General Motors (GM) is restarting production at assembly plants that had been idled – some since early February – because of the global semiconductor shortage. The restarts include not only plants in North America but also facilities in South Korea, a spokesman for the Detroit-based automaker said. U.S. steelmakers have said that auto companies would […]
Cleveland-Cliffs is ramping up the No. 5 blast furnace at its steel mill in Cleveland, Ohio, after a minor incident earlier in the week, according to market participants. A blowout on a tuyere resulted in limited damage, including melted wiring, and led to the furnace being down for several days, a source familiar with the […]
The U.S. steel industry stands to benefit in a big way should the government put a price on carbon emissions, according to a study by CRU, Steel Market Update’s parent company. CRU examined the potential impact of a standard fee on carbon emissions and an equivalent border carbon adjustment (BCA) and found that such policies could […]
Steel buyers’ sentiment remains firmly in bullish territory even as carbon steel prices are nearing levels more commonly associated with stainless steel or even aluminum. While some sources continue to fret about the steep downside risk of current high prices, most have gotten over their initial sticker shock and are busy trying to secure enough […]
U.S. Steel has completed a 25-day maintenance outage on the No. 1 blast furnace at its Mon Valley Works in western Pennsylvania, a company spokeswoman said. The outage was part of the steelmaker’s normal maintenance program. The downtime was used to apply shotcrete–a sprayed concrete–and other standard upkeep, sources have said. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker said on its first-quarter earnings […]
Privately held Canadian steelmaker Algoma Steel has agreed to be taken over and taken public in a deal valued at as much as $1.7 billion, the company said. Proceeds from the initial public offering (IPO) might result in the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based company becoming the latest producer to switch from integrated to electric arc […]
Much attention has been paid to how much new electric-arc furnace (EAF) flat-rolled steel capacity is being added to the North American market. Less has been written about how many tons of integrated steelmaking capacity have been taken out. An analysis by Steel Market Update indicates that the latter figure is perhaps equally significant. It […]
Much attention has been paid to how much new electric-arc furnace (EAF) flat-rolled steel capacity is being added to the North American market. Less has been written about how many tons of integrated steelmaking capacity have been taken out. An analysis by Steel Market Update indicates that the latter figure is perhaps equally significant. It […]
Don’t forget to tune into SMU’s next Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, May 26, at 11 a.m. ET with Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) President Philip K. Bell. Bell will speak about the U.S. steel industry’s low carbon profile compared to steelmakers abroad – and its efforts to reduce carbon emissions even further. He will […]
Don’t forget to tune into SMU’s next Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, May 26, at 11 a.m. ET with Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) President Philip K. Bell. Bell will speak about the U.S. steel industry’s low carbon profile compared to steelmakers abroad – and its efforts to reduce carbon emissions even further. He will […]
Don’t forget to tune into SMU’s next Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, June 23, at 11 a.m. ET with SSAB Americas President Charles Schmitt. SSAB, a Nordic steel company with employees in over 50 countries, claims to be the largest producer and supplier of heavy plate in North America, with a market share of approximately 33% in […]
Don’t forget to tune into SMU’s next Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, June 23, at 11 a.m. ET with SSAB Americas President Charles Schmitt. SSAB, a Nordic steel company with employees in over 50 countries, claims to be the largest producer and supplier of heavy plate in North America, with a market share of approximately 33% in […]
Don’t forget to tune into SMU’s next Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, June 23, at 11 a.m. ET with SSAB Americas President Charles Schmitt. SSAB, a Nordic steel company with employees in over 50 countries, claims to be the largest producer and supplier of heavy plate in North America, with a market share of approximately 33% in […]
U.S. Steel’s mill in Košice, Slovakia, must swap out its blast furnaces for electric-arc furnaces (EAFs) to survive in a decarbonizing world, a government official said. The problem: Doing so doesn’t come cheap. The change would cost approximately €1.5 billion ($1.8 billion), Slovakian Finance Minister Igor Matovič said per reports in local media. “If we want […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) has opened its flat rolled orderbook for August, and the West Coast slab converter has also increased prices by triple-digit margins, according to market participants. “The purpose of this letter is to inform you that CSI’s August Flat Rolled Order Book is now open,” the company said in emails to customers on Thursday, May […]
