Contributor: Laura Miller

Economic activity across the US increased marginally from early January through the end of February, according to the latest Beige Book report from the US Federal Reserve.

What are folks in the steel industry talking about at present? Respondents to SMU’s mini-survey this week shared some of their thoughts with us about what's going on in the market. Rather than summarizing their responses, here’s some of what they had to say in their own words.

Nippon Steel Corp.’s (NSC) operations in China are a potential security concern of the Biden administration, according to a Bloomberg report citing anonymous sources close to the matter.

Kimberly A. Fields, current president of specialty metals producer ATI, has been named president and CEO of the Dallas-based company, effective July 1. Fields has served as COO of ATI since 2022 and president since July 2023. Prior to joining the company in 2019, she worked for IDEX Corp., Evraz, and GE. Fields will succeed […]

SunCoke Energy Inc. announced the retirement of its current CEO and the appointment of a new leader on Friday.

Alan Kestenbaum, the CEO of Stelco, said the company is actively evaluating ways to grow the company, including both organic and inorganic opportunities.

Canada will soon require steel imports to report “country of melt and pour” information.

Falling steel prices at present are not a symptom of demand but of imports arriving into the US and to some parts of Mexico, Ternium’s CEO Maximo Vedoya said this week.

Nucor Corp. announced plans to build a new rebar micro mill in the Pacific Northwest.

While seaborne trade has been challenging due to weak global steel production, demand for ferrous scrap in the US remains strong, according to Sims Ltd.

Manufacturing activity in New York State continued to shrink this month, according to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Australia's BlueScope Steel has begun making plans to potentially add cold rolling and coating capabilities in the US.

Leadership of the United Steelworkers (USW) and U.S. Steel met on Friday to discuss the steelmaker’s pending sale to Nippon Steel Corp. (NSC).

What's the steel market talking about at present?

Mill lead times for flat-rolled steel were mostly stable over the past two weeks. With several mills slow to come out of outages and upgrades, cold rolled and coated lead times have been holding up better than hot rolled.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. announced on Thursday, Feb. 15, that it will indefinitely idle tinplate production at its mill in Weirton, W.Va.

Weak demand and pricing for graphite electrodes combined with higher costs are forcing GrafTech to implement cost-cutting procedures and reduce production across its facilities.

Reliance has entered into an agreement to purchase Houston-based American Alloy Steel Inc. for an undisclosed sum.

Bull Moose Tube Co. (BMT) is now offering jumbo hollow structural sections (HSS) in the US market.

The latest statistics from the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) show that December shipments of heating and cooling equipment in the US inched higher from the previous month but declined from last year’s levels.

Based on initial license data for January, steel imports appear to have risen to a six-month high, and flat-rolled steel imports to a seven-month high.

Russel Metals has invested a lot in recent years, and it’s not done yet.

Algoma Steel Group Inc. suffered another incident at its steel mill in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, this week.

More supply coming online and an unchanging demand environment – two key themes for 2024 – could soon bring the steel sheet storm to a market near you.

2023 was the third-lowest year for steel imports in the last decade, according to an SMU analysis of data from the US Department of Commerce.

At the final hour, the trade case investigating unfairly traded imports of tin mill products has been terminated.

SBQ producer Alton Steel Inc. (ASI) has appointed a new chief executive.

While President Biden may have its back, the United Steelworkers (USW) union remains concerned about the proposed sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel Corp. (NSC).

Just like doing business in any part of the steel supply chain, there are risks and unknowns in trading steel. But trading companies play an important part, helping businesses navigate the risks and unknowns as they pop up.

The Department of Commerce has adjusted the countervailing duty (CVD) rates on imports of corrosion-resistant (galvanized/Galvalume) steel from South Korea after an administrative review.