The U.S. Commerce Department has preliminarily increased anti-dumping margins on several major Japanese hot-rolled coil suppliers. Commerce calculated preliminary anti-dumping margins of 11.70% for Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest steelmaker, and 6.8% for Tokyo Steel Manufacturing. Nippon Steel and Tokyo Steel were the mandatory respondents in the case. But a litany of Japanese steel suppliers–including JFE […]
United Steelworkers union members will vote March 1 on whether to ratify a tentative contract agreement covering NLMK USA’s operations in western Pennsylvania, a union official said. USW District 10 Staff Representative Todd Clary confirmed the date next Monday. He declined additional comment until after the vote. NLMK USA President and CEO Robert D. Miller also confirmed […]
Tube mills in the U.S. and Canada have followed Nucor in raising prices on hollow structural sections (HSS) and other non-energy tubulars by about $50 per ton ($2.50/cwt). The increases are necessary in response to higher coil costs and strong customer demand, according to some producers. Atlas Tube is raising prices on all new orders […]
TC Energy is considering liquidating excess equipment and steel following the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline. “Our project team … is evaluating what we can do with all of our equipment and its uses,” Bevin Wirzba, president of liquid pipelines for the Calgary, Alberta-based energy company, said during an earnings conference call earlier this […]
Nucor’s tubular products group has increased prices for hollow structural sections (HSS), pipe, mechanical and piling products by $50 per ton ($2.50/cwt). The move is effective immediately and is necessary because of “rising raw material costs, strong demand, and volatile transportation costs,” Nucor said in a Feb. 19 letter to customers. Orders booked prior to […]
AM/NS Calvert has broken ground for construction of a $775 million electric-arc furnace (EAF) at its slab conversion mill in Alabama. The new EAF, to have a capacity of 1.5 million tons per year, is expected to come online in the first half of 2023, AM/NS Calvert CEO Jorge Oliveria said in a statement. The […]
At least two major Mexican flat-rolled steel producers–Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) and Ternium México–have cut production in response to power outages and natural gas shortages, according to mill communications. That development–along with transportation and production snarls at multiple flat-rolled mills in the southern United States–means the North American steel market might be short tens […]
At least two major Mexican flat-rolled steel producers–Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) and Ternium México–have cut production in response to power outages and natural gas shortages, according to mill communications. That development–along with transportation and production snarls at multiple flat-rolled mills in the southern United States–means the North American steel market might be short tens […]
Severe winter weather across North America has forced automakers to reduce shifts or temporarily halt production from Michigan to Mexico. But the impact–not only of the weather but also of natural gas shortages and power outages–appears to be more fleeting than the problems posed by a microchip shortage, which has caused some plants to shut […]
NLMK USA has reached a tentative agreement with the United Steelworkers at its operations in western Pennsylvania, according to both company and union leaders. If ratified, the pact would bring an end to a strike that began nearly six months ago. “We reached a tentative agreement today. … We are optimistic that today’s actions will […]
Voestalpine has temporarily halted production as its hot-briquetted iron plant in southern Texas, the company said. “Our HBI plant in Texas experienced a temporary shutdown and made the decision to continue the shutdown,” a spokeswoman for the Austrian steelmaker said in an email to Steel Market Update on Feb. 18. The company made the decision […]
NLMK USA has reached a tentative agreement with the United Steelworkers at its operations in western Pennsylvania, according to both company and union leaders. If ratified, the pact would bring an end to a strike that began nearly six months ago. “We reached a tentative agreement today. … We are optimistic that today’s actions will […]
Import license data for February is not complete, but foreign arrivals of some flat-rolled steel products are already running ahead of January volumes, according to Commerce Department figures. And with lead times at domestic mills running close to or even with import arrival times, that trend might continue, some market participants said. Hot Rolled and […]
Nucor has increased spot flat-rolled steel prices for some buyers by $40 per ton ($2/cwt), according to market participants. The electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaker is quoting certain customers $1,240 per ton for April hot-rolled coil, up from $1,200 previously, sources said. What’s less clear is how many spot tons are available for purchase. Spot tonnage, which […]
