US automotive sales were mixed in January with automakers blaming winter weather on slipping sales. January is typically a soft month for the industry and will likely not affect forecasts for 16-16.5 million light vehicle sales for 2014. Ford Motor Co. reported sales fell 7.1 percent year-over-year to 155,644 vehicles. General Motors sales plunge 12 […]
According to scrap experts, most of the domestic mills canceled their January orders at the close of business this past Friday when shipment of the past due scrap had not already been made. Cancellations are standard operating procedure by the domestic mills when they believe scrap prices will drop once the new month’s negotiations are […]
ArcelorMittal received anti-trust clearance on Wednesday, clearing a hurdle to the acquisition of the ThyssenKrupp Alabama facility. The waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Acquisition Improvements Act (HSR) terminated on Jan. 29 providing clearance for the acquisition. Following receipt of other customary regulatory approvals, the joint purchase by ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal […]
Earnings reports are accompanied by conference calls which allow us to get some insight on what the steel leaders are thinking about in the industry. SMU decided to look at the comments by AK Steel, Nucor, Steel Dynamics, and US Steel for ideas on where the steel industry is headed for 2014. All four of […]
Mark Millet, CEO of Steel Dynamics told those listening to the SDI earnings conference call that second half 2013 sheet pricing appreciation was assisted by raw material pricing (higher scrap prices) and some supply disruptions. However, the “…underlying appreciation was driven by demand.” He went on to state that “…it’s a little difficult to determine […]
Steel Dynamics reported solid earnings on Monday with Q4 2013 net income of $55 million on net sales of $1.9 billion, somewhat short of Q4 2012 net income of $61 million on sales of $1.7 billion. Full year income was $189 million, up from $164 million in 2012. Net sales for the year totaled $7.4 […]
NLMK USA sales for 2013 jumped 3.7 percent to 1.8 million tonnes of steel (1.98 million tons), up from 1.74 million tonnes (1.9 million tons) in 2012. Sales were driven by improved demand by service centers, pipe manufacturers, construction and automotive. Fourth quarter 2013 steel production at NLMK Indiana totaled 164,000 tonnes (180,776 tons), down […]
Steel buyers are confiding in Steel Market Update and have been telling us that the tightness in cold rolled spot prices, which this past week SMU had as being $760-$820 per ton ($38.00/cwt-$41.00/cwt), is partially due to the extended lead times at AK Steel. According to steel buyers, AK Steel had to deal with “the […]
The Eurozone is expected to have mild yet fragile growth throughout 2014 according to the EUROFER Q1-2014 Economic and Steel Market Outlook compiled by the EUROFER Economic Committee (EC). Indicators are pointing towards increased growth for industrial production, an important component for carbon flat rolled steel production in Europe. GDP has been edging up since […]
Light vehicle production in NAFTA in 2013 totaled, 16,141,347 units, the best year since 2002 and an increase of 6.0 percent on 2012 (Source Wards Automotive.). In 3 months through December production was up by 6.9 percent year over year. Light trucks which include crossovers are surging faster than cars, the year over year growth […]
The introduction of an aluminum F-150 pickup at the Detroit auto show has the steel industry looking hard at its advanced high strength steels (AHSS) and figuring out how to insure that AHSS is the preferred material of choice for the auto industry. SMU spoke with Ronald P. Krupitzer, vice president of automotive applications for […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) has adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator from Higher to Neutral. This means we see steel market pricing at this moment as either in transition or moving sideways over the next 30 days. With ferrous scrap prices now weakening, lead times shortening and all of the available capacity back in the market […]
Total light vehicle inventories fell 192,000 units from the end of November to the end of December 2013. Total automotive inventories stood at 3.4 million units at the end of December, for a day’s supply of 68 based on SAAR sales of 15.5 million units. The day’s supply at 68 is about 10 percent higher […]
In the United States approximately 60 percent of the steel produced is through electric arc furnaces (EAF) used by so-called “mini-mills.” Electric arc furnaces use primarily scrap along with pig iron or DRI (direct reduced iron) to charge the furnaces. All of the long products (rebar, bar, angles, beams) are produced through EAF technology and […]
In a rolling 12 months through November, light vehicle production (automotive) in NAFTA reached 16,093,000 units, a level not seen since May 2003. In three months through November production was up by 9.4 percent year over year. Light trucks, which include crossovers, are surging faster than cars, the year over year growth rates were 15.4 […]
