Maintenance costs and increasing shipments to the automotive sector were major areas of discussion on Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.’s quarterly conference call with analysts on Tuesday, Oct. 25. With major maintenance projects now complete and shipments starting to increase to auto customers, Cliffs is confident it can return to quarterly shipment levels of close to four million tons. […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. expects a continuation of the trend it saw in the third quarter of increasing shipments to the automotive sector. This should support steel pricing going forward, the steelmaker said in its Q3 earnings report released on Tuesday, Oct. 25. “Shipments to our automotive clients significantly improved in Q3, achieving a level among the highest in […]
With September’s quarter close comes the wave of corporate analysts’ reports. Several were released this week, and all warn of challenging times ahead. Demand and prices are falling, as costs are rising, leaving the aluminum value chain scissored in the near term. As context for these results, CRU has refreshed June’s base economic forecast and […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. plans to announce where its new aluminum flat-rolled mill will be located within the next few weeks. Site selection is wrapping up, and the purchase of equipment packages and major mill components has been completed over the past few weeks, SDI chairman, president, and CEO Mark Millett said on the company’s third-quarter […]
US light vehicle (LV) sales grew in September, coming in at 1.15 million units, unadjusted. Last month’s total was a 10.8% increase year-on-year (YoY), the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported. The YoY gain was just the second since July 2021. While this was the second consecutive month of YoY increases, it was helped […]
North American auto assemblies declined by 8.7% in September after reaching their highest mark in nearly two years the month prior. Despite the lower output in September, production was a hefty 39.6% higher year-on-year (YoY) and still the third-best total year-to-date (YTD), according to LMC Automotive data. Though the market remains supply-constrained due to ongoing […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Sheet prices took split paths between eastern and western regions. Prices in Asia found support from restocking in China and supply disruptions in South Korea. Meanwhile, western markets remained weak, and we expect this to persist over the near term. October is the […]
NLMK USA saw a considerable decline in third-quarter and year-to-date sales due to high inventories and a slowdown in customer activity because of falling steel prices. The US flat-rolled steel company — made up of NLMK Indiana, NLMK Pennsylvania, and the Sharon Coating galvanizing facility in Pennsylvania — posted preliminary sales of 300,000 metric tons […]
By CRU Senior Analyst, Puneet Paliwal, from CRU’s Scrap, DRI/HBI & Pig Iron Monitor Global scrap prices stay subdued while those of ore-based metallics have found some support. Overall metallics demand continues to be hampered by the steel market weakness, a trend which may sustain through the short term, particularly in Europe. The CRU metallics price […]
News that the Biden Administration is considering a total ban on Russian aluminum imports lifted the market Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 11. The LME aluminum three-month price increased sharply to a high of $2,400 per ton before some of the gains were reversed by the close. The price saw some volatile shifts during the week but […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor Michael D’Angelo is a researcher and trader at Marex who has been active in the metals markets for two years. In his role, Mike performs fundamental and quantitative analysis which directly leads to actionable trading/risk management strategies across the base, precious and ferrous metals derivative spaces. Prior to joining Marex, Mike received […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor Michael D’Angelo is a researcher and trader at Marex who has been active in the metals markets for two years. In his role, Mike performs fundamental and quantitative analysis which directly leads to actionable trading/risk management strategies across the base, precious and ferrous metals derivative spaces. Prior to joining Marex, Mike received […]
Domestic sheet prices fell sharply this week, marking their first substantial drop following nearly two months of mostly sideways or modestly downward moves. Another month of falling scrap prices appears to have been the catalyst. Another is this: Mills that had talked about discipline on the way up are now fighting for market share, sources […]
The US economy added 263,000 new jobs in September, slowing for the second straight month and marking the lowest monthly total since April 2021, according to data from the US Department of Labor. Despite the repeated decline in hiring, last month’s total was still solid by pre-pandemic standards and slightly ahead of the expected payroll […]
SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects on Monday and Tuesday of this week, including current and future steel prices, inventory strategies, supply, demand, and new mill capacity. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we are sharing them in each buyer’s own words. We want to hear your thoughts, too! Contact Brett@SteelMarketUpdate.com […]
Worthington Industries announced it will be splitting off its steel business and creating two separate, publicly traded businesses. Worthington’s Steel Processing business segment will become the independent Worthington Steel, with an aim to be a processor with expanded offerings in electrical steel laminations and automotive lightweighting solutions. Worthington’s current chief operating officer, Geoff Gilmore, will serve as the […]
Steel sheet processor Steel Technologies LLC is expanding its campus in Decatur, Ala., to produce steel blanks to be used in the automotive, agricultural, and consumer goods markets. The initial expansion plan has already secured a commitment for approximately 50,000 tons of coil and blank processing, according to a LinkedIn post from the company. A […]
Nucor Corp. announced Wednesday plans to build two new galvanizing lines, with specific details for one line to be constructed at the Nucor Steel Berkeley sheet mill in Huger, S.C. The $425 million investment will create more than 50 full-time jobs, with an expected start-up date of mid-2025. Nucor said this expansion will provide more […]
We’ve seen a wave of mill idlings and outages this fall. But steel buyer reaction to date has been subdued. The yawn now in response to all those tons coming out of the market stands in stark contrast to the almost hysterical reaction to downtime at even the smallest producers in early 2021. Remember the […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. US light vehicle (LV) sales grew in August, coming in at 1.13 million units, unadjusted. Last month’s total was a 3.9% increase year-on-year (YoY), the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported. The […]
SMU contributor Bryan Tice is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. He and the firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients. They also provide process and analytical support. Before joining Metal Edge Partners, Bryan held commercial leadership roles involving purchasing, sales, and risk management […]
By CRU Senior China Economist Henry Hao, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook and China Macro Monthly China’s economy showed resilience in August, with growth in industrial production, investment, and retail sales shoring up the recovery from the effects of Covid lockdowns and heatwaves. The worsening property slump, however, continues to drag on the economy and threaten the […]
ThyssenKrupp Material Services is investing $37 million to build a new aluminum and steel service center in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, to serve the automotive supply markets. Operations at the new location are scheduled to begin mid-2023. A Schuler blanking line to cut aluminum and high-strength steel blanks will be a focal point of the […]
SSAB Americas is forging ahead to show customers, the government, and other stakeholders that it is serious about sustainability and achieving its ultimate goal of “net zero” emissions. The flat-rolled steelmaker recently released Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for its steel plate and coil products that show it is well ahead not just of others in […]
It looks like domestic mills are trying to establish a floor at around $800 per ton ($40 per cwt). They’ve arrived there by different means. And whether they’ll be successful remains to be seen. Suffice it to say that some mills that were very, very aggressive in July and August in the spot market aren’t […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has reached a tentative agreement with the United Steelworkers (USW) on a new, 47-month labor contract for its mining and pelletizing operations, the company said on Friday, Sept. 9. The new deal is effective Oct. 1 but does not go into effect unless a majority of the 2,000 union members represented under the […]
The steel and commodity price forecast panel – always a popular program at SMU’s Steel Summit – once again didn’t disappoint. Speakers included three of the steel industry’s most respected analysts: Josh Spoores, CRU’s principal steel analyst, Timna Tanners, Wolfe Research’s managing director, and John Anton, S&P Global Market Intelligence’s director. The sheet market today […]
The automotive, construction and energy sectors have seen their fair share of hurdles over the past year or so. Despite near-term headwinds, the outlook is bright, according to a panel speaking at the 2022 SMU Steel Summit conference in Atlanta. If we had a crystal ball, we likely would still lack the ability to discern […]
Economic conditions are still iffy at best. Housing data continues to suffer with new home sales plunging and inventory reaching the highest it has been since 2009. The Richmond and Kansas City Fed manufacturing indexes both plunged in July as well. The Richmond Fed’s manufacturing skill availability index, which indicates the demand for skilled labor […]
The final program of last week’s Steel Summit Conference was a panel of three experts discussing the evolving automotive market and its shift towards electric vehicles (EV). Panelists discussed how the automotive industry is transitioning to electric-vehicle offerings, covering an array of topics such as steel and aluminum needs for EVs, investments by automakers, light-weighting […]