Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: The nation and the world saw a greater than normal number of presidential announcements in the past week. I debated Philip Bell, the president of the Steel Manufacturers Association, on issues related to Section 232 at the SMU […]
Construction employment declined in 26 states and the District of Columbia from June to July, says the Associated General Contractors of America in a new analysis of government data. “Renewed outbreaks of coronavirus in numerous states likely caused many project owners and investors to pull back on planned construction,” said AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson. […]
China’s July crude steel output jumped 1.9 percent from June and 9.1 percent from a year ago to 93.36 million metric tons, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Steel demand rallied after declining during the pandemic-induced shutdowns and is now benefiting from Chinese stimulus measures that include infrastructure building and housing construction. Average daily […]
For more than 28 percent of steel buyers, business is back to pre-COVID levels already, while at the other end of the spectrum 9 percent have seen little or no recovery. For the vast majority in between, the recovery process is a slow and ongoing one. In the latest market canvass this week, SMU asked: […]
Algoma Steel has been awarded a $4 million grant to upgrade its equipment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The funding was provided by Canada’s Low Carbon Economy Fund and will be used to improve both the tar-removal and light-oil-recovery areas of its coke-making plant in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. This process will not only help […]
It has been almost 12 months in the making and, due to the pandemic, one of the most carefully crafted agendas ever presented for an SMU Steel Summit Conference. Here is the final agenda for this year’s “virtual” conference. All times referenced are Eastern Time. The programs on the agenda prior to 10:00 AM are […]
It has been almost 12 months in the making and, due to the pandemic, one of the most carefully crafted agendas ever presented for an SMU Steel Summit Conference. Here is the final agenda for this year’s “virtual” conference. All times referenced are Eastern Time. The programs on the agenda prior to 10:00 AM are […]
The housing industry continued to be a boost to the economy in July. Housing starts jumped 22.6 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,496,000 from the revised June rate of 1,220,000. Compared to a year ago, housing starts were up 23.4 percent. “Demand is being supported by low interest rates and […]
North Star BlueScope, the Ohio subsidiary of Australian steelmaker BlueScope Steel Ltd., operated at over 90 percent capacity during the second half of FY 2020 despite auto demand plunging to zero during the last quarter of its fiscal year. The “ability to pivot to other end markets” kept shipment levels almost steady with the first […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Steel markets have recovered from the depths of Covid-19 global disruption, but this has varied in pace across regions and has been stop-start in many. Indeed, as measured by CRU’s global finished steel CRUspi, finished steel prices bottomed in May at 129.3, the lowest reading […]
ArcelorMittal announce plans to build an electric arc furnace steelmaking facility at AM/NS Calvert. When completed the facility will have the capability of producing 1.5 million metric tons of steel slabs for Calvert’s hot strip mill as well as producing a wide variety of steel grades for end-users. “An electric arc furnace at Calvert makes […]
“A Covid-19 vaccine would be a ‘shot in the arm’ for the economy,” said AISI Chief Economist Tim Gill during Wednesday’s SMU Community Chat Webinar. 2020 has been a challenging year for the steel industry in the U.S. and around the world, said Gill. Capacity utilization rates fell 30 percentage points from mid-March to just […]
Samuel Roll Form Group, a division of Samuel, Son & Co., is expanding operations at its Iuka, Miss., facility and adding 30 jobs. “Our team is very excited about Samuel’s investment in Iuka. The additional 67,000-square-foot process bay will accommodate a number of additional rolling mills and complementary steel fabricating equipment,” said Samuel Roll Form […]
Canadian-based Nova Tube & Steel says it will delay construction of its new pipe and tube steel plant in Delta, Ohio, until next year. The company plans to build a $70 million facility that will produce structural tubing. Construction was originally scheduled to begin on May 1 of this year, but was delayed due to […]
We have passed through 700 registered attendees for this year’s SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference. Activity has been high and we are confident we will reach our 800+ registered attendee goal. We will be the largest steel conference (live or virtual) in North America this calendar year. Those who have seen our platform are excited. […]
