Speculation that steel prices were near the bottom and the mills were contemplating a price increase has proven out as ArcelorMittal and NLMK USA both announced flat rolled price increases today of $40 per ton. Other mills are expected to follow. ArcelorMittal informed its commercial team today that it is raising base prices on light […]
ArcelorMittal USA announced a $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt) price increase today, which is in line with our expectations that an increase was inevitable based on comments from service centers and manufacturing companies responding to our flat rolled steel market trends questionnaires over the past few weeks. By the end of the day, NLMK USA had […]
Speculation that steel prices were near the bottom and the mills were contemplating a price increase has proven out as ArcelorMittal became the first to hike flat rolled prices today by $40 per ton. Other mills are expected to follow. ArcelorMittal informed its commercial team today that it is raising base prices on light flat […]
The following article discussing the global ferrous derivatives markets was written by David Feldstein. As an independent steel market analyst, advisor and trader, we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Note that Steel Market Update does not take any positions on HRC or scrap trading, and any recommendations or comments […]
Over the past couple of weeks, Steel Market Update has been suggesting flat rolled steel prices were at a bottom and the domestic steel mills would soon announce price increases. Today, ArcelorMittal USA began advising customers of their intention to raise prices by $40 per ton. By the end of the workday, NLMK USA had […]
By CRU Analyst Jordan Permain It is imperative for carbon steel producers to have secure supply of metallurgical coke to ensure stable and efficient operation of their blast furnaces (BF). Steelmakers also benefit from using coke with consistent technical specifications, namely CSR and ash content in their BFs. For these reasons alone it is prudent […]
Liberty Steel USA will get a new $25 million electric arc furnace at its Georgetown, S.C., rolling mill next year. Georgetown’s aging EAF has an annual capacity of 500,000 metric tons, but actual production has fallen far short of that amount. “We have a very efficient rolling mill at Georgetown and we now want to […]
Worthington Industries has acquired Heidtman Steel Products’ pickling and slitting facility in Cleveland. As part of the sale, the Cleveland operation under Worthington will continue to service Heidtman customers through a toll processing agreement. “Heidtman’s Cleveland operation is a great addition to our steel business, further expanding our value-added steel processing capacity,” said Worthington Industries […]
Steel Market Update reported in the last issue on the sudden closing of Bayou Seel in Louisiana, and a few readers took issue with some comments in the article (Trade War Contributes to Bayou Steel’s Demise). In statements that were widely reported, Gov. John Bel Edwards blamed the closure on the Trump administration tariffs. The […]
I received numerous notes regarding a hot strip mill outage at AMNS Calvert, which began last week. Based on reports from steel buyers, the HSM outage was expected to last for about one week. We asked ArcelorMittal for information and confirmation yesterday, but they failed to respond. Today, we received information that the Calvert lead […]
By CRU Analyst Ryan Smith Operating costs for flat-rolled minimill producers have dropped in 2019 as weaker steel markets have pulled down metallics prices. This has meant that operating costs for minimills are now in line with integrated producers in the USA. However, the current cost level is not expected to be maintained. (See related […]
A number of maintenance outages are scheduled at U.S. steel mills in the coming months with the majority to occur in October. Blast furnaces at AK Steel Dearborn, ArcelorMittal Cleveland and Burns Harbor, and U.S. Steel Gary Works are scheduled for maintenance in October, representing an estimated 495,050 tons of steel capacity temporarily removed from the […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Part two of our three-part series: What’s next for U.S. iron ore production? After a remarkably profitable 2018, the U.S. steel industry has suffered a setback in 2019 as steel prices have dropped sharply on weaker than expected demand. Steel margins have turned negative and production cuts have been […]
I am technically on vacation this week so my Final Thoughts will be brief, and I will rely on Senior Editor Tim Triplett to handle these duties for the balance of this week. I have heard from a number of buyers this week telling me that their business is slowing, and the interest by end […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Part one of our three-part series: What’s next for U.S. iron ore production? The U.S. is blessed with a wealth of natural resources, including oil, gas, gold, copper, timber and coal. In addition, the country has large iron ore deposits that have supported its steel industry for more than […]
