Steel Market Update has revised its blast furnace status chart to reflect that two furnaces at Cleveland-Cliffs’ Indiana Harbor steelmaking complex in East Chicago, Ind., have been razed. The No. 5 and No. 6 blast furnaces have not been operated since 2010, were decommissioned in 2015 and have since been demolished, a spokeswoman for the […]
ArcelorMittal’s joint venture AMNS Calvert ran at near capacity in the first quarter of 2021, delivering record first-quarter results. Hot strip mill production jumped 19.3% to 1.3 million metric tons from the fourth quarter. EBITDA nearly tripled to $159 million from $56 million in the prior quarter. The mill is currently supplied with slab sourced […]
I wish I could start off writing about something other than steel prices. That said, since I joined SMU from Fastmarkets AMM in early January, the news really has been the price. SMU’s average hot-rolled price on Tuesday, May 4, stood at $1,500 per ton ($75 per cwt). That’s a 12.8% increase from $1,330 per ton a month ago […]
Nucor, SDI and Cliffs all announced earnings last week. All of the CEOs are quite bullish as all of their flat rolled mills are running at full capacity. And with pricing now in excess of $1,400 per ton for benchmark hot rolled, the mills are reporting record or near record quarterly profits for first-quarter 2021. […]
Ford has extended downtime at assembly plants in the U.S. and Canada into May because of an ongoing microchip supply squeeze. “The global semiconductor shortage continues, presenting challenges to a number of industries – including automakers worldwide,” a Ford spokeswoman said. The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker will take outages the weeks of May 3 and May […]
Cleveland-Cliffs expects historically high steel prices and record profits to continue for the balance of the year. The integrated steelmaker forecasts that U.S. hot-rolled coil prices will average $1,100 per ton for the remaining three quarters the year, according to guidance released with first quarter earnings data on Thursday, April 22. That’s 21.5% below SMU’s […]
Cleveland-Cliffs expects historically high steel prices and record profits to continue for the balance of the year. The integrated steelmaker forecasts that U.S. hot-rolled coil prices will average $1,100 per ton for the remaining three quarters the year, according to guidance released with first quarter earnings data on Thursday, April 22. That’s 21.5% below SMU’s […]
Downstream metals M&A is back, and it could be bigger than ever – or at least as big as it’s been since the last metals super cycle in 2006-08, according to one investment banker. Deal volume in the metals service center and processing sectors was good in early 2020 and “cratered” following the COVID-19 outbreak. But […]
NOTICE: NO SMU PUBLICATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 4 DUE TO EASTER HOLIDAY Imports are coming. We are watching galvanized carefully as automotive production is being reduced due to the chip shortage, and we are seeing higher volumes of galvanized imports coming in. March 2021 license data is showing 240,000 net tons of galvanized, which is […]
Imports are coming. We are watching galvanized carefully as automotive production is being reduced due to the chip shortage, and we are seeing higher volumes of galvanized imports coming in. March 2021 license data is showing 240,000 net tons of foriegn galvanized imports, which is up 55,000-65,000 tons above the levels seen over the prior […]
In the famous words of Isaac Newton, “what goes up must come down.” While he was not referring to steel prices per se, the sentiment still holds true. Steel tags can’t stay at record highs indefinitely. Supply will eventually catch up with demand. What happens then? Will prices see a sharp correction or a gradual […]
In the famous words of Isaac Newton, “what goes up must come down.” While he was not referring to steel prices per se, the sentiment still holds true. Steel tags can’t stay at record highs indefinitely. Supply will eventually catch up with demand. What happens then? Will prices see a sharp correction or a gradual […]
Steel buyers believe benchmark hot rolled prices will peak at $1,350 to $1,400 per ton ($67.50/cwt-$70.00/cwt) based on our canvassing of the flat rolled and plate markets this week. We are seeing spot HRC orders at $1,300 per ton with a few buyers telling us there are offers up to $1,340 per ton from the […]
Steel buyers believe benchmark hot rolled prices will peak at $1,350 to $1,400 per ton ($67.50/cwt-$70.00/cwt) based on our canvassing of the flat rolled and plate steel markets this week. We are seeing spot HRC orders at $1,300 per ton with a few buyers telling us there are offers up to $1,340 per ton from […]
