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Latest news
USS, USW to resume labor talks on Friday, union predicts progress
The United Steelworkers (USW) union will meet with U.S. Steel (USS) on Friday as negotiations around terms of a new labor contract continue.
The meeting comes after the USW and Cleveland-Cliffs, one of U.S. Steel’s competitors, agreed to a tentative labor agreement last week.
“USS knows how this process works. They agreed to meet with us on Friday. The company knows they need to move, so this meeting should be productive,” the union said in a text to members on Wednesday.
Steel market chatter: Tight supply, strong demand keep sheet prices climbing
In this week’s Market Chatter, steel buyers point to tight supply and steady demand as reasons sheet prices could keep rising, with many expecting HRC to reach $1,400-1,449 per short ton in two months. Views on when the rally will peak are mixed, with some anticipating further increases while others mention softening demand and political uncertainty. Respondents also disagree on tariffs’ impact. They say reshoring is generating activity but has yet to translate consistently into demand.
Ternium’s Vedoya signals possibility of filing more AD cases in Mexico: Report
Latin American steelmaker Ternium is considering filing more anti-dumping cases in Mexico, according to a report from Reuters.
Ternium CEO Maximo Vedoya told Reuters on Tuesday that the company would “very likely” file more trade cases in Mexico after supporting recent trade actions there.
Additionally, Vedoya said the US and Mexico share a common issue in combating unfairly traded steel.
Apparent steel supply remains historically high despite September dip
The volume of finished steel that entered the US market eased 1% from August to September and held near a historically strong rate, according to SMU’s analysis of recently released Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) data.
Referred to as “apparent steel supply,” this measure is calculated by combining domestic mill shipments and finished US steel imports, then subtracting total US exports. It can be used as a proxy for domestic steel demand.
Supply totaled 9.11 million short tons (st) in September, the fourth-highest rate recorded in the past four years. Supply has remained historically strong since May, when it surpassed the 9 million st mark for the first time in four years
Mesabi Metallics gets preliminary OK on tax incentives for Iowa mill
Mesabi Metallics has received preliminary approval for tax incentive terms for a proposed steel plant in Iowa, following a Nov. 10 meeting of the Lee County Board of Supervisors.
The company, owned by India’s Essar Group, announced in late September its intention to build an electric-arc furnace steel plant in the state, which, if built, would be the largest in the US.
ArcelorMittal Calvert electrical steel mill remains on track for 2027 start
ArcelorMittal Calvert is progressing on the construction of its new $1.2-billion non-grain-oriented electrical steel (NGO or NOES) mill, with production slated to begin in 2027.
The steelmaker reported in its third-quarter earnings that it’s on track with the 150,000-metric-ton-per-year project, located adjacent to its existing sheet mill in Calvert, Ala.
CORRECTION: Randall Metals closes on buy of Titan Steel
Randall Metals has closed on its acquisition of tinplate and specialty flat-rolled products supplier Titan Steel. Further terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Imports fall back slightly in September, slide further in October
Final import data for September from the US Commerce Department shows a slight decline from August’s 15-month high. And October’s license count suggests another month-on-month (m/m) decline in imports.
September imports of 2,416,717 short tons (st) were down just 1% from 2,434,108 st in August, a 15-month high. October license data show a steeper 8% m/m fall to 2,214,730 st (Figure 1, left).
August appears to have been the peak for the recovery in imports, which has been ongoing since February of this year, when we saw some of the lowest levels since 2020.
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