Automotive sales remained healthy in August with most automotive manufacturers reporting at least moderate sales growth year-over-year. FCA US led sales with an increase of 10 percent for August. Ford sales were up 4.1 percent and Hyundai 6.0 percent. Toyota sales dropped 2 percent. Sales for German automaker Volkswagen inched up 0.7 percent while Mercedes-Benz […]
Distributors of secondary steel report generally positive market conditions, though the nonprime sector has experienced a bit of a lull in recent weeks. Secondary steel is nonprime or excess material that did not meet the specifications for its original intended use, but is acceptable to other buyers for other applications. The spot market on nonprime […]
A group representing the United States’ leading auto manufacturers, parts suppliers, auto dealers, parts distributors, retailers and vehicle service providers have formed the Driving American Jobs Coalition to oppose potential new Trump administration tariffs on imports of autos and auto parts. The coalition argues that imposing new auto tariffs will cause “massive job losses and […]
North Star BlueScope may receive funding for an expansion that will add 600,000 to 900,000 metric tons of annual capacity to the Delta, Ohio, facility. Australian parent company BlueScope has initiated a comprehensive study to determine the feasibility of a $500 million to $700 million investment that would include a possible third electric arc furnace […]
An incident at the D4 blast furnace at Great Lakes Works on Friday, Aug. 10, sent 15 Songer Services contract employees to the hospital. Spokesperson Amanda Malkowski says the incident “was not an ‘explosion,’ as many have been reporting.” The furnace was down for scheduled maintenance at the time, so there is no impact to […]
What would ultimately be best for the environment: strict fuel efficiency standards that will dramatically reduce the tailpipe emissions from new vehicles or more achievable standards that will add less cost to each vehicle and allow more drivers to upgrade and get older gas guzzlers off the road? Over the strong objections of environmental groups […]
Steel Market Update, with the help of AK Steel, has developed a new steel training workshop that we are calling Steel 201: Introduction to Advanced High Strength and Other New Steels. The Steel 201 Workshop will cover the following: Day One (Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2018) Welcome to AK Steel and introductions (Kirk Reich, President & […]
Earnings week for the steel industry revealed trade was foremost on the minds of steel executives. The steel mills expressed their approval of the administration’s tariff action that has boosted steel pricing and, along with higher demand, earnings for the second quarter of 2018. • U.S. Steel Corp. CEO David Burritt was a strong advocate […]
Kloeckner Metals’ Greenville, S.C., branch is the fifth and latest to have been awarded an IATF 16949 management system certificate for processing flat rolled steel, stainless and aluminum, including slitting, cut to length, and configured blanks. The other branches include Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Calvert, Ala.; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Monterrey, Mexico. IATF 16949:2016 was jointly developed by International Automotive Task Force (IATF) members […]
Stelco is enjoying an unaccustomed perspective, the view from the catbird’s seat in the North American steel market. The once-troubled Canadian steelmaker reported operating income of $161 million on sales of $711 million (Canadian dollars) for the second quarter as steel shipping volumes increased by 49 percent over the prior-year quarter. Sales were up 67 […]
AK Steel earnings slipped a bit in the second quarter due to production disruptions at two of its facilities. Net income totaled $56 million, down from $77.2 million a year ago. Results were impacted by $11.5 million in operational costs associated with a power outage at Butler Works and a fire at the temper mill […]
July saw rising steel prices leveling out, prompting Steel Market Update to move its Price Momentum Indicator to Neutral. The price of hot rolled averaged around $910 and cold rolled around $1,000 a ton for the month. With prices for scrap seeing only modest changes from week to week, it’s difficult to predict what steel […]
Trading in steel futures shows many companies betting that prices will decline as the year-end approaches, following the normal seasonal pattern. But current market conditions, under the influence of unprecedented government trade action, are anything but normal, leaving steel executives deeply divided over what to expect. Steel Market Update canvassed the market this week, asking […]
The ferrous scrap market is showing small signs of weakness looking ahead to August, report Steel Market Update sources, who say prices on obsolete grades such as shredded and heavy melt are likely to decline anywhere from $5 to $20 per ton next month, while pricing of busheling and bundles will remain unchanged. Demand for […]
