Tag: Contracts

"Now, the problem is no longer the price. The problem is having access to steel." That would have made a good lead. But I can’t take credit for it. Those (very quotable) words are from Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman and CEO Lourenco Goncalves during the steelmaker’s quarterly earnings conference call on Monday. For a while, I thought the shortages we'd been hearing about might be mostly a problem for small- and mid-sized buyers. But we’re seeing even some of the biggest steel buyers talking openly about supply problems.

The United Steelworkers (USW) union will resume in-person bargaining with U.S. Steel on Monday. The move comes after the USW said it received an updated contract proposal from the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker on Tuesday. “While we had meaningful discussion with the company, there is still much work to be done,” the USW said in a text to members on Wednesday. “The rest of this week, we will be working on a counter and looking to get answers about some of the proposals USS made,” the union added.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. expects to earn more from the repricing of contract tonnage than it previously projected. The Cleveland-based steelmaker raised its estimate for the earnings benefit of the repricing to about $850 million from about $500 million. The company also said negotiations for 2027 contracts are progressing better than expected. More than half of the 2027 renewal process was complete as of Cliffs' third-quarter earnings call on Monday morning.

US sheet buyers have grappled with supply scarcity in both the spot and contract markets throughout 2026. Now the supply squeeze is spilling over into 2027, according to market participants.

The United Steelworkers (USW) union remains “far apart” from U.S. Steel on issues that matter most to its members. Those top issues are health care, wages, retirement, and commitments to invest in union-represented facilities.

Hot-rolled coil market participants report little disruption to their contact volumes, finding timely spot HR proved less straightforward, some sources told SMU. 

“The issue we heard most about is healthcare. You were loud and clear at every location and in the surveys that maintaining our healthcare benefits is a top issue," the USW said.

Negotiations between the United Steelworkers (USW) union and U.S. Steel will not begin early, according to a text message to union members obtained by SMU.

The United Steelworkers (USW) union swore in Roxanne Brown as its new international president on Sunday.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has reportedly signed "unusually long" fixed-price supply agreements with multiple US automakers.

Architecture firms reported a modest improvement in billings through May, yet business conditions remained soft, according to the latest Architecture Billings Index (ABI) release from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Deltek.

Architecture firms continued to report a sharp reduction in billings in January, according to the latest Architecture Billings Index (ABI) released by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Deltek.

A roundup of aluminum news from CRU.

SMU has heard from some larger buyers who have stepped back into the market to buy at prices that, if not at a bottom, they assess to be close to one. Is it enough to stretch out lead times and send prices upward again? Or do we continue to scrape along the mid-$600s per short ton (st) as we have been doing for most of the last month?

The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) ticked up in June following May’s four-year low, according to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Deltek. While the index improved this month, it continues to indicate weak business conditions among architecture firms.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) and United Steelworkers (USW) unions have thanked President Biden for his service following his announcement that he is no longer seeking re-election.

ArcelorMittal Mexico reached an agreement with the local mining union on Thursday, July 18, to end the 55-day blockade of its steelmaking and mining facilities in Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacán. While a large majority of Section 271 of the Sindicato Nacional de Mineros voted to accept the proposal, a group of unknown size continues to protest illegally and has even turned to violence, according to the company.

The CME steel futures complex saw a slight decrease in activity from levels seen at the end of June. This has coincided with a notable decline in flat prices for the nearby futures contract, now August HRC, which is lower by $81 per short ton (st) since last writing on June 13. It settled at $672/st on July 17.

Flood-level waters have prompted the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to close locks on the Mississippi River.

First off, we hope everyone had a safe and happy July 4th holiday, with fireworks seen and BBQs attended. Many parts of the country are quite toasty at the moment, signaling that, yes, summer has indeed arrived. And looking at our most recent survey results, the summer doldrums have arrived as well.

Domestic plate prices have been on a historic run since they began surging in January 2021. Tags reached an all-time high of $1,940 per short ton (st) in May 2022, though they have mostly trended lower over the past two years.

At the end of every Supreme Court term there are a few big cases. This year, there are more. The last day for releasing opinions comes July 1. On Friday, the Court issued a long-awaited and long-expected decision about interpreting statutes that give powers to administrative agencies, including (among many others) the Commerce Department, the […]

The Index continues to indicate weak business conditions amongst architecture firms.

US sheet prices continue to fall, with SMU’s average hot-rolled (HR) coil price now at $670 per short ton (st). Prices for cold-rolled and coated products are now in the mid/high $900s/st. As I noted in my last Final thoughts, the consensus among our readers is that prices will bottom out in July. And that makes intuitive sense. Lead times in mid/late July should be stretching into the typically busier fall months. The question then is where prices bottom.

Demand has remained persistently weak across the globe for sheet steel, weighing on prices. US HR coil prices fell the furthest this week as high-volume, low-priced deals were transacted as mills looked to fill order books and competed with one another amid relative demand weakness. Meanwhile, European prices were also down due to low demand […]

For the first time in weeks, activity in the futures market broke out of the recent “front grinds lower” pattern to provide new insight into the dynamics of the steel industry.

US manufacturing activity contracted in May for the second month in a row, according to the latest report from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). After a brief expansion in March, ISM’s manufacturing index has since returned to contraction, where the manufacturing sector has been for 18 of the last 19 months. The ISM Manufacturing […]

There seems to be more question than usual about which way prices will go over the next few weeks. There is talk in some corners that Nucor’s announced $760 per short ton (st) for HR through mid-May, and subsequent increases marked a public attempt to call a price bottom. (Our price announcement calendar here is […]

Hot-rolled coil prices are known for their volatility. There are a variety of hedging strategies industry players have used to manage it, one of them being the use of HRC futures. However, some have been hesitant to dip in their toe, and their money, in futures and have preferred other approaches.

Let's take a collective deep breath ::in:: and ::out::... And we're back. But where exactly are we? Are steel prices going up or down? Is demand really decelerating or is it an illusion? How is the market navigating the new mill pricing mechanisms?