The steel industry enjoyed a profitable first half of 2018 due to a strong economy and tariffs on imports that drove up domestic prices. The welcome windfall prompted several companies to commit large investments toward expansion and modernization of their facilities. In all, about 31 million net tons of new steel capacity could potentially come […]
ArcelorMittal announced that it will lay off 100 workers at its Weirton, W. Va., tin plate plant. The company joins its competitors, U.S. Steel and NLMK USA, in cutting back production in recent weeks. ArcelorMittal said in a statement: “In order to maintain its position as a competitive and sustainable tin plate producer, ArcelorMittal Weirton […]
ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor has the honor of providing the steel for the first U.S.-flagged Great Lakes bulk carrier to be built in more than 35 years. Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding held a ceremony at its shipyard to celebrate cutting the first sheet of steel to be used in the construction of the vessel for Interlake Steamship […]
Electric arc furnace minimills may have a cost advantage in steel production today, but there are still 19 traditional blast furnaces going strong in the United States. Blast furnaces dominate about three-fourths of global steelmaking, but only three steel producers in the U.S. currently are using BF or basic oxygen furnace technology: U.S. Steel, ArcelorMittal […]
North America’s plate mills have announced their second round of price increases in less than three weeks, seeking another $40 per ton ($2/cwt). Nucor’s Plate Mill Group was the first to inform customers of the change on Friday, prompting similar announcements by most other mills on Monday. SSAB Americas advised customers it is increasing transaction […]
Nearly 1,000 executives are registered with just two weeks to go before the start of the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference. We continue to see strong interest in this year’s event, which will be held in Atlanta on Aug. 26-28. Once again, the Georgia International Convention Center will be the home of this, our 9th […]
I sold steel for 31 years. The last 10, I represented a domestic steel mill and a couple of trading companies. One thing I learned, the steel buyers determine the market, not steel mills. We had been hearing rumors of the move U.S. Steel made today regarding moving toward no-index contracts for their 2020 order […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: On Wednesday, President Trump tweeted that new tariffs would be imposed on U.S. imports from China, an escalation of the trade war that was launched in July 2018. The new tariffs, on most of the products not already […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores Sheet prices in the U.S. have continued to rise as both buyers and sellers have reported higher transactions. Overall volume reported has been steady over the past few weeks and near 2019 average levels. The overall price range remains wide, around $50 /s.ton. We anticipate that prices will continue […]
ArcelorMittal suffered a net loss of $447 million in the second quarter due to high raw material costs and sharply lower steel prices in the U.S. resulting in impairment charges on fixed assets in ArcelorMittal USA of $600 million. An additional impairment charge of $347 million occurred due to the sale of assets related to […]
Following Nucor’s lead on Friday, ArcelorMittal USA, EVRAZ and SSAB Americas informed customers this week that they are raising the spot price of their plate products by a minimum of $40 per ton ($2/cwt), effective immediately. ArcelorMittal and EVRAZ informed customers verbally, SMU was told, while SSAB distributed a letter stating that the $40 per […]
Last week, Steel Market Update conducted our mid-July flat rolled and plate steels market trends analysis. We invited 480 individuals representing 450+ companies to participate in our questionnaire. We intentionally concentrate on inviting manufacturing (40 percent last week) and service centers (45 percent last week) as well as steel mills, trading companies and toll processors […]
If you haven’t registered for the Premier Steel Conference in North America, then this is the time to do so. The Steel Market Update Events App, which all 900+ attendees have access to, was launched last week, meaning registered attendees are now busy organizing meetings with each other in advance to make the most of their time […]
If you haven’t registered for the Premier Steel Conference in North America, then this is the time to do so. The Steel Market Update Events App, which all 900+ attendees have access to, was launched last week, meaning registered attendees are now busy organizing meetings with each other in advance to make the most of their time […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores U.S. sheet prices continue to be supported by new mill price announcements as HR coil gained $5 /s.ton, rising to $553 /s.ton. This price assessment reflects transactions taking place last week. On Monday of this week, ArcelorMittal led the third round of increases since late June, signaling $630 /s.ton […]