Big River Steel has asked a federal court to block the Clean Air Act challenge mounted by Nucor last August. In a court filing on Friday, Big River Steel said the challenge is a “collateral attack” by Nucor. Big River Steel received the necessary permits from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (AEDQ) to build […]
Austrian international technology company ANDRITZ Group has acquired Herr-Voss Stamco in Callery, Pennsylvania for an undisclosed purchase price. The acquisition will enlarge ANDRITZ’s service and product offerings in the North American metals sector. Herr-Voss Stamco also serves a large customer base in the North American automotive, service center and oil/gas industries. Herr-Voss Stamco is supplier […]
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/– United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) today announced the executive leadership for three of the company’s newly created commercial entities. Joseph R. Scherrbaum will serve as acting vice president – Industrial Solutions, Geoff M. Turk will serve as vice president – Service Center Solutions and Lawrence W. Sutherland will serve […]
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 18, 2014 — United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) today announced the executive leadership for three of the company’s newly created commercial entities. Joseph R. Scherrbaum will serve as acting vice president – Industrial Solutions, Geoff M. Turk will serve as vice president – Service Center Solutions and Lawrence W. Sutherland will serve […]
If we start with the premise that the consumer is almost 70 percent of GDP and that steel consumption is closely correlated with GDP, then consumer behavior and, in particular, debt is very relevant to our future businesses. Consumer spending is driven by income and both the perception of current debt and willingness to take […]
ArcelorMittal reported $20 billion in sales for third quarter on 21.5 million tonnes (23.7 million tons) of steel shipments. Net income for the quarter was $22 million, compared to $52 million in Q2 2014 and a net loss of $193 million in Q3 2013. Total crude steel production for the company was 23.9 million tonnes […]
It may be a different day but buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel are still singing the same optimistic song regarding their company’s chances of being successful in the current (and future) steel environment. Steel Market Update has been conducting our early November flat rolled steel market survey all week and this afternoon we […]
Ternium reported earnings for the 3rd quarter 2014 this week. Ternium is a large steel producer in Mexico, which accounts for 60 percent of the company’s shipments, as well as Argentina which accounts for 24 percent. Ternium also owns a conversion mill in the United States which produces galvanized and Galvalume products along with prepainted […]
AK Steel reported a net loss of $7.2 million for the third quarter of 2013 due to one-time costs associated with the acquisition of Severstal Dearborn. Excluding the acquisition related costs, AK Steel’s adjusted net income was $16.4 million. Net sales were $1.59 billion on shipments of 1,462,900 tons. Shipments increased from 1,242,400 tons in […]
October U.S. auto sales reached an annualized rate of 16.35 million according to WardsAuto with actual sales totaling 1,273,138 units. October deliveries were up 6 percent on a seasonally adjusted annual rate compared to October 2013. “October was another strong month for the automotive sector, driven by a combination of low fuel prices, available credit […]
We didn’t get the transcript of the AK Steel earnings conference call until this evening. A little late to do a full blown article. However, there were a few items that I wanted to point out to our readers. AK Steel reported that approximately 50 percent of their business is related to automotive. They reported […]
US Steel announced in their earnings conference call that Carnegie Way benefits now total $495 million for 2014 due primarily to improvements in manufacturing processes, supply chain and logistics, and SG&A reductions. “While our operating difficulties in North America in the first half of the year made it difficult to see the results of our […]
I adjusted the SMU Price Momentum Indicator from Lower to Neutral in recognition of the attempt by the domestic steel mills to reverse the price trend and move prices higher. A Neutral indicator means prices could move in either direction (or remain stable) over the next 30 days. I understand two mills have made very […]
A.M. Castle & Co. reported net sales of $245.5 million for third quarter for a net loss of $7.3 million. Metals segment sales totaled $210.7 million, down 1.6 percent from the previous quarter and 4.2 percent lower year over year. Pricing dropped 2.5 percent and sales volumes declined 1.4 percent compared to Q3 2013. “While […]
SSAB Americas sales jumped 29 percent year over year to SEK 3,716 million ($507 million) for an operating profit of SEK 558 million ($76 million). Profit was attributed primarily to higher steel prices and improved productivity. Steel shipments increased 5 percent to 559,000 tonnes (616,191 tons) on a year over year basis and 7 percent […]
