I made a contrarian case for optimism in my last Final Thoughts. Our latest survey results indicate I was more contrarian than I realized. For starters, there has been speculation in both the physical and futures markets that a strike or lockout at US Steel could catch buyers off guard and send prices spiraling upward. […]
ArcelorMittal has broken ground on its $1.8 billion CAD ($1.3 billion USD) project to decrease the carbon intensity of its steelmaking. The ground-breaking ceremony comes just about a year after the Hamilton, Ontario-based steelmaker announced the initial federal subsidy granted for the investment. ArcelorMittal Dofasco, a subsidiary of multinational ArcelorMittal SA, is working towards decreasing […]
Sheet pricing continues to grind lower and contract negotiations drag on. Let’s first look at why prices have been slipping and think about a few theories as to who or what the culprit might be. Spot Market Dynamics I’ve heard from buyers in the Midwest that discounts for large-volume orders negotiated by an integrated producer […]
ArcelorMittal is investing in energy storage. The Luxembourg-based global steel manufacturer announced on Oct. 4 a $17.5 million dollar investment in Form Energy Inc. Founded in 2017, Form Energy is a Somerville, Mass.-based company with employees in the San Francisco Bay area and Pittsburgh. The manufacturer is developing an iron-air battery that will be able […]
A group of European steel companies and nongovernmental agencies, members of the Austrian non-profit organization ResponsibleSteel, have come together to create international standards for greenhouse gas emissions as the industry works to decarbonize across the supply chain. The ResponsibleSteel International Standard V2.0 will allow steel companies to clearly show how they are driving down GHG […]
The long, hot summer of labor unrest that I’d feared early this year didn’t materialize. But that doesn’t mean we’re out the woods yet. The United Steelworkers union and Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. have agreed to a new labor pact. In Canada, meanwhile, the USW has ratified agreements with both Algoma and Stelco. But the union and […]
It’s time to forecast 2023, and I’d like to throw out one radical possibility – or at least one worth thinking about. What if there are no black swans? I know, that possibility is so remote that it’s almost laughable. We haven’t had many normal years since 2018. That year gave us the shock of […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. Rock provides customers attached to the steel industry with commodity price risk management services and market intelligence. RTA is registered with the National Futures Association as a Commodity Trade Advisor. David has over 20 years of professional trading experience and has been active […]
ArcelorMittal has announced the idling of furnaces across Europe, including blast furnace A at its steel works in in Asturias, Spain, multiple facilities in Germany, and the blast furnace at its mill 2 in Dunkirk, France. According to the Luxembourg-based company, blast furnace A in Asturias will be shut down by the end of September. Blast […]
ArcelorMittal is committed to EV. The Luxembourg-based steel company recently announced a collaboration to provide its steel knowledge to Atlis Motor Vehicles. ArcelorMittal will provide its S-in motion® solutions to hasten the design process. Currently, Atlis is developing a fully electric truck that will be designed for individuals working in the agriculture, service, utilities, and construction […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.’s chairman, president and CEO Lourenco Goncalves joined Steel Market Update senior editor Michael Cowden in the first fireside chat of this year’s SMU Steel Summit conference Monday afternoon in Atlanta. The Cliffs executive educated and entertained conference attendees with the unreserved honesty and candidness he has become well-known for in his long-term career […]
Sheet prices were mixed this week as market participants continued to debate whether a recent round of price hikes had stuck. While some said the increases would provide a floor and prevent further price erosion, others said prices were more likely to resume their downward trend in the weeks ahead. There were also questions about […]
Steelmakers stand firm in the face of Russian aggression The invasion of Ukraine led to a sharp and sudden decline in steel production as steelmakers hurried to idle their assets in the face of military aggression. In the weeks that followed, some of these producers restarted their facilities – albeit at reduced capacity utilization. As […]
Canadian steelmaker ArcelorMittal Dofasco aims to increase spot market base prices for steel sheet by at least $65 per ton CAD (~$50 per ton USD). The Hamilton, Ontario-based company said the price hike was effective immediately and applied equally to hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated products. “We reserve the right to re-quote any previously quoted offer […]
ArcelorMittal SA has agreed to buy Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém (CSP) from Brazilian iron ore miner Vale SA and shareholders. The deal is worth $2.2 billion and is expected to be completed late this year. CSP is a joint venture between Vale, which holds a 50% stake in the company, and South Korean steelmakers […]
