Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. has developed a new automotive steel that is 20-30 percent lighter and 25 percent stronger than any high-tensile steel now on the market. The highest tensile strength currently available is 1400 megapascals with the industry average around 1200 MPa. NSSMC’s new steel has a grade of 1470 MPa and […]
What impact will Brexit have on the U.S. steel industry? Not much, says Metal Miner authorities Lisa Reisman, CEO & Executive Editor and Stuart Burns, Editor at Large, during a webinar presented July 13. The exit of the UK from the European Union is not likely to impact ferrous prices said Reisman. Instead steel prices […]
PPG industries announced that it has completed its acquisition of MetoKote Corporation and its affiliates. MetoKote is a U.S.-based coatings services business with 2015 global sales of approximately $200 million. The transaction closed on July 1 for an undisclosed sum. MetoKote is headquartered in Lima, Ohio, and has more than 1,500 employees. MetoKote applies coatings […]
The statement of Erica L. Groshe Commissioner Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released on Friday morning reads as though the increase in net non-farm employment of 287,000 in June was a fact as was the downwardly revised May number of 11,000. We at SMU don’t believe the May result has any credibility which is particularly […]
Flat rolled steel industry participants continue to be optimistic about the markets, according to the recent flat rolled market trends analysis conducted by Steel Market Update. However, we are seeing a slightly less optimistic trend for this time of year compared to what we were reporting at the same point in time in 2014 and […]
Despite a 2.5 percent year-over-year increase in June, U.S. automotive sales were slower than the 4.0 percent expected by most analysts. WardsAuto reports sales totaled 1.5 million units last month but the seasonally adjusted annual rate was 16.6 million units, well below the 17.0 million in June 2015 and at the slowest sales pace of […]
We purposely did not begin this article on where our sources are seeing ferrous scrap prices with an attention grabbing headline as we think readers would be confused. The confusion comes from the pressure the domestic steel mills are expected to put on obsolete grades, like shredded scrap and HMS (heavy melt scrap). Those of […]
Light vehicle (LV) sales in May were 17.5 million units, about the same as April but down from 17.8 million in May last year. All sales numbers in this analysis are at a seasonally adjusted annual rate. Figure 1 shows the auto and light truck components since January 2004. In May, auto sales were the […]
One of the articles in this evening’s issue of Steel Market Update is based on questions being asked during a conversation we had with a number of steel executives in New York City last week. About one quarter of our articles are prompted by questions or comments we receive from buyers and sellers of steel […]
Nucor Corporation says flat rolled-trade cases are having a positive impact on reducing steel imports. The expectation is that final determinations in all three flat rolled cases will result in higher duties than currently being collected from the preliminary decisions. Second quarter results are expected to be significantly improved from first quarter due to higher […]
Here are some of the comments made to SMU over the past few days both in New York City and upon our return to our offices. Regarding scrap prices, one of our sources was telling us that the domestic steel mills are making a mistake by attempting to push ferrous scrap prices lower, especially when […]
ArcelorMittal is set to expand its portfolio of automotive steels by launching two new products in 2017, Usibor®2000 and Ductibor®1000. According to a spokesperson at ArcelorMittal , Usibor® 2000, which has been under development for some time, is a new Aluminum-Silicon coated high strength steel that will be even stronger than its predecessor Usibor® 1500. […]
Nucor Corp. and JFE Holdings of Japan will enter a joint venture to build and operate a steel processing plant in central Mexico to supply the country’s automotive market. The 50-50 venture will cost $270 million to construct and have a capacity of 400,000 tons per year of galvanized sheet steel. The substrate for processing […]
A new wrinkle has developed in the dispute between US Steel Canada and its former parent US Steel. US Steel is claiming ownership of USSC’s intellectual property and says the Canadian company cannot include it in the sale of its facilities. USSC’s chief restructuring officer, Bill Aziz, said that without a clear title to the […]
Steel Technologies LLC plans to invest $18 million in a new processing facility in Smyrna, Tennessee. The 83,000 square foot facility will create 50 new jobs and handle both steel and aluminum sheet. “This new greenfield operation expands our exposed and unexposed automotive slitting and blanking capabilities,” Steel Technologies Vice President of Operations Randall Patterson […]