We have passed through 700 registered attendees for this year’s SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference. Activity has been high and we are confident we will reach our 800+ registered attendee goal. We will be the largest steel conference (live or virtual) in North America this calendar year. Those who have seen our platform are excited. […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen and Economist Ippolito Tarabini, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor The economy is in the midst of a recession triggered by a health crisis. That makes this recession unusual and different. Here we examine how this recession compares to previous recessions. From that we infer key features of the […]
Nonfarm employment rose by 1.7 million in July, but from May through July has made back less than half the losses of March and April. The July jobs report was released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday and slightly exceeded analyst’s expectations by adding 1.8 million jobs. May’s job gain was revised up […]
The primary metals sector is looking much worse than manufacturing as a whole in the employment picture. The net change in employed persons was negative 20.8 million in April, positive 2.7 million in May, positive 4.8 million in June and positive 1.8 million in July. Table 1 breaks total employment down into service and goods-producing […]
Alliance Steel looks forward to hosting an open house later this month to show off its impressive new service center in Gary, Ind. No doubt the coronavirus will have a presence at the event, where Alliance personnel will pass out masks and hand sanitizer along with drinks and hors d’oeuvres. Indeed, COVID has been an […]
Industry sentiment has taken a pessimistic turn over the past four weeks as COVID-19 continues to outsmart government and health officials, who can’t seem to unite on a strategy that will stem the spread of the coronavirus. Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Indexes had been improving since hitting bottom in early April, but dipped […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive subscribers. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. July was the ninth consecutive month where imports were down by more than 20 percent compared to the same month last year, according to the latest Commerce Department data. […]
“It’s official, pandemics are not great for business,” understated Mike Barnett with an ironic smile during the SMU Community Chat Webinar on Aug. 5. Barnett, President and COO at Grand Steel Products, and Lisa Goldenberg, President of Delaware Steel Co. of Pennsylvania, described the challenge of operating a service center business during the COVID-19 crisis. Delaware […]
The Dodge Momentum Index posted its first gain in 2020, moving 3.4 percent higher to 124.7. The index has declined 18 percent since December 2019 due to business shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. April was a particularly difficult month for construction planning. “The pullback has largely come from institutional planning, rather than commercial plans,” […]
The construction industry reported 20,000 new jobs in July, but almost all were in new housing construction, says the Associated General Contractors of America. “It is gratifying that the construction industry continued to add jobs in July, but last month’s gains were entirely in residential building and specialty trades,” said AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson. […]
By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Monitor. The U.S. Midwest sheet market was somewhat mixed this week as prices for both HR and HDG coil fell w/w, while CR coil rose by $3 /s.ton. The price of HR coil fell $5 /s.ton w/w and is at its lowest level since the prior […]
Olympic Steel posted a net loss of $6.5 million for the second quarter of 2020. Sales totaled $248 million, down from $429 million in Q2 2019 due to lower average selling prices and a significant decline in shipments as a result of pandemic-related shutdowns, including the automotive industry. “As the pandemic began to affect the […]
“The second quarter has been one of the most challenging quarters I can remember,” said Ternium CEO Máximo Vedoya. Steel demand fell in the second quarter with steel companies in many regions shutting down blast furnaces. Ternium operations in Brazil and Argentina were able to keep operating, albeit at reduced volumes, and increased shipments to […]
By CRU Research Analyst Eduardo Tinti, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Last week, iron ore prices rallied, rising by $10.7 /dmt w/w. This was mainly due to very strong Chinese demand driven by high steelmaking margins, BFs operating at historic high capacity utilization rates and bullish market sentiment. Albeit rising iron ore inventories at […]
Steel prices declined throughout the month of July, although mills announced price increases in the third week of the month. As of last week, Steel Market Update’s hot rolled price average had declined to $450 per ton. Scrap prices declined from June to July by $18-48 per ton. SMU adjusted its Price Momentum Indicator from Lower […]