The U.S. steel market could lose one million tons of production in the months ahead because of several lengthy blast furnaces outages, and the volume of iron and steel impacted could be well over one million tons when shorter-duration electric-arc furnace (EAF) and hot strip mill outages are considered. The issue is particularly relevant because […]
By CRU Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Details of China’s Tangshan emission control policy that circulated in the last week have provided a further boost to Chinese steel prices but have weighed on prices for iron ore. The high cost of freight is still reducing the competitiveness of sheet imports in […]
By CRU Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor The seasonal slowdown in the physical Chinese sheet market is ongoing, with inventories rising and demand falling w/w. However, concerns about limited supply during the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party continue to boost the Chinese HR coil futures market. Prices are still edging […]
AM/NS Calvert has a planned maintenance outage coming up, a company spokeswoman confirmed. The outage is expected to take place in May on the Alabama steel mill’s hot-strip mill, market participants said. The spokeswoman did not confirm when the outage would take place or on what part of the mill repairs or upgrades would be […]
The U.S Department of Commerce has decided to continue antidumping duties on cut-to-length plate imported from China, Russia and Ukraine as part of the “sunset review” process. China will remain subject to dumping margins of up to 128.59%, Russia to dumping margins of as much as 185% and Ukraine to margins of up to 237.91%, […]
Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém (CSP) has delayed a scheduled shutdown of its blast furnace until the second half of 2021, a company spokeswoman said. The Brazilian steelmaker had originally planned to undertake the shutdown, necessary to implement “processes improvement,” in the second quarter of this year. “The initial date was postponed mainly due to the […]
Cleveland-Cliffs will be retiring the name AK Steel, bringing all acquisitions and properties under the Cleveland-Cliffs name, which will be reported as a single segment, Cleveland-Cliffs Steelmaking. “Cleveland-Cliffs has undergone significant transformation with the acquisitions of AK Steel and ArcelorMittal USA assets,” said Cleveland-Cliffs spokesperson Patricia Persico. “While we appreciate and respect the legacy AK […]
“Life at Cleveland-Cliffs has been intense,” said CEO Lourenco Goncalves, referring to a pandemic-challenged year in 2020 and major changes to what just one year ago was an iron ore company. “Without question, 2020 was the most transformational year in our company’s 173-year history,” said Goncalves. “We completed two seminal acquisitions, AK Steel and ArcelorMittal […]
“Life at Cleveland-Cliffs has been intense,” said CEO Lourenco Goncalves, referring to a pandemic-challenged year in 2020 and major changes to what just one year ago was an iron ore company. “Without question, 2020 was the most transformational year in our company’s 173-year history,” said Goncalves. “We completed two seminal acquisitions, AK Steel and ArcelorMittal […]
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 […]
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 […]
Good news for NLMK USA customers as the mill has worked out a tentative agreement with the union at their Farrell, Pa., facility, which will end the strike that goes back to late August. Once back in production, this will help (slightly) with some of the supply issues we have been seeing in the market. […]
After divesting most of its U.S. assets to Cleveland-Cliffs, ArcelorMittal is now focused on strategic growth, controlling costs and leading the industry on sustainability, the steelmaker claims. The company is targeting net-zero emissions by 2050 and looks forward to commissioning its Smart Carbon steelmaking technologies in Ghent in 2022. ArcelorMittal achieved its first sales for […]
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 […]
A decision from the U.S. Court of International Trade upholding Section 232 tariffs on imported steel means any repeal of the trade action will have to come from the Biden administration with the support of Congress, a top American Metals Supply Chain Institute (AMSCI) executive said. AMSCI should know because it went before the same […]
It might be T-shirt weather before steel buyers in Canada have access to spot tons of sheet and plate, according to market participants. The three main Canadian sheet suppliers–Algoma, Stelco and ArcelorMittal Dofasco–are largely sold out through May and are in some cases out as far as June. And when it comes to plate, Canada’s […]