Final thoughts
Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves had some insightful things to say today about the steel market and about a conference we suspect might be Steel Summit.
Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves had some insightful things to say today about the steel market and about a conference we suspect might be Steel Summit.
Cleveland-Cliffs expects its acquisition of Canada’s Stelco to close later this year, which will help the the Cleveland-based steelmaker as a bottom to steel tags nears.
SMU’s Key Market Indicators include data on the economy, raw materials, manufacturing, construction, and steel sheet and long products. They offer a snapshot of current sentiment and the near-term expected trajectory of the economy. All told, nine key indicators point lower, 16 are neutral, and 13 point higher. One thing worth noting: The nine indicators pointing lower are all lagging indicators. Many of those pointing upward are leading indicators.
Cleveland-Cliffs’ earnings tumbled in the second quarter as the company cited weak demand and pricing.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, when you add in some commentary from respected peers in the steel industry to those pictures, that may shoot you up to five thousand words, at least. In that spirit, we’ve added some snapshots from our market survey this week, along with some comments from market participants.
SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices both saw improvement this week. Current sentiment ticked higher but remains near the four-year low seen earlier this month. Future Sentiment continues to indicate that buyers are optimistic for future business conditions.
Operating income from Steel Dynamics Inc.’s (SDI) recycling operations clocked in higher in the second quarter than in the first on increasing volumes and despite lower realized pricing. Recycling operations brought in $32.1 million, an increase over $22.6 million in Q1, but lower than the $40.3 million last year, the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based company said […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. executives provided further insight into operations at the company’s Sinton, Texas, flat-rolled steel mill on a second-quarter earnings conference call on Thursday morning. Despite a series of start-up woes, the company recently commissioned two new coating lines there, and the mill continues to ramp up production. The execs were also bullish on […]
Steel Dynamics Inc.’s (SDI’s) earnings slid in the second quarter, but the company's top executive believes steel tags are set to rise.
Cleveland-Cliffs has been pursuing M&A opportunities for some time now and thinks it has found a solid partner with aligned interests in Stelco. The companies announced on Monday that Cliffs would acquire the integrated Canadian steelmaker. That same day, Cliffs held a conference call with analysts to discuss the acquisition. Lourenco Goncalves, Cliffs’ chairman, president, […]
Flat Rolled = 60.9 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 59 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled US service center flat-rolled steel supply remained high at the end of June at 60.9 shipping days of supply, according to adjusted SMU data. This translates to 3.05 months of supply in June. At the end of May, […]
Reliance Inc. has reached an agreement to buy certain assets of Ferragon Corp.'s FerrouSouth division, a toll processing operation based in Iuka, Miss.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has agreed to purchase Canada’s Stelco Holdings Inc. in a deal valued at $2.5 billion (CA$3.4 billion).
We’ve taken some time to supply you with some handy-dandy production figures for 2024 presented in a unique way.
The local mining union has rejected a proposal to end the labor strike at ArcelorMittal Mexico’s Lazaro Cardenas mill and Las Truchas mine in Michoacán, Mexico.
US steel imports registered a steep decline from May, with June licenses falling to the lowest monthly level so far this year.
Flat-rolled steel prices have been largely falling since the beginning of the year. Even after a slight bump in early April when mills tried to halt the downtrend, the decrease resumed.
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.
SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices dropped this week, with Current Sentiment plummeting to a level not seen since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to our most recent survey data.
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.
Following a relatively stable first quarter, steel imports climbed in May to levels not seen in over two-years, according to preliminary Census data released earlier this week. Projected June license data suggests imports could ease from May, though still strong in comparison to levels witnessed over the past year.
Mill Steel Co. has named Evan Keebler as VP of sales for its construction segment.
We have heard ominous warnings about a flood of Mexican steel threatening the US market. It's the kind of rhetoric that gets thrown around often with little regard for the facts. The reality is that the Mexican steel surge is simply not happening, and the US steel industry has consistently maintained a significant trade surplus in finished products with Mexico. In 2023 alone, this surplus exceeded $3 billion.
Steel Market Update’s Steel Demand Index ticked down 2.5 points last week, slipping further into contraction territory, according to our latest survey data. SMU’s Steel Demand Index now stands at 38.5, down from 41 at the beginning of June. The decrease puts the index at its lowest measure since November 2022. The reading – down […]
Algoma Steel’s quarterly and full-year results took a hit from an unplanned blast furnace outage earlier this year. However, with a modernized plate mill and two new EAFs slated to come online by the end of this year, the Canadian flat-rolled steel producer is looking to a greener future.
SMU’s Current Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Index tumbled this week, while Future Sentiment ticked up slightly, according to our most recent survey data.
Mill Steel Co. announced several executive appointments as it works to transform the organization.
Flack Global Metals (FGM) is set to take majority ownership of Pacesetter Steel Service.
Flat Rolled = 60.6 Shipping days of supply Plate = 61.1 Shipping days of supply Flat Rolled US service center flat-rolled steel supply rose in May with a drop-off in shipments. At the end of May, service centers carried 60.6 shipping days of supply on an adjusted basis, up from 57.8 shipping days of supply […]
U.S. Steel has guided to lower second-quarter earnings both sequentially and on-year in "dynamic" spot price market.