President Joe Biden has signed an executive order officially implementing a U.S. supply chain review for critical products such as semiconductors – a lack of which has led to widespread automotive production outages. “Recent shortages of automotive semiconductor chips have forced slowdowns at car manufacturing plants, highlighting how shortages can hurt U.S. workers,” the White House said […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) has closed its May order booked for flat-rolled steel just a week after opening it. “We want to thank you for your continued support during these difficult times. … We will contact you when we open the Flat Rolled order book for June,” CSI said in a Feb. 23 letter to […]
The U.S. Commerce Department has preliminarily increased anti-dumping margins on several major Japanese hot-rolled coil suppliers. Commerce calculated preliminary anti-dumping margins of 11.70% for Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest steelmaker, and 6.8% for Tokyo Steel Manufacturing. Nippon Steel and Tokyo Steel were the mandatory respondents in the case. But a litany of Japanese steel suppliers–including JFE […]
United Steelworkers union members will vote March 1 on whether to ratify a tentative contract agreement covering NLMK USA’s operations in western Pennsylvania, a union official said. USW District 10 Staff Representative Todd Clary confirmed the date next Monday. He declined additional comment until after the vote. NLMK USA President and CEO Robert D. Miller also confirmed […]
Tube mills in the U.S. and Canada have followed Nucor in raising prices on hollow structural sections (HSS) and other non-energy tubulars by about $50 per ton ($2.50/cwt). The increases are necessary in response to higher coil costs and strong customer demand, according to some producers. Atlas Tube is raising prices on all new orders […]
TC Energy is considering liquidating excess equipment and steel following the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline. “Our project team … is evaluating what we can do with all of our equipment and its uses,” Bevin Wirzba, president of liquid pipelines for the Calgary, Alberta-based energy company, said during an earnings conference call earlier this […]
Nucor’s tubular products group has increased prices for hollow structural sections (HSS), pipe, mechanical and piling products by $50 per ton ($2.50/cwt). The move is effective immediately and is necessary because of “rising raw material costs, strong demand, and volatile transportation costs,” Nucor said in a Feb. 19 letter to customers. Orders booked prior to […]
Steel Market Update data shows no significant change in the negotiating position of steel buyers, who remain largely at the mercy of the mills. More than nine out of 10 buyers responding to SMU’s questionnaire this week reported the mills unwilling to discuss price concessions—which has been the mills’ attitude for the past five months. […]
NLMK USA has reached a tentative agreement with the United Steelworkers at its operations in western Pennsylvania, according to both company and union leaders. If ratified, the pact would bring an end to a strike that began nearly six months ago. “We reached a tentative agreement today. … We are optimistic that today’s actions will […]
NLMK USA has reached a tentative agreement with the United Steelworkers at its operations in western Pennsylvania, according to both company and union leaders. If ratified, the pact would bring an end to a strike that began nearly six months ago. “We reached a tentative agreement today. … We are optimistic that today’s actions will […]
Import license data for February is not complete, but foreign arrivals of some flat-rolled steel products are already running ahead of January volumes, according to Commerce Department figures. And with lead times at domestic mills running close to or even with import arrival times, that trend might continue, some market participants said. Hot Rolled and […]
Nucor has increased spot flat-rolled steel prices for some buyers by $40 per ton ($2/cwt), according to market participants. The electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaker is quoting certain customers $1,240 per ton for April hot-rolled coil, up from $1,200 previously, sources said. What’s less clear is how many spot tons are available for purchase. Spot tonnage, which […]
AM/NS Calvert has quietly increased prices for new spot orders by $40 per ton ($2/cwt), according to market participants. The move–which was effective on Feb. 16 but not widely announced–will see base prices for hot-rolled coil increase from $1,160 per ton to $1,200 per ton, sources said. Base prices for cold-rolled and coated products will […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) has opened its May order book, and the West Coast slab converter has also increased prices, according to market participants. “The purpose of this letter is to inform you that CSI’s May flat rolled order book is now open,” the company said in a Feb. 16 letter to customers. The letter […]
The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) remains concerned that General Approved Exclusions (GAEs) to Section 232 tariffs and quotas could lead to a surge in imports, the head of the lobbying group said. “This (GAEs) is not ending the entire Section 232 program by any means. But it has the potential to degrade the […]
