Total North American light vehicle assemblies were down by 3.0 percent year over year in three months through August. This report is based on data from LMC Automotive for automotive assemblies in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The breakdown of assemblies is “Personal” (cars for personal use) and “Commercial” (light vehicles less than 6.0 tonnes […]
Steel price volatility was persistent in 2019, said CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores at the FMA/ASD Executive Networking Series held in Pittsburgh last week. U.S. economic growth was below the historical trend throughout 2019, but has improved since April, according to the Chicago Fed National Activity Index. Activity in two key steel sectors, fabricated metal products and […]
Nucor reported a decline in financial results as expected for the third quarter of 2019. Net earnings were $275 million, down from $386.4 million in Q2 and $676.7 million in Q3 2018. Consolidated net sales fell 7 percent from the previous quarter to $5.46 billion. Steel shipments to outside customers declined 7 percent from last […]
By CRU Analyst Sam Grant Looking at our North American zinc market forecasts for 2020, there are clear arguments for either a rollover or slight decline in contract premia as we head into negotiations during the final quarter of this year. In this article, we present an overview of the North American refined market fundamentals […]
The World Steel Association is relatively bullish on steel demand in its October Short Range Outlook despite global economic challenges. Global steel demand will grow by 3.9 percent to 1,775.0 million metric tons in 2019 and will grow by another 1.7 percent in 2020, reaching 1,805.7 million metric tons. Steel demand in China is expected […]
By John Packard, President & CEO, Steel Market Update The Steel Market Update Steel Buyers Sentiment Index has been a mirror of the comments made by buyers of flat rolled and plate steel over the past few days. Our Sentiment Index, which measures how buyers and sellers of steel feel about their company’s ability to […]
The United Auto Workers and General Motors reportedly reached a tentative four-year labor agreement on Tuesday, but it remains unclear how quickly operations will resume and how long before the automotive supply chain gets back to normal. The union has been on strike since Sept. 16, resulting in 30 facility closures and layoffs at GM plants […]
By CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison The U.S. economy is in the midst of its longest economic expansion on record—124 months and counting. The recent deceleration in U.S. growth momentum and the fading health of the global economy call into question whether the expansion can continue, and for how long. In this article, we discuss […]
Negotiations continued between the United Auto Workers and General Motors on Saturday afternoon. On Friday, the UAW presented a counter to the proposal GM submitted on Monday. Recent comments by the union hint that a possible tentative agreement may be in the works. “A short time ago, today, Friday, Oct. 11, 2019, we counterproposed to […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores The North American sheet market has taken a turn for the worse. At a time when sheet demand and prices have already been stunted by a weaker trend of industrial growth and sheet demand, two recent events are only now starting to affect sheet prices: an on-going strike at […]
U.S. Steel unrolled a new operating model on Tuesday that is expected to deliver $200 million of annual fixed cost savings by 2022. The new model includes a realignment of the company’s leadership team. The changes will be effective Jan. 1, 2020, and closely follow the recently announced investment in Big River Steel. “Our enhanced […]
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 […]
The rate of job creation in September slowed to 136,000, but the details of job cuts and job openings continue to be historically very positive, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Net job creation in September declined to 136,000 from an upwardly revised 168,000 in […]
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 […]
The United Auto Workers’ strike against General Motors is in its 23rd day. After the union rejected a counterproposal from GM on Sunday, UAW-GM Vice President Terry DIttes commented, “These negotiations have taken a turn for the worse.” “We, in this union, could not be more disappointed with General Motors,” he said, adding that the […]
United Auto Workers are in their third week of a strike against General Motors. The back and forth of negotiations continue with the union reportedly rejecting a counterproposal offered by GM on Monday. In a letter to union representatives on Tuesday, Terry Dittes, UAW GM vice president and director, outlined the problems with the proposal: […]
U.S. auto sales slipped in September as leading Asian automakers Toyota and Honda reported double-digit declines. Toyota sales fell 16.5 percent and Honda, after a record August, saw sales drop 14.1 percent. Nissan reported a 17.6 percent plunge in sales. Subaru ended an amazing 93-month run of sales increases with a 9.4 percent drop in […]
U.S. Steel announced today it will acquire a 49.9 percent ownership interest in Big River Steel at a purchase price of $700 million with the intent to acquire the remaining shares within the next four years. U.S. Steel has committed financing to execute the transaction. The implied enterprise value of Big River is approximately $2.325 […]
The news today that U.S. Steel plans to purchase a 49.9 percent interest in Big River Steel, with an option to buy the rest within the next four years, surprised the market. But most of the steel buyers polled by Steel Market Update view the pairing of one of the nation’s oldest integrated producers with […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: These times can try our patience. This week was such a time. It featured a cornucopia of fast-paced events. They will probably end up affecting us all. I want to focus on two big issues: impeachment and foreign […]
By CRU Analysts Ruilin Wang and Kevin Bai China has released a draft emission control policy document for the 2019-2020 winter heating season (WHS). Although the overall target for air pollution control is tighter than last year, it will not lead to greater steel supply restrictions because: • Clear regional targets to meet ultra-low emission standards […]
The September Manufacturing ISM Report on Business showed further decline of the manufacturing sector. ISM’s PMI edged down 1.3 points to 47.8 from the August reading of 49.1. “This is the lowest reading since June 2009, the last month of the Great Recession, when the index registered 46.3 percent,” said Timothy R. Fiore, chairman of […]
U.S. Steel did what many analysts thought was impossible – they announced they are acquiring a 49.9 percent interest in Big River Steel. I wrote about this last week as a possibility and mentioned some of the reasons at that time why this deal might happen. According to Big River Steel’s announcement, the $700 million […]
Last week, President Trump revoked the federal waiver that had allowed California to set vehicle emissions standards that are more restrictive than the federal standards. California and 22 other states quickly sued the Trump administration in federal court over the states’ rights to protect their own air quality. The president’s move sets in motion a […]
Worthington Industries reported net sales of $855.9 million, a 13 percent year-over-year decline, and a net loss of $4.8 million for its fiscal 2020 first quarter, driven by lower volume and lower average selling prices in steel processing. Worthington was also hit by a pre-tax impairment and restructuring charge of $43.5 million primarily related to […]
The strike by 48,000 members of the United Auto Workers against General Motors extended through its fourth day on Thursday with reports of some progress, but much negotiation still to come. Suppliers to the nation’s largest automaker are reportedly starting to feel the effects of cancelled deliveries and lost sales, with some announcing layoffs and […]
Nucor expects a weaker performance from its steel mills segment in the third quarter due to lower prices for sheet and plate steel. “Although we still see stability in most of the end-use markets that we serve, there has been some softening in automotive, agricultural products and power transmission markets,” said the company in guidance […]
A potential strike by janitorial workers at General Motors may cause disruption at five GM plants, if autoworkers don’t strike first. The United Auto Workers is ending a contract extension on Saturday, Sept. 14, with janitorial services company Aramark, which coincides with the expiration of auto worker contracts with GM, Ford and FCA. Should a […]
Do plans by U.S. mills to add millions of tons of new steelmaking capacity over the next few years make a price-killing supply glut inevitable? That’s a question very much open to debate, as shown by the spirited exchange between three leading analysts during Steel Market Update’s Steel Summit Aug. 28 in Atlanta. Despite some […]
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 […]