I spent a good portion of this week either in Louisiana or traveling to and from the state. I attended an energy conference at Louisiana State University (LSU) which I found to be fascinating. I found out how little I knew about the various drilling operations for oil and natural gas and how far the […]
Light vehicle sales in the US declined in September to 16.4 million units from the blistering 17.5 million rate in August, both on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis. The spread between light trucks and autos increased to one million units in favor of light trucks. The third quarter pace was Ta very strong 16.8 million […]
Steel Market Update recently published an article about the beginning of the 2015 non-automotive flat rolled steel price negotiations between end users, service centers and the domestic steel mills. We continue to gather information regarding the status and tone of the negotiations and we are learning that 2015 will be much different than what transpired […]
The World Steel Association has downgraded it Short Range Outlook for apparent steel usage for 2014 and 2015 to 2 percent each year-over-year from it’s previous April forecast of 3.1 percent in 2014 and 3.3 percent in 2015. The slowing markets in China, South American and CIS were cited as reasons for the changed in […]
The USW and Ontario officials are determined to not go down easily in the fight to keep US Steel Canada alive. The $185 million that US Steel is loaning to US Canada in DIP financing is under hot dispute by union members and the province. The DIP (debtor-in possession) filing has been called “a thinly […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) was reading the most recent Armada Corporate Intelligence report where they referred to the railroad carload statistics as the “secret weapon” known to the big names in the investing business. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) weekly reports are followed by Armada because, “…it will give you weeks of warning about […]
Our Price Momentum Indicator has been stuck in “Neutral” since the last day of June 2014. We are now entering our 4th month and hot rolled steel prices have barely budged from the center line (OK, there have been some mild gyrations but no clear cut path up or down during the past three months). […]
US automotive sales for September totaled 1.24 million units according to the final tally at WardsAuto. Sales were just under Wards’ forecast of 1.26 million units. General Motors and Chyrsler sales were 19 percent higher year over year. Ford, at 180,175 vehicles, was down 3 percent from September 2013. “Auto sales remained strong in September […]
Steel Market Update spent the last two days canvassing end users and service centers to see where flat rolled steel prices are at the moment and where they might be heading from here. We heard from many service centers and end users that business conditions and demand for their products are doing quite well. We […]
All of SSAB’s U.S. facilities are running at full capacity according to SSAB CEO Martin Lindqvist. In an interview with Bloomberg, the head of the Swedish steel company said the “re-industrialization” of the U.S. and improved demand from the energy, automotive and heavy transport sectors is boosting profitability for SSAB’s US operations. North American orders […]
Essar Steel Algoma announced a “turnaround performance” in their second quarter FY 2015 guidance for the period ending September 30, 2014. The company expects second quarter steel shipments to equal 680,000-690,000 tons with EBITDA of CDN $75-85 million, compared to 530,000 tons and CDN $12.4 million EBITDA in Q1. Second quarter EBITDA projections far exceed […]
Worthington Industries began its fiscal year 2015 with higher sales and solid net earnings. The company, located in Columbus, Ohio, reports net earnings of $44.2 million for FY 2015 first quarter, ending on August 31, 2014. Net sales totaled $862.4 million, up 25 percent compared to the first quarter of 2013. The consolidation of TWB […]
“Let’s bring sexy back to steel!” That was the rallying cry of Associated Steel Distributors President Brian Robbins at the regional meeting held at the Ritz Carlton in Cleveland, Ohio on September 18. Robbins, CEO of MidWest Materials, harkened back to the days of steel glory when CEOs were celebrities of sort and even sales […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. expects profits from third quarter steel operations to surpass second quarter and year over year results. In their third quarter guidance, SDI indicated earnings of $0.34 to $0.38 per diluted share that will include before tax charges of $34 million related to the acquisition and financing of Severstal Columbus. Shipments and metal […]
Nucor is expecting higher profitability for its sheet steel, structural, bar and plate operations for third quarter. In their quarterly guidance, Nucor noted that manufactured goods, including energy and automotive, are their strongest markets. The high level of imports continues to pressure prices downward. Growth in the residential market has benefited the fabricated construction products […]