Contributor: Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.

SunCoke Q1 earnings jump on cokemaking, logistics ops

SunCoke's earnings soared in the first quarter, with the company citing strong performances in its cokemaking and logistics segments.

Ryerson logs Q1 loss, but more stability seen in sheet

Ryerson swung to a loss in the first quarter of 2024, but the company’s chief executive sees less volatility in the sheet steel market.

NLRB certifies union vote of VW workers in Tennessee

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has certified the results of the election of Volkswagen workers to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) union in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Daimler, UAW avert strike with tentative pact

Daimler Truck North America and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union have reached tentative bargaining agreements covering over 7,000 US workers at various locations in the South.

JM Steel facility expands capacity for Nextracker solar projects

Solar tracker maker Nextracker and steel processor JM Steel announced the completion of an expansion of Nextracker-dedicated manufacturing lines at JM’s Leetsdale steel facility near Pittsburgh.

Goncalves says Cliffs still has interest in USS buy

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. would still be interested in acquiring some or all of U.S. Steel’s assets, if the proposed deal by Nippon Steel stumbles, according to an article in Bloomberg.

SMU survey: HR, plate lead times slip as CR extends

Hot-rolled coil and plate lead times contracted this week, with most other products remaining flat, according to SMU's most recent survey data. Cold-rolled products, however, saw lead times extend 0.1 weeks to an average of 7.5 weeks vs. two weeks earlier. Hot rolled and plate lead times both contracted 0.3 weeks from our last market check.

Reliance earnings fall 21% in tough pricing environment

Reliance Inc.’s earnings slumped in the first quarter of 2024, but the company expects better than normal seasonal recovery in demand in the second quarter.

SMU survey: Sheet buyers find mills more willing to negotiate spot prices

Sheet steel buyers said mills are more willing to talk price on spot orders, according to our most recent survey data.

SDI execs detail April outage at Sinton, address 'robust' HR-CR spread

Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) executives said the company's Sinton, Texas, sheet mill should be able to increase melt capacity after an outage earlier this month. Sinton should see "additional improvements in production" after taking "several maintenance days in April," Barry Schneider, SDI president and COO, said in a Q1 earnings conference call on Wednesday.

SDI Q1 earnings slip on order volatility, low scrap tags

Steel Dynamics Inc.'s (SDI's) earnings fell in the first quarter of 2024 as the company cited steel order volatility early in the quarter and lower scrap prices.

Nucor seeks to tame volatility with weekly HR spot price: execs

Nucor executives explained their recently introduced hot-rolled (HR) coil consumer spot price (CSP) is a way to serve their customers and deal with market volatility.

Goncalves, Granholm tout domestic steelmaking at Cliffs' Butler Works

Cleveland-Cliffs’ chief Lourenco Goncalves and US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm stressed the importance of the US steel industry and domestic manufacturing at Cliffs' Butler Works in Pennsylvania on Monday.

Nucor posts lower Q1 profits, predicts dip in Q2 too

Nucor’s earnings slipped in the first quarter of this year, but the company said it launched key growth initiatives during this time period.

Zekelman to invest up to $120M at Atlas Tube subsidiary

Zekelman Industries will invest up to $120 million to expand the manufacturing capabilities and product offerings of its Atlas Tube subsidiary in Mississippi County, Ark.

Nucor taps Theophilus for new HR role

Nucor has appointed Nicole B. Theophilus to the newly created position of EVP of talent and human resources, effective April 29.

SMU Community Chat: Simonson with the latest on construction

A lot of economists were predicting a recession last year. Ken Simonson, chief economist for The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), wasn’t one of them.

Metalformers see steady near-term business conditions

Metalformers expect economic activity to remain level over the next three months, according to the April Business Conditions Report from the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA).

Bula tapped as CEO of Finland's Blastr

U.S. Steel taking 45-day outage on Gary Works' BF4

U.S. Steel’s No. 8 blast furnace (BF8) at its Gary Works in northwest Indiana is undergoing a 45-day maintenance outage that started on April 4.

AHRI: Heating, cooling shipments jump in February

Domestic shipments of heating and cooling equipment soared in February, according to the latest data released from the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI).

Rig count falls in US, rises in Canada

Drilling activity decreased in the US but rose in Canada in the week ended April 12, according to the latest data from Baker Hughes.

SMU survey: Buyers' sentiment increases

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices both rose this week.

Final thoughts

For something that wasn’t on the agenda in Washington this week, the proposed Nippon Steel deal for U.S. Steel is getting a lot of attention.

SMU survey: Mills more willing to negotiate price on spot deals

Steel buyers said mills are more willing to talk price on spot orders on all the products SMU covers, according to our most recent survey data.

Biden reiterates position on USS sale

President Biden said on Wednesday he would stand by his commitment to US workers regarding the proposed sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel.

HRC vs. prime scrap spread widens in April

The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap prices has widened this month after narrowing for three months, according to SMU’s most recent pricing data.

Japan's Kishida and Biden to meet amid tensions around USS sale

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will be in Washington this week where one topic under discussion with President Biden will be U.S. Steel's proposed sale to Nippon Steel.

Steel Warehouse rebrands cold mill division as 'Specialty Strip'

Steel Warehouse Co. has announced the rebranding of its Cold Mill division as “Specialty Strip,” a boutique cold mill.

Evraz reports no impact on production from fire at Pueblo mill

Evraz North America said there was no impact on production from a fire that broke out at its Pueblo., Colo., steel mill on Friday.