Tag: Canada

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has agreed to purchase Canada’s Stelco Holdings Inc. in a deal valued at $2.5 billion (CA$3.4 billion).

Steel is, mostly for historical reasons, a bellwether of international policy. No longer an industry of primary importance, its advocates still proclaim that it is. And steel still continues to punch above its weight in Washington, DC. Below are a few recent examples.

US drill rig activity resumed its downward trend last week, while Canadian counts increased to a four-month high, according to the latest data release from Baker Hughes.

The Mexican government said on Thursday that it had negotiated a temporary carve out for Brazilian steel in recently updated Section 232 rules. Mexico said that the pact would stretch until 2027, by which point all steel exported to the US would have to me “melted and poured” within North America.

The US and Mexico announced measures on Wednesday to prevent tariff evasion and protect North America’s steel and aluminum industries.

US steel imports registered a steep decline from May, with June licenses falling to the lowest monthly level so far this year.

Following April’s eight-month high, May represents the second-lowest export rate of the year, only greater than January’s 771,000 st level.

Canada’s industry minister Francois-Philippe Champagne has conditionally allowed a Glencore-led consortium to acquire Teck’s Elk Valley Resources (EVR) metallurgical coal business for $6.9 billion. He also raised the bar for foreign companies wanting to buy into the country’s critical mineral resources.

US drill rig activity moved back up last week after drifting lower for four straight weeks. Meanwhile, Canadian counts slipped for the first time after a seven-week rally, according to the latest data from Baker Hughes.

North America has one of the most robust steel scrap markets in the world. The continent has a long history of steel production, significant imports of steel and steel-containing products, and mature steel consumption. Due to this, the reservoir of scrap available to be recycled each year in the US and other North American markets is substantial and growing.

It’s been a slow start to the week as far as news goes, something you’d expect ahead of a shortened Independence Day week. That said, it’s not as if transactions have completely ground to a halt. (Prices continue to drift lower.) And while news might be slow, rumors of low-priced deals, price hikes, and trade cases seem to have filled that void.

Looking out over the American economy, Triple-S Steel Holdings CEO Gary Stein believes what is required doesn’t fundamentally have to do with government policy. “Rather, it’s a mind shift.”

US drill rig activity eased for the fourth consecutive week last week, while Canadian counts increased for the seventh week in a row, according to the latest data release from Baker Hughes.

A roundup of aluminum news from CRU.

The Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) has lauded Canada’s decision to launch an investigation into China’s unfair trade practices in electric vehicles (EVs). However, the association hopes the government will go even further and extend the investigation into other sectors.

Bull Moose Tube Co. (BMT) announced Jim Fink as its new chief operating officer.

Worthington Steel’s earnings slipped in its fiscal fourth quarter while sales ticked up.

Algoma executives reiterated that operations are proceeding as normal following an unplanned BF outage earlier this year.

The chairman of a large American steel company called for Mexico to be dropped from USMCA at a steel industry conference last week. This follows earlier calls from members of Congress to reinstate Section 232 duties on Mexico. How did we get to this point?

US drill rig activity eased again last week, now down to levels not seen since late-2021, according to the latest data release from Baker Hughes. Canadian counts are moving in the opposite direction, inching higher for the sixth consecutive week to a three-month high.

The next SMU Community Chat will be Wednesday, June 26, at 11 am ET (10 am CT) with Gary Stein, CEO of Triple-S Steel Holdings Inc. The webinar is free to attend. A recording will be available to SMU members. You can register here.

North American auto assemblies ticked higher in May, moving up for the second straight month and reaching a nine-month high, according to LMC Automotive data. While assemblies were up month on month (m/m), they are still 1.7% lower year on year (y/y).

US drill rig activity eased further last week, now down to a two-and-a-half-year low according to the latest update from Baker Hughes. In contrast, Canadian counts inched higher and are now at a three-month high.

Canada’s Algoma is set to host the grand opening of its modernized plate mill in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, on June 18.

US light-vehicle (LV) sales rose to an unadjusted 1.43 million units in May, up 4.8% vs. year-ago levels, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported. The year-on-year (y/y) growth in domestic LV sales came in with a 7.6% month-on-month (m/m) boost.

Total steel exports rebounded 6% in April, rising to 842,000 short tons (st) according to the latest US Department of Commerce data.

The USMCA is an important trade agreement, as long as the member countries honor its requirements. These were the sentiments echoed by top officials of the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) and Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) during a press conference at their annual meeting last week in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Now that June has arrived, the official countdown until SMU’s Steel Summit 2024 – North America’s premier flat-rolled steel conference – has begun. If you haven’t already registered, don’t delay. More than 700 attendees from more than 300 companies have already registered to be in Atlanta this August. In short, it’s poised to be another […]

Oil and gas drilling activity in the US ticked down last week, remaining near a two-year low, according to the latest update from Baker Hughes. In contrast, the Canadian count inched higher and is now at a 10-week high.

When it comes to steel decarbonization, we do not need to compromise our climate ambition to make the types of demanding steel products needed for our 21st-century economy. Nevertheless, many of the world’s highest-emitting steel producers and their allies would have you believe that one cannot be done without the other. They are wrong. They […]