SMU scrap sources on Friday divulged that negotiations have been slow with many mills not yet having bought as of this past Friday. Price indicators are running from sideways on prime grades (busheling/bundles) to down $10, $20, $30 in the Ohio Valley, Midwest and Southeast. The east coast was referenced as being down by even […]
U.S. auto sales may have finally reached the peak that that analysts have been predicting. Overall the market declined 6 percent for sales of 1,536,276 light vehicles. WardsAuto places May’s seasonally adjusted annual rate at 17.4 million units, up from 17.3 in April, but short of the 17.6 million from a year ago. Trucks once […]
The metalforming industry is expecting a slight dip in business conditions in the next three months according to the May 2016 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. The May report, sampling 114 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada, indicated companies are expecting incoming order levels to remain unchanged during the next few […]
Both auto and light truck sales in the US dropped abruptly in March but recovered to different degrees in April. Auto sales declined from 7.4 million units in February at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) to 6.9 million in March then recovered partially to 7.1 million in April. Light trucks declined from 10.2 million […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC), busheling scrap (BUS), and financial futures markets was written by Dave Feldstein. As Flack Steel’s director of risk management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market and we believe he will provide insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. […]
Today, the Department of Commerce announced its affirmative final determinations in the AD investigations of imports of certain cold-rolled steel flat products (cold-rolled steel) from China and Japan, and CVD investigation of imports of cold-rolled steel from China. Commerce determined imports of cold-rolled steel from China and Japan have been sold in the U.S. at […]
“U.S. Steel Sinks as Another Wave of Cheap Imports Predicted” was the headline in Bloomberg on Friday morning. The article cites Axiom Capital Research analyst Gordon Johnson who wrote to his clients, “A boat load of imports are likely on the way.” This opinion permeates the financial community and the pessimism is, in our opinion, […]
On May 17, 2016, the Department of Commerce is scheduled to announce its final determinations in the AD investigations of imports of certain cold-rolled steel flat products from China and Japan and CVD investigation of imports of certain cold-rolled steel flat products from China. The investigations cover certain cold-rolled, flat-rolled, steel products, neither clad, plated, […]
Auto/Steel Partnership – May 11, 2016 — In an effort to assist automakers in meeting stringent fuel economy requirements, the Auto/Steel Partnership (A/SP) announced today the Hemming of Thin Gauge Advanced High-Strength Steel (AHSS) project achieved a 30 percent weight savings using thinner gauge AHSS for automotive closure panels. “The Hemming team achieved positive results […]
Economists participating last week in the CMD Webinar: Is Construction Gaining or Waning were generally optimistic about the economy and forecast for construction growth. Although some sectors of construction peaked last year, growth is continuing in almost all areas, although at a slower pace. During the webinar, chief economists Ken Simonson, Associated General Contractors of […]
ArcelorMittal narrowed its losses in first quarter 2015 to $416 million from $728 million a year ago. Total steel shipments for the company were 21.5 million tonnes. “Clearly, the market conditions have improved since we reported full year results in early February. Rising steel prices in China have supported prices globally and this has been […]
U.S. automakers reported strong sales in April. WardsAuto expects the seasonally adjusted annual rate to reach 17.6 million units, surpassing last month’s rate of 16.6 million and 2015’s rate of 16.7 million. Volume sales for the month are expected to reach 1.51 million units exceeding the previous record for the month set in 2005. Sales […]
NanoSteel announced delivery of its first advanced high strength steel to General Motors for initial testing. The new product was developed in partnership with AK Steel and is designed to provide automakers with a new standard in strength, formability and weight for steels used in the production of lightweight, fuel efficient vehicles. NanoSteel says what […]
Olympic Steel reported a narrower than expected net loss of $767,000 for first quarter 2016. Revenues were $258.3 million compared to $346 million in Q1 2015 due to lower prices and volume. First quarter shipments increased, however 16 percent from fourth quarter 2015 recapturing market share from last year’s declining marketplace. “We successfully navigated challenging […]
Steel Market Update is a member of an association connected to the construction industry called HARDI. HARDI stands for Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International. HARDI and The Institute for Trend Research (ITR), an economic forecasting company, work together to gather economic data to provide a forecast to the HARDI members located in the United […]