Union workers from US Steel and ArcelorMittal staged rallies and marches at locations across the country this week. Contract negotiations are stalled over concessions the companies want on health and retirement benefits. Carrying signs and rallying to slogans like “United we bargain, divided we beg” and “No contract no peace,” thousands of USW members took […]
Steel buyers are reporting a weakening steel market in both our phone conversations as well as through our survey responses. SMU reported a drop in hot rolled coil prices last week of $5 per ton and we are reporting an additional $5 per ton move lower this week. We are seeing weakness in all products. […]
Steel Market Update publisher, John Packard, participated in the monthly galvanized steel conference call held by HARDI for their wholesalers and other HARDI member companies. The wholesalers supply galvanized steel sheet and coil to the mechanical contractors who are involved in the residential and commercial HVAC markets. The group discussed a number of key market […]
I was speaking with the owner of a manufacturing company late last week. He told me his company had a number of union plants and he has negotiated a number of union contracts over the past few years. “People don’t strike anymore,” he said, “unless someone puts a line in the sand and forces the […]
I was speaking with the owner of a manufacturing company late last week. He told me his company had a number of union plants and he has negotiated a number of union contracts over the past few years. “People don’t strike anymore,” he said, “unless someone puts a line in the sand and forces the […]
Essar Steel is in the running for purchase US Steel Canada according to an anonymous source close to the bidding process. According to the Hamilton Spectator, the source said Essar Steel Holdings is interested in purchasing both Hamilton Works and Lake Erie Works, the only bidder interested in the entire USSC operation. Other bidders are […]
USW members at Cliffs Natural Resources are watching labor negotiations at ArcelorMittal and US Steel very carefully. The USW contracts with Cliffs will expire on October 1, 2015 and cover 2,600 employees at four local unions in Minnesota and Michigan. In a statement to the membership, union officials cautioned workers that negotiations at the two […]
The Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI), a business unit of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), today announced Rick Blume, vice president, commercial, Nucor Corporation, will succeed Dan Mull, executive vice president, sales and marketing, ArcelorMittal USA, as chairman of SMDI’s Board of Directors. “We look forward to working under Rick’s leadership to further […]
Six domestic steel mills joined together to file a hot rolled trade suit today. This is now the third such suit since the filing against corrosion resistant (galvanized & zinc-aluminum or Galvalume) on June 3rd and the cold rolled petition of a couple of weeks ago. With the HR case the mills have hit the […]
Talking to steel buyers this week was like listening to a broken record, “It’s quiet, it’s quiet, it’s quiet….” There has been very little activity and nothing pushing the markets which is quite amazing when you consider the domestic mills have filed three trade cases and are coming up on the September 1st deadline for […]
ATI has threatened a potential lockout over contract negotiations. Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) offered the USW Bargaining Committee its “last, best and final” proposal last Friday. According to the USW the proposal was accompanied by a request from ATI that “the Union accept this proposal and recommend it for ratification by 3:00 p.m. on Monday, […]
With the filing of the hot rolled trade case (which was expected by almost everyone in the industry and the date had been leaked long ago) we now have all flat rolled products followed by Steel Market Update involved. It will take time to sort through all of the data and for the process to […]
Over the past two months the U.S. steel industry has filed antidumping petitions on corrosion resistant (coated steels like galvanized and Galvalume) and cold rolled steels. The rumor mill has been flush with talk that a hot rolled suit will be announced as early as this week. What will the impact be on flat rolled […]
Over the weekend we received further updates on the status of the ferrous scrap markets in the United States. We learned that US Steel Granite City had no scrap buys in July and we are hearing that they are passing on offers that are $30 to $45 per gross ton lower than their last buys […]
ATI Flat Rolled Products presented its “Last, Best and Final” contract proposal to the USW negotiating committee on Friday. The more than 2,000 union represented employees at ATI have been working under terms of a contract that expired June 30, 2015. ATI management told employees that changes must be made to adapt to a changing […]