Inflation and slowing demand are hampering ArcelorMittal’s short-term outlook, but the global steelmaker remains bullish on steel’s long-term prospects. As it released its second quarter results, the Luxembourg-based company said the period was “overshadowed by the outbreak of war in Ukraine,” where it maintains steel and mining operations. “Globally the conflict is impacting growth and […]
We’ve updated our prices, and it’s another week of declines for hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized flat-rolled steel. That’s not new. But this might be: Hot-rolled prices had been falling at a modestly faster pace than galvanized prices base prices. That was not the case this week. HR is down $35 per ton ($1.75 per cwt) […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. plans to have the No. 5 blast furnace at its Cleveland Works back up and running at full capacity in August, company executives said on a second quarter earnings conference call on Friday, July 22. Along with a furnace reline, the company took advantage of the downtime to perform other important repairs and […]
ArcelorMittal Mexico has started up a new hot skin pass mill at its new hot rolling mill in Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán. The hot skin pass mill has come into operation seven months after the new $1 billion, 2.75-million-short-ton-per-year hot rolling mill produced its first coil. “We are very happy to reach today an important step […]
ArcelorMittal SA has completed a deal to acquire an 80% stake in a south Texas hot-briquetted iron (HBI) plant built by Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine. The Luxembourg-based steelmaker said the deal was finalized following the receipt of customary regulatory approvals on Thursday, June 30. The agreement, announced in April, values the HBI plant – located near […]
The steel industry’s push to decrease CO2 emissions in steelmaking will require an increase in high-grade iron ore production and improved beneficiation techniques, according to a report from The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). To reach net-zero emissions by 2050, not only will steelmakers need to switch production methods from coal-consuming blast […]
We are now eight weeks away from the start of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. Behind the scenes, there are dozens of SMU and CRU team members working diligently to ensure this year’s conference is exceptional for all our attendees. By exceptional, we mean entertaining content that is valuable and timely. And we also provide […]
We are now eight weeks away from the start of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. Behind the scenes, there are dozens of SMU and CRU team members working diligently to ensure this year’s conference is exceptional for all our attendees. By exceptional, we mean entertaining content that is valuable and timely. And we also provide […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Prices for sheet products continued to fall rapidly around the globe this week. Mills in the US have become increasingly aggressive with their offers and are shifting their focus towards value-added products in order to obtain higher margins over costs. As a result, […]
Canadian flat-rolled steelmakers Stelco and Algoma face looming summer contract expirations with the United Steelworkers (USW) union. That’s well ahead of US mills, whose contracts with the USW don’t expire until Sept. 1. Here is where things stand now: Stelco The most pressing deadline is at Hamilton, Ontario-based Stelco, whose five-year agreement with the USW […]
The 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference, which will be held at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta, is just 63 days away. The dates for this year’s conference are Aug. 22-24. We begin with a pre-Summit program at 9 a.m on Aug. 22. The official start of the conference will be at 1 p.m. The […]
The 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference, which will be held at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta, is just 63 days away. The dates for this year’s conference are Aug. 22-24. We begin with a pre-Summit program at 9 a.m on Aug. 22. The official start of the conference will be at 1 p.m. The […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has changed how it supplies the automotive industry in response to chip and parts shortages that have thrown a wrench into automaker production forecasts, the company’s top executive said. “We no longer adopt their forecast as the final truth, like it was historically,” Cliffs chairman, president and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said. How did […]
Who wants to be in the hot-rolled coil business anymore? I ask that only partly in jest. It’s not that no one wants to make spot HRC anymore. It’s just that not many companies seem to want to make it their bread and butter. Nucor spending $3 billion for a garage door company and looking […]
SteelZero has released a series of suggestions in a new policy paper that it feels governments must take to support and speed up the global steel industry’s goals of achieving net zero emissions. SteelZero, a global initiative led by international non-profit Climate Group in partnership with ResponsibleSteel, believes decision makers in government first need to […]