U.S. Steel announced a price increase on Monday and the market appears to be cautiously optimistic as we enter the end of 2013 and look out into the New Year. The announcement itself was termed a “non-event” by one of the construction related steel mills with whom we spoke this afternoon as increases had previously […]
Planned outages and the collapse of the storage dome at Nucor Steel Louisiana negatively impacted earnings said Nucor in its fourth quarter guidance. Earnings per diluted share are expected to be in the range of $0.30-$0.40, down from third quarter 2013 earnings of $0.46 per diluted share and fourth quarter 2012 earnings of $0.43 per […]
The next three months are looking good to metalforming companies in the Dec. 2013 Precision Metalforming Association Business Conditions Report. The number of participants that forecast an improvement in economic activity during the next three months jumped to 41 percent, up from 27 percent in November. Likewise, incoming orders are expected to spike with 43 […]
Alton Steel announced the election of James Hrusovsky as CEO effective immediately. Hrusovsky, former Essar Steel Algoma CEO and a 31-year veteran of the steel industry, will succeed Charlie Linnemeyer. Prior to his career at Essar Steel, Hrusovsky was CEO for Severstal Columbus where he led a significant expansion for the company. Linnemeyer, who started […]
Horizon Steel Company, plans to build a 90,000 square foot service center facility in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The $15 million project is expected to provide 30 new full-time positions in the region. The facility will be part of a co-located operation that will span approximately 150,000 square feet in the Kentucky Transpark and will also […]
ArcelorMittal conducted a conference call with steel analysts regarding the purchase of ThyssenKrupp Steel USA steel mill. The company outlined the reasons for the purchase and addressed a number of issues of importance to the steel community. In his opening remarks, ArcelorMittal CEO, Lakshmi Mittal spelled out their reasons for making the purchase: “So firstly, […]
ArcelorMittal (AM) and their 50/50 joint venture partner Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC) reached an agreement with ThyssenKrupp AG to acquire the ThyssenKrupp Steel USA steel mill located in Calvert, Alabama. The purchase was valued at $1.55 billion for the 4.3 million tons of flat rolling capacity along with 1 million tons of […]
ArcelorMittal (AM) and their 50/50 joint venture partner Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC) reached an agreement with ThyssenKrupp AG to acquire the ThyssenKrupp Steel USA steel mill located in Calvert, Alabama. The purchase was valued at $1.55 billion for the 4.3 million tons of flat rolling capacity along with 1 million tons of […]
Steel Market Update spoke with steel analyst Charles Bradford of Bradford Research about the purchase of the ThyssenKrupp Steel USA assets by the ArcelorMittal/Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metals Corporation joint venture. We wanted to understand the economics of the purchase as well as what will happen next prior to the closing of the deal. “ArcelorMittal […]
The anticipation over the fate of ThyssenKrupp Steel Americas is finally over with the sale of the Calvert, Alabama mill to joint venture partners ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corporation. The $1.55 billion sale gives ArcelorMittal a firm foothold in the Southeast and in the NAFTA auto market. Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal […]
The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index (CFMMI) is a monthly estimate by major industry of manufacturing output in the Seventh Federal Reserve District states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin. It is a composite index of 15 manufacturing industries that uses hours worked data to measure monthly changes in regional activity. The three month […]
Cleveland, 14th November – The President of the United States today visited ArcelorMittal’s Cleveland facilities, where he met employees at the hot dip galvanising line and gave a speech on the economy. The President was welcomed to the plant by Lakshmi Mittal, Chairman and CEO. Speaking before the President, Mr Mittal said: “It’s a […]
Light vehicle (autos + light trucks) production surged in October, up 13.5 percent, the rolling 3 months production was up by 13.1 percent. Year over year production was up by 8.3 percent in total and the Detroit 3 made up some ground being up 10.1 percent. Light vehicle production has now exceeded the pre-recession level […]
Metalforming companies expect improved business activity for the next three months after expressing pessimism in October. The November 2013 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report showed an uptick in the number of survey respondents who anticipate improvement in business conditions as well as improvement in new orders. Average daily shipping levels were above levels […]
Review of Manufacturing. October 31st 2013 Each month the Steel Market Update publishes a table of what we believe to be the most significant indicators of the state of the steel market and current results in the long and flat rolled sectors. We will be discussing one section of this table in detail each month, […]