Olympic Steel net sales fell to $316.3 million in second quarter and dropped 9.8 percent to $661.1 million for the first half of 2015. Declines in both periods were attributed to lower shipments and lower average selling prices due in part to the impact of subsidized imports on the market. The company reported a net […]
On June 3rd Nucor, US Steel, ArcelorMittal USA, AK Steel, Steel Dynamics and California Steel filed antidumping and countervailing duty petition against China, Taiwan, India, South Korea and Italy on corrosion-resistant steels. To put this into layman’s terms the domestic mills filed a dumping (AD) and CVD suit on producers of galvanized and Galvalume (zinc-aluminum) […]
ArcelorMittal reported second quarter EBITDA of $1.4 billion and net income of $179 million. Results for the company were impacted by improved steel and mining volumes that were offset by lower price. Steel shipments totaled 22.1 million tons, up 3.4 percent year over year. Quarter sales fell 18 percent to $16.9 billion compared to $20.7 […]
On June 3, 2015, six U.S. steel mills filed an antidumping and countervailing duty petition against corrosion resistant (referred to as CORE, which are coated steels such as galvanized and Galvalume products) steels from: China, Taiwan, South Korea, India and Italy. Late last week, attorneys representing Nucor Corporation, US Steel, Steel Dynamics, AK Steel , […]
U.S. Steel and four other domestic steel mills filed antidumping suits on cold rolled steel against 8 countries. The following information was released to the steel community this morning (Tuesday, July 28th). In an email last night, USS incorrectly named SSAB as one of the petitioners in the CR suit. SSAB did respond to our […]
AK Steel blamed low prices due to high levels of unfairly traded imports for its net loss of $64 million for the second quarter of 2015. Net sales for the quarter totaled $1.69, down from $1.75 billion sequentially and $1.53 billion in Q2 2014. Average selling price of $931 per ton was down 7 percent […]
The United Steel Workers received an outline of a contract proposal from US Steel Corp. and found it riddled with concessions that the USW says would “erode decades of contractural improvements and benefits.” Health benefits seem to be a consistent theme in labor negotiations this year. US Steel is seeking to increase the minimum annual […]
On Sunday we produced an article that was perhaps confusing to some of our readers. The article entitled: “Possible Strike Does Not Worry Buyers & Sellers of Steel” had an error in the graphic produced. Our survey results has 76 percent of those responding saying they are Not concerned about the possibility of a strike […]
By a wide majority, buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel have little to no fear of a possible strike or lockout at either US Steel or ArcelorMittal. At least that is what we found during our most recent flat rolled market analysis conducted last week. Negotiations have started between ArcelorMittal and US Steel with […]
ArcelorMittal submitted its first proposal to the USW negotiating committee on Monday. According to USW, the three-year keeps wages as is, cuts benefits, raises health premiums and makes changes to retirement contributions. The USW posted the following changes proposed by the Company in an update to members: The company has proposed a three-year contract with […]
Contract negotiations are currently underway between the United Steel Workers and steel companies US Steel and ArcelorMittal. The companies each met with USW bargaining committee members in Pittsburgh to begin working out details of new three-year contracts to replace the current ones expiring Sept. 1. USW Committee members are expecting the first proposal from ArcelorMittal […]
Indiana Harbor West is not on the cutting block according to ArcelorMittal USA CEO Andrew Harshaw. In response to media reports that an asset rationalization may occur involving the Chicago area mill, Harshaw said, “What I want to assure you is that we have no intention of reducing our blast furnace capacity in the United […]
Not too hot (prices aren’t rising at a breakneck pace – or at all for that matter), not too cold (and they aren’t dropping either – at least not yet), just about right (Goldilocks pricing). Of course this perspective will vary depending on your view of the market and your ability to pass through the […]
Normally, when the market is starting to heat up and the first of the domestic steel mills announces a price increase, it is matter of a day or two before the others either follow the lead or make a new announcement at a level higher or lower than the first announcement made. The April and […]
ArcelorMittal responded Monday to rumors of a potential closure of Indiana Harbor West in East Chicago. Key Banc reported that sources indicated “ArcelorMittal USA is taking steps to reduce its sheet hot end and finishing capabilities via the closure of Indiana Harbor West.” A spokesperson at ArcelorMittal USA, in an email to Steel Market Update, […]