AM/NS Calvert has quietly increased prices for new spot orders by $40 per ton ($2/cwt), according to market participants. The move–which was effective on Feb. 16 but not widely announced–will see base prices for hot-rolled coil increase from $1,160 per ton to $1,200 per ton, sources said. Base prices for cold-rolled and coated products will […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) has opened its May order book, and the West Coast slab converter has also increased prices, according to market participants. “The purpose of this letter is to inform you that CSI’s May flat rolled order book is now open,” the company said in a Feb. 16 letter to customers. The letter […]
Rio Tinto, Paul Wurth SA and SHS Stahl Holding Saar are exploring a potential hydrogen-based hot-briquetted iron (HBI) operation in Canada. The Anglo-Australian miner, the equipment manufacturer and the German steelmaker have already inked a memorandum of understanding. They will now conduct a feasibility study about an “industrial-scale” low-carbon iron production plant, according to a […]
The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) remains concerned that General Approved Exclusions (GAEs) to Section 232 tariffs and quotas could lead to a surge in imports, the head of the lobbying group said. “This (GAEs) is not ending the entire Section 232 program by any means. But it has the potential to degrade the […]
Big changes to Section 232 steel tariffs and quotas are unlikely in the short-term because of a backlogged Senate and because of a broader trade policy review, the head of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) said. One obvious hurdle to any big moves on the trade front: President Joe Biden does not have […]
The U.S. Commerce Department has made a preliminary decision to eliminate anti-dumping margins on hot-rolled coil from South Korean steelmaker Hyundai Steel Co. Commerce calculated anti-dumping margins of 0.00% for hot band made by Hyundai, according to the results of an administrative review signed by Christian Marsh, the acting assistant secretary of the Commerce Department’s Enforcement and […]
The Biden administration plans to address the semiconductor shortage that has hobbled North American automotive production as it reviews “potential choke points” in industrial supply chains. The semiconductor shortage is also “one of the central motivations for the executive order the president will sign in the coming weeks to undertake a comprehensive review of supply […]
Big River Steel continues to hold an option to purchase land at the Port of Brownsville, Texas, where the steelmaker has said it was considering building a second electric-arc furnace (EAF) steel mill. “They still have the option. It’s moving at a slow pace. But we’re still in frequent discussions,” Port of Brownsville Senior Director […]
A division of PTC Alliance has acquired “substantially all” of the assets of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) producer Boomerang Tube. The subsidiary, PTC Liberty Tubulars LLC, has in addition scooped up the assets of Southern Tube LLC in Houston, the company said. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “This acquisition brings together two […]
General Motors warned that high steel and metals prices combined with a global chip shortage could cost it billions. “We expect commodity prices to be a significant headwind as platinum group metals and steel prices have seen major increases in recent weeks and months,” GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said in a recent earnings […]
Aditya Mittal will become the next chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal, taking over from his father, Lakshmi Mittal, who founded the company in 1976. The elder Mittal will become executive chairman of the steelmaker, where he will remain in charge of the board of directors and continue to work with senior management, including his son, ArcelorMittal […]
The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU) wants the Biden administration to terminate Section 232 tariffs and quotas on imported steel and aluminum “at once.” The group–which claims to represent more than 30,000 companies and one million workers in downstream metals-consuming sectors–said doing so will save jobs at home and allow the U.S. […]
Section 232 tariffs and quotas have left domestic steelmakers and steel consumers in sharply different realities. One side is investing big at home and enjoying record profits. The other is angry about sharply higher costs and is scouting for more steel abroad. That was the takeaway from a trade roundtable at Steel Market Update’s virtual Tampa […]
General Motors has extended production shutdowns stemming from a microchip shortage at three North American plants through at least mid-March. The move impacts GM’s Fairfax assembly plant in Kansas, its CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, and its San Luis Potosi plant in Mexico, the company said on Tuesday, Feb. 9. GM had already effectively stopped […]
Interest in imported flat-rolled steel is growing among some U.S. buyers thanks to a widening spread between domestic mill prices and foreign offers. Some market participants said they had already purchased material at what they thought was an attractive price–and because long domestic mill lead times reduce the risk of buying imports. But others said […]
Section 232 tariffs on imported steel and aluminum netted the U.S. government nearly $2 billion in its 2020 fiscal year. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) collected $1.3 billion in Section 232 tariffs on imported steel in fiscal 2020 and $500 million in tariffs on imported aluminum, according to a recent report from the agency. […]