On Wednesday and Thursday of this past week, a sold-out group of attendees and six Steel Market Update instructors, one event coordinator and a potential future instructor traveled to Mobile, Ala., to participate in the first Steel 101 workshop of 2018. The workshop was a success, aided by the generosity of the SSAB plate mill […]
Cleveland Cliffs reported another great quarter with net income of $318 million and sales of $601 million, compared to prior-year income of $81 million and sales of $754 million. For the full year, revenue totaled $2.3 billion with net income of $371 million. Adjusted EBITDA has increased for the past two years, 28 percent in […]
The year is beginning with numerous weather-related disruptions to shipping. Ice in the Great Lakes region has made loading of iron ore difficult, freezing port equipment and the ore itself. Sources report carriers on the Great Lakes will be expediting ore shipments to the steel mills that were shorted, once the Soo Locks reopen in […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Director of Risk Management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled futures market, and we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing futures articles for Steel […]
Iron ore shipments on the Great Lakes jumped nearly 11 percent in 2017 to 60,321,712 tons and the highest total since 2012, according to the Lake Carriers’ Association. Iron ore loadings at U.S. ports increased 13.4 percent to 55.75 million tons. Shipments from Canadian ports in the St. Lawrence Seaway fell 12.4 percent to 4.6 […]
The iron ore mining operations at Magnetation could restart this summer, according to new owner Tom Clarke. The Grand Rapids, Minn., Plant No. 4 has been idle for more than a year and requires about $2 million to get equipment up to speed. ERP Iron Ore purchased Magnetation out of bankruptcy a year ago, but […]
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology downgraded the status of Cyclone Joyce, off the far northwest coast, to Category 1. The storm made landfall along the Pilbara coast today at around 12:30 a.m. EST (0536 UTC). Winds of about 50 mph are expected to ease as the storm moves inland. The iron ore terminal at Port […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Director of Risk Management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled futures market, and we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing futures articles for Steel […]
Cyclone Joyce is intensifying off Australia’s western coast, prompting the Pilbara Ports Authority to take emergency precautions. The storm is expected to reach Category 3 by Friday or Saturday with possible wind gusts of 102-139 miles per hour. Port Hedland, used as an iron ore export terminal by major ore producers Fortescue, BHP and Hancock […]
With less than two weeks left in the Great Lakes shipping season, the deep freeze hitting the U.S. has caused havoc for lake freighters trying to load and unload iron ore at ports. The shipping season is scheduled to end with the closing of the Soo Locks on Jan. 15 at Sault Ste. Marie, but […]
Chinese steel trade data was recently released for the month of November 2017, providing updated data on iron ore imports, scrap imports and flat rolled imports and exports. Chinese imports of iron ore in November totaled 94,540,000 metric tons, an increase of 18.9 percent from the previous month, and an increase of 2.8 percent from […]
Earlier today