.0 million, compared to a LIFO credit of $24.2 million in the prior-year third quarter. […]
ArcelorMittal is helping to keep Cleveland neighborhoods safe by melting down unwanted guns. The steelmaker provided funding, and a hot furnace, to the Cleveland Police Foundation’s 11th Annual City of Cleveland Gun Buyback event Oct. 21. Citizens received $100 gift cards from True-North-Shell, Target, and Dave’s Supermarket in exchange for turning in their unwanted guns. […]
NLMK USA posted revenue of $424 million in the third quarter, a 3.0 percent decrease from the second quarter due to a 5.0 percent slide in the average sales price. Shipments increased 2 percent to 558,000 metric tons. EBITDA for the segment was $38 million, down 9.0 percent from the second quarter due to higher […]
Commercial Metals Co., a Texas-based long products producer and scrap recycler, reported a profitable fiscal 2017 despite imports of rebar and other products that continue to squeeze margins. CMC management is hopeful the company will get an assist from Washington in the coming year. “The need for infrastructure renewal is overwhelming, but the issue is […]
Steel plate producer SSAB Americas saw higher prices and volumes in the third quarter. The segment reported good demand early in the quarter, which weakened as the period progressed. Sales jumped 31 percent from the prior year and 6 percent from Q2, for a total of SEK 3.34 billion ($407 million). Shipments increased 12 percent […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum experienced an uptick in orders for energy and nonresidential construction during the third quarter. Demand, in general, was stronger than anticipated, however tons sold are expected to decline 4.0 to 6.0 percent in the fourth quarter due to seasonal slowdowns and fewer shipping days. Reliance anticipates the average selling price in […]
Wholesaler/distributors who sell galvanized steel products to the HVAC market are waiting anxiously to see what happens to prices in the coming weeks. In the monthly steel conference call hosted today by the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International, HARDI members asked two key questions: Will the mills be able to collect the flat roll […]
Stelco President Mike McQuade will retire at the end of 2017, according to the company’s IPO prospectus. McQuade joined Stelco in 1981. He was appointed Vice President and CFO under U.S. Steel management and assumed the position of President and General Manager in 2014. McQuade lead the company through its restructuring and transition from U.S. Steel […]
ArcelorMittal is showing interest in buying the bankrupt India mill Bhushan Steel. Bhushan has a strong presence in the automotive steel market and has a production capacity of 5.6 million metric tons annually. Its debt is estimated at about $6.9 billion. Acquisition of Bhushan would give ArcelorMittal a foothold in India’s auto-grade steel market, which […]
Steel Dynamics and CEO Mark Millett are expecting a tighter steel market in the fourth quarter. After surging ahead of possible Section 232 trade action, import levels have declined and, coupled with strengthening order rates and longer lead times, steel prices are expected to appreciate significantly, said Millet in remarks during the company’s quarterly conference […]
The delay by the Trump administration in making a decision on Section 232 is allowing further damage to the steel industry, said Nucor CEO, Chairman and President John Ferriola during the company’s third-quarter conference call. Ferriola said he is not surprised by the surge of imports that have come into the U.S. since spring. Countries […]
SSAB Americas is moving its head office from Chicago to Mobile to be near to its Axis, Ala., steel mill. “Mobile is a growing community with a booming economy; we are excited to expand our presence in the area as a trusted employer and community partner,” said Chuck Schmitt, President, SSAB Americas. “Moving our team […]
Service centers’ daily steel shipments in September were 0.9 percent higher than in August, matching the average since 2009. Therefore, the latest numbers were exactly on the historical track for this time of year, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of Metals Service Center Institute data (MSCI). Carbon steel shipments were 144,400 tons per day […]
September steel shipments by U.S. service centers were essentially unchanged from September 2016. U.S. steel inventories increased on a year-over-year basis for the first time since August 2015, stated the Metals Service Center Institute in its September Metals Activity Report. U.S. service center shipments of all steel products in September totaled 3.043 million tons, about […]
Steel shipments by Canadian service centers in September totaled 356,600 net tons, down 8.0 percent from the previous month, and down 3.8 percent from September 2016, reports the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI). On a daily basis, total shipments were 17,800 tons per day in September (a 20-day month), up from 17,600 tons per day […]
U.S. Steel reportedly still plans to construct a new continuous galvanizing line (CGL) at its PRO-TEC Coatings Co. subsidiary in Leipsic, Ohio. In doubt is whether joint venture partner Kobe Steel will still be involved. A U.S. Steel spokesperson told the Northwest Indiana Times on Friday that “U.S. Steel remains committed to our new Advanced […]