The U.S. Commerce Department has made a preliminary decision to eliminate anti-dumping margins on hot-rolled coil from South Korean steelmaker Hyundai Steel Co. Commerce calculated anti-dumping margins of 0.00% for hot band made by Hyundai, according to the results of an administrative review signed by Christian Marsh, the acting assistant secretary of the Commerce Department’s Enforcement and […]
A division of PTC Alliance has acquired “substantially all” of the assets of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) producer Boomerang Tube. The subsidiary, PTC Liberty Tubulars LLC, has in addition scooped up the assets of Southern Tube LLC in Houston, the company said. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “This acquisition brings together two […]
General Motors warned that high steel and metals prices combined with a global chip shortage could cost it billions. “We expect commodity prices to be a significant headwind as platinum group metals and steel prices have seen major increases in recent weeks and months,” GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said in a recent earnings […]
Section 232 tariffs and quotas have left domestic steelmakers and steel consumers in sharply different realities. One side is investing big at home and enjoying record profits. The other is angry about sharply higher costs and is scouting for more steel abroad. That was the takeaway from a trade roundtable at Steel Market Update’s virtual Tampa […]
Interest in imported flat-rolled steel is growing among some U.S. buyers thanks to a widening spread between domestic mill prices and foreign offers. Some market participants said they had already purchased material at what they thought was an attractive price–and because long domestic mill lead times reduce the risk of buying imports. But others said […]
The Congressional Steel Caucus–in a bi-partisan show of unity–has asked President Joe Biden to keep Section 232 tariffs and quotas in place. The request comes as the Biden administration has acknowledged that a review of trade policies enacted by former President Donald Trump is ongoing. “The review is underway of the previous administration’s trade policy […]
The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) has upheld the legality of Section 232 tariffs following a legal challenge lodged by consumers of foreign steel. The ruling deals a blow to the plaintiffs–Universal Steel Products, PSK Steel Corp., The Jordan International Company, Dayton Parts LLC and Borusan Mannesmann Pipe U.S. Inc.–which claimed that they had […]
NLMK USA and striking United Steelworkers at the mill’s operations in western Pennsylvania remain at loggerheads nearly five and a half months after the labor action began. “As of now, we remain far apart with the union. We continue to meet in good faith working towards a resolution,” NLMK USA President and CEO Robert D. Miller said […]
It might be T-shirt weather before steel buyers in Canada have access to spot tons of sheet and plate, according to market participants. The three main Canadian sheet suppliers–Algoma, Stelco and ArcelorMittal Dofasco–are largely sold out through May and are in some cases out as far as June. And when it comes to plate, Canada’s […]
It might be T-shirt weather before steel buyers in Canada have access to spot tons of sheet and plate, according to market participants. The three main Canadian sheet suppliers–Algoma, Stelco and ArcelorMittal Dofasco–are largely sold out through May and are in some cases out as far as June. And when it comes to plate, Canada’s […]
U.S. flat-rolled steel prices remain on the rise thanks to strong demand, thin spot supplies and limited short-term competition from imports. While some sources think imports could send domestic prices lower, others note that foreign steel suffers from the late deliveries that have plagued customers of domestic mills. “Too much risk ordering foreign steel with lead times into […]
U.S. Steel does not plan to build additional electric-arc furnace capacity for the “foreseeable future,” company executives said. The company also plans to keep the “A” blast furnace at its Granite City Works in southern Illinois idled, they suggested. U.S. Steel acquired two flat-rolled EAFs when it closed its deal for Big River Steel’s mill […]
JSW Steel USA has opened the March order book at its flat-rolled steel mill in Mingo Junction, Ohio. “We will restart in March…. The March order book is open,” JSW Steel USA CEO Mark Bush said in emails to Steel Market Update. The Ohio mill will sell both hot-rolled coil and slab, he said. Bush confirmed […]
Cracks might be forming in the groundwork that has to date led U.S. flat-rolled steel prices to their highest point on record. Whether they are big enough to send towering prices tumbling down or merely a distraction remains to be seen, markets sources generally agreed. Prices have nowhere to go but up in the short […]
Evraz North America has followed Nucor and SSAB Americas in increasing plate prices by at least $80 per ton ($4/cwt). The steelmaker said that the increase was effective immediately and that it applied equally to all carbon, high-strength low-alloy, hot-rolled coil, normalized, and quenched-and-tempered products, according to a letter to customers Jan. 26. “We reserve the […]