Ford has joined General Motors in extending North American assembly plant outages into the third quarter because of a persistent shortage of microchips. “Our teams continue making the most of our available semiconductor allocation and will continue finding unique solutions to provide as many high-quality vehicles as possible to our dealers and customers,” a Ford […]
SSAB Americas and Evraz North America have followed Nucor in increasing plate prices by at least $100-150 per ton ($5-7.50/cwt). Both steelmakers said their price hikes were effective immediately in letters to customers dated Thursday, May 20. SSAB said the $100-per-ton increase applied to as-rolled mill plate and coil as well as to cut-to-length plate more […]
SSAB Americas and Evraz North America have followed Nucor in increasing plate prices by at least $100-150 per ton ($5-7.50/cwt). Both steelmakers said their price hikes were effective immediately in letters to customers dated Thursday, May 20. SSAB said the $100-per-ton increase applied to as-rolled mill plate and coil as well as to cut-to-length plate more […]
Nucor has in a leading move increased plate prices by $100-150 per ton ($5-7.5/cwt) along with the opening of its July order book. Nucor’s new ex-works base price for cut-to-length A36 plate is $1,320 per ton ($66/cwt), up from $1,120 per ton last month, according to letters to customers. The steelmaker’s new base prices for […]
A coalition of U.S. steel industry lobbying groups and the United Steelworkers (USW) union want the Biden administration to keep Trump-era Section 232 tariffs and quotas on imported steel in place. The groups say the tariffs – rolled out in March 2018 on national security grounds – are necessary for the survival of the domestic […]
Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) President Philip K. Bell will be the featured speaker for the next SMU Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, May 26, at 11 a.m. ET. Bell will speak about the U.S. steel industry’s low carbon profile compared to steelmakers abroad – and its efforts to reduce carbon emissions even further. He will […]
Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) President Philip K. Bell will be the featured speaker for the next SMU Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, May 26, at 11 a.m. ET. Bell will speak about the U.S. steel industry’s low carbon profile compared to steelmakers abroad – and its efforts to reduce carbon emissions even further. He will […]
The United States and the European Union have begun negotiations that could lead to the removal of Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from the continent, according to market participants and a joint statement from the two sides. The official trigger of the talks: U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo […]
California Steel Industries (CS) will increase its zinc coating extras effective July 1. “Due to changing zinc costs, our galvanized coating extras have been revised,” the company said in a letter to customers on Friday, May 14. The West Coast slab re-roller last increased coating extras in early December. Zinc prices have since risen. Zinc […]
Japanese automaker Toyota continues to grapple with shortages of microchips and other parts at its North American manufacturing facilities. But some market participants are looking beyond automotive plant idlings to a potential rebound in auto builds in the second half of the year. “Toyota is currently experiencing a supply shortage that is affecting production at […]
Steel buyer sentiment remains near its highest reading of the year even as prices shoot farther into uncharted territory. The stratospheric price gains in theory bring the risk of an equally jarring crash. But steel buyers don’t appear overly concerned about that possibility – not when assessing their prospects in today’s market or when looking out at […]
Steel prices stand at $1,540 per ton ($77/per cwt) and are likely to hit at least $1,600 per ton – with no obvious signs of demand destruction in the short term, according to respondents to Steel Market Update’s most recent survey. And some respondents reported back that the only thing harder to find than metal […]
Two of the “Big Three” U.S. automakers are extending downtime at their North American plants into the summer months because of the ongoing microchip shortage. And one, Ford, has upcoming outages at all its U.S. assembly plants besides one in Dearborn, Mich., that makes the F-150 pickup truck, the best-selling vehicle in the United States. […]
NLMK USA is taking an unplanned seven- to 10-day outage on the hot-strip mill at its facility in Farrell, Pa., a company executive said. The repairs are necessary because a motor failed on the reversing roughing mill, NLMK USA Executive Vice President James Banker told Steel Market Update on Tuesday, May 11. The company will […]
NLMK USA is taking an unplanned seven- to 10-day outage on the hot-strip mill at its facility in Farrell, Pa., a company executive said. The repairs are necessary because a motor failed on the reversing roughing mill, NLMK USA Executive Vice President James Banker told Steel Market Update on Tuesday, May 11. The company will […]