On Sept. 11 & 12, Steel Market Update, in conjunction with AK Steel, will conduct our first Steel 201: Introduction to Advanced High Strength & Other New Steels Workshop. Everything about this workshop is special: It is the first workshop that we be held at the research facility at a fully integrated steel mill (AK […]
On Sept. 11 & 12, Steel Market Update, in conjunction with AK Steel, will conduct our first Steel 201: Introduction to Advanced High Strength & Other New Steels Workshop. Everything about this workshop is special: It is the first workshop that we be held at the research facility at a fully integrated steel mill (AK […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: Today, the Commerce Department is conducting a hearing on the self-initiated Section 232 investigation into imports of autos and auto parts. The U.S. auto industry is uniformly opposed to tariffs on autos and auto parts. However, the […]
Nucor’s consolidated net earnings in the second quarter of 2018 jumped to $683.2 million, the second highest quarterly earnings in the company’s history. In comparison, earnings were $354.2 million in the first quarter and $323 million in Q2 2017. Nucor’s Chairman and CEO John Ferriola attributed the successful quarter to an upturn in the steel […]
Section 232 auto tariffs were the subject of a Commerce Department public hearing on Thursday, July 19. The hearings were cut from two days to one after Commerce determined the 45 requests to testify could be accommodated in a single day. All but one of the 45 witnesses was expected to testify against the tariffs. […]
The European Commission has announced it will impose provisional steel quotas to prevent steel imports from being diverted from the U.S. to Europe. The safeguard measures will go into effect July 19 and will remain in place for a maximum of 200 days. The provisional measures will affect 23 steel product categories and take the […]
Olympic Steel, Inc., a leading national metals service center, has been awarded an IATF 16949 management system certificate for manufacturing flat rolled steel, stainless and aluminum, including slitting, cut to length and configured blanks. IATF 16949 was developed by the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) and the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), in conjunction with […]
The 2018 SMU Steel Summit Conference is on pace to become the largest conference we have ever hosted. Our conference will be the premium networking event for manufacturers, fabricators, steel distributors, steel mills, trading companies and toll processors, as well as the industries that supply those groups. Based on the current registration rate, we anticipate […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: I spoke with a good friend over the weekend about the Trump tariff policy. So far, we have tariffs against all countries on steel and aluminum (with very few exceptions), and China-specific tariffs on $34 billion […]
The industries that move the nations’ freight are scrambling to find ways to mitigate risks from U.S.-imposed tariffs and foreign-imposed retaliatory tariffs that will impact supply lines and trade flow. Volatility seems to be the new normal as industries face uncertainty over international trade conflicts. Ports Prepare for Tariff Disruptions The Trump administration’s addition of […]
Sales by NLMK’s U.S. mills grew 15 percent to 638,000 metric tons in the second quarter of 2018 compared to the first, triggered by trade restrictions, said the company in a trade update on Friday. NLMK USA sales included 369,000 metric tons of hot-rolled steel, 129,000 tons of cold-rolled, and 139,000 ton of galvanized steel. […]
Last night for me in Maine. It’s been a wonderful long weekend to escape some of the heat of Florida for a few days. I will be traveling most of the day tomorrow and I will be back in my office on Tuesday for the balance of the week before leaving for Minnesota. We will […]
Are imports of motor vehicles and auto parts a threat to the security of the United States? More than three out of four respondents to last week’s Steel Market Update market trends questionnaire say no. Citing the same argument that it used to justify the tariffs on steel and aluminum under Section 232 of the […]
Detroit automakers reported higher sales in June as buyer enthusiasm for SUVs and pickup trucks continued. Ford sales for the month increased 1.2 percent year-over-year to 230,635 vehicles on purchases of SUVs and F-series trucks. Fiat Chrysler sales jumped 8 percent to 202,264 vehicles in June and General Motors, no longer reporting monthly sales, said […]
Tariffs on cars and trucks made in Canada and exported to the United States could have a significant effect on ferrous scrap prices, says scrap consultant John Harris of Aaristic Services, Inc. Speaking at a recent meeting of the Canadian Association of Recycling Industries, Harris said if the proposed 20 percent or 25 percent tariff […]
Big River Steel had made no secret it was considering further expansion less than two years after opening the high-tech Flex Mill on the Mississippi River in Osceola, Ark, and today announced it will proceed with a $1.2 billion investment that will double the mill’s annual capacity to 3.3 million tons. Some of that tonnage […]