Tag: infrastructure

The major steel-handling port in Burns Harbor, Ind., is getting substantial infrastructure upgrades.

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?

Steel Market Update’s Steel Demand Index fell five points to a 12-month low and moving further into contraction territory, according to our latest survey data.

The CRU US Midwest hot-rolled (HR) coil index is a dominant and established price benchmark in the US. Many steel-buying contracts are linked to ‘the CRU,’ as it’s commonly called. But how does it work?

SMU had the pleasure of attending the American Iron and Steel Institute's (AISI's) annual general meeting in Washington this week. It was a slow week in our nation's capital, so we were able to take a leisurely stroll around the National Mall and take in the sights. Just kidding. In fact, the meeting coincided with significant trade actions announced by the Biden administration. It included, among other things, additional tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum.

The China Iron and Steel Association (Cisa) has urged steel producers to cut back on record high inventories while the sector struggles with oversupply.

Last week we wrote about a brief lull in price movement, labeling it a period of wait and see. It did, in fact, turn out to be pretty brief. This week... things are little bit different. Perhaps right now we are more in a period of "hope and pray" or "Here we go, hold on to your hats."

Stelco reported a positive start to 2024 in its first-quarter earnings report on Thursday. And with steady demand and a stable market, the Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker is optimistic for the remainder of the year.

Tariffs on unfairly traded steel and other products help to stabilize America’s most important industries, safeguard tens of thousands of jobs, and protect national security. My union, the United Steelworkers (USW), never seeks these remedies lightly. And presidents, Republican and Democrat alike, implement them only after diligent investigations documenting the harm that foreign adversaries intentionally inflict upon our country with dumping, overproduction and other kinds of trade cheating. I don’t think Lewis Leibowitz considered these points while criticizing tariffs in his excessively pro-free-trade column, “Where is the voice of the consumer?” on May 5.

A surge in data center project planning pushed the Dodge Momentum Index (DMI), a leading indicator for the nonresidential construction sector, higher in April.

Northwest Pipe’s profits more than doubled in the first quarter on-year, as the company expects a strong remainder of the year in both its steel pressure pipe and precast segments.

Russel Metals’ earnings fell in the first quarter, but the Toronto-based metals distributor sees steel prices stabilizing in the near term and staying above historical averages.

If successful in its overtures to Anglo American, BHP will create the world’s largest diversified miner by a country mile. The rationale for this merger is scale and in mining, size matters. 

Cleveland-Cliffs is working on a solution for its recently idled mill in Weirton, W.Va., that will address pent-up demand for transformers, increase the need for its electrical steel, and get its workforce back to work.

Cleveland-Cliffs’ chief Lourenco Goncalves and US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm stressed the importance of the US steel industry and domestic manufacturing at Cliffs' Butler Works in Pennsylvania on Monday.

AZZ Inc. said it is seeing improving demand for its coil coating services as it reported a solid quarterly performance.

I was in Las Vegas last week for ISRI’s annual convention. I like Vegas. I’ve had some fun there over the years. (I was married there nearly 20 years ago. We're still together.) And last week was no exception. So let’s start with the big news from Sin City. When the recycled materials industry meets for the big event next year, it will be under the banner of "ReMA" – not "ISRI".

Steel is a foundation of the global economy. It is an essential raw material for nearly every industry, from automotive and construction to transportation, machinery, and energy.

While general economic conditions across the US improved slightly over the last six weeks, activity in the manufacturing sector was weak, according to the Fed’s latest Beige Book report.

A lot of economists were predicting a recession last year. Ken Simonson, chief economist for The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), wasn’t one of them.

The Biden administration on Wednesday announced measures to support the domestic steel industry.

The steel market appears to be finding a new, higher normal with the shocks of the pandemic and the Ukraine in the rearview mirror. The good news: a more profitable and consolidated post-Covid US steel industry has been able to invest in operations. That includes efforts to decarbonize. The bad news: That “new normal” could be tested. Because it’s not just domestic sheet prices that have been volatile. Geopolitics are too.

As the ISRI 2024 conference unfolds in Las Vegas, attendees are diving into crucial discussions shaping the future of the recycling industry. Here are the main topics being discussed: New steelmaking capacity coming online this year Export demand during this period Infrastructure spending Supply of pig iron and HBI Current logistics challenges May scrap prices […]

Global steel demand will reach roughly 1.793 million metric tons (1.976 million short tons) this year, an increase of 1.7% over 2023, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) said in its updated Short Range Outlook report. The gain will come after a 0.5% contraction in steel demand in 2023. Demand is forecasted to increase another 1.2% […]

The Biden Commerce Department just issued a broad rewrite of regulations dealing with a host of antidumping and countervailing duty issues. This week, I write about one of those issues, where it looks like Commerce made a wrong turn.

The US Department of Energy has finalized Congressionally mandated energy-efficiency standards for transformers.

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, SMU polled steel buyers on an array of topics, ranging from market prices, demand, and inventories to imports and evolving market chatter.

Nucor has acquired Southwest Data Products (SWDP), a manufacturer and installer of data center infrastructure, for $115 million.

Rio de Janeiro-based metals and mining conglomerate Vale could potentially build a new plant for the production of iron ore briquettes in the US.

With the help of a large government grant, SSAB may soon expand its operations in the US – including constructing a fossil-fuel-free green ironmaking facility in Mississippi.