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 […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. saw strong profit in the second quarter and double free cash flow versus the prior quarter while predicting that even better days were ahead thanks to fixed-price contracts resetting at higher numbers. That projection comes largely because automakers, which typically buy steel on contract terms, are seeing backlogs grow because of supply chain […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) posted record second quarter profits despite a modest margin squeeze stemming from lower steel prices and higher scrap costs. The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker also remains bullish about the second half of the year despite concerns about demand in some corners of the market. “Customer order entry activity continues to be […]
Steel Dynamics (SDI) this week announced plan to enter the aluminium flat-rolled products market. Pledging a $2.2 billion investment in rolling and recycling operations, SDI seeks to leverage its recycling expertise and technology, alongside its performance culture, to penetrate the underserved domestic can sheet and automotive flat-rolled markets in North America. With a nearly 30-year history […]
Steel Dynamics Inc.’s plan to construct a $2.2 billion recycled aluminum flat-rolled mill and two supporting recycled aluminum slab centers is an unprecedented and an exciting move for a steelmaker, its top executive said. “I haven’t been this excited about a project since we first launched this business,” SDI chairman, president and CEO Mark Millett said […]
Steel Dynamics, Inc. (SDI) unveiled its plan to build a $2.2 billion recycled aluminum flat-rolled mill and two supporting recycled aluminum slab centers. The proposed $1.9 billion aluminum flat-rolled mill will be located in the southeastern US, with an annual production capacity of 650,000 metric tons of finished products. It will serve the sustainable beverage […]
US light vehicle (LV) sales rose to 1.13 million units in June, up 1.8% from 1.11 million units in May. But LV sales in the US fell by 12.6% year-on-year (YoY), the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported. The YoY decline would have been steeper if it weren’t for the fact that sales were […]
North American auto assemblies grew by 11.1% in June, expanding for the second straight month. Though ongoing supply constraints continue, North American production has steadily improved since bottoming out last December. June’s results are 7.7% ahead of the same year-ago period. Disruptions across the North American automotive market have been extensive over the past two […]
The US economy added 372,000 new jobs in June, while the unemployment rate held unchanged at 3.6%, and the labor force shrank by 353,000 people, according to the Labor Department. Hiring last month slowed only slightly, and the US job market remains resilient despite high inflation and waning economic growth. Job gains have slowed since […]
Steel prices continued to ease each week throughout June, following declines in May as well. Hot rolled prices were $1,190 per ton ($59.50 per cwt) the first week of June. Prices then slipped between $45 and $90 each of the following weeks, with the SMU index averaging $995 per ton as of last Tuesday. (This […]
Earlier this week SMU canvassed steel buyers on a variety of subjects, ranging from steel prices to supply and demand to new mill capacity. We are sharing the comments we received in each buyers’ own words, rather than summarizing them in ours. Want to have your voice heard and share your comments with SMU? Contact Brett@SteelMarketUpdate.com […]
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 […]
I mentioned in my last Final Thoughts that you should keep your eyes open for potential catalysts for higher prices even amid all the signs that tags probably have nowhere to go but lower. It turned out we found one hiding in plain sight. It’s contract talk season in the US, with labor pacts between […]
Chrisopher Kristock has been named vice president of the automotive program for the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). His focus will be on keeping steel’s position as the material of choice for the automotive industry. Kristock will also lead AISI’s Automotive Applications Council, which focuses on innovation, education, and technology transfer within the automotive […]
There are now two short months to go before we kick off the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference at the Georgia International Convention Center. As you prepare to join us in Atlanta on August 22-24 we want to give you more details regarding the program for Wednesday, August 24th. You can find more information about […]
SSAB and Shape Corp., have partnered to deliver fossil-free steel crash management and body structure systems to the US market, the steelmaker said. The Grand Haven, Mich.-based tier-one automotive supplier of lightweight body structures, will be testing SSAB’s HYBRIT steel – made from hydrogen-reduced sponge iron – for use in automotive applications. “We are excited […]
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 […]
By CRU Economist Veronika Akhmadieva, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook With a higher-than-expected headline CPI inflation reading of 8.6% in May, the Fed opted for an even more aggressive monetary tightening. After a 50 bps increase in the federal funds rate in May – which is the highest increase since 2000 – the Fed raised […]
By CRU Senior China Economist Henry Hao, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook and China Macro Monthly In May, overall economic activity in China has improved marginally as the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions led to the resumption of production in late May. Export and infrastructure investment have regained momentum. However, prospects for construction remain weak. While the contraction […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is please to share this abbreviated Premium content with our Executive members. For information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. If you are part of a service center company and interested in becoming a data provider, please contact Estelle.Tran@CRUGroup.com. Flat Rolled = 54.7 Shipping Days of Supply […]
US light vehicle sales fell to 1.11 million units in May, down 11.2% from 1.25 million units in April. LV sales in the US shrank by 29.2% year-on-year (YoY). The annualized selling rate fell to 12.68 million units last month from 14.50 million units in April, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported. The […]
North American auto assemblies improved by 5.9% in May, after shrinking by 15.8% the month prior – the first decline all year. And though ongoing supply hurdles continue, North American production has improved since bottoming out last December. May’s results are 14.4% higher year-on-year (YoY), but still 17.5% below the pre-pandemic period of May 2019. […]
The following article on the hot-rolled coil (HRC), scrap and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Hot Rolled HR futures are coming back to life after a quiet spell in May. Month to date in June more than 225,000 […]
There are 66 days to go before the start of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. The final agenda tweaks are being announced as we look to provide the most timely and relevant program for those attending this year’s conference. The conference starts on Monday, Aug. 22, at 9 a.m. It runs through Wednesday, Aug. […]
There are 66 days to go before the start of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. The final agenda tweaks are being announced as we look to provide the most timely and relevant program for those attending this year’s conference. The conference starts on Monday, Aug. 22, at 9 a.m. It runs through Wednesday, Aug. […]
Despite inflation, rising interest rates, and faltering equities markets, the outlook is not all doom and gloom when it comes to the metals markets, says Rick Marabito, CEO of service center group Olympic Steel. In fact, the outlook for demand and consolidation is actually quite good, he told attendees of this week’s Steel Market Update […]
Flat Rolled = 54.7 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 55.2 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled US service center flat rolled inventories rose in May as many service centers reported signs of slowing demand. At the end of May, service centers carried 54.7 shipping days of supply on an adjusted basis, according to SMU […]
SMU on Monday and Tuesday canvassed steel buyers on a variety of subjects ranging from future steel prices and new capacity to demand and supply chain issues. As we did earlier this month, we are sharing the comments we received in each buyers’ own words rather than summarizing them in ours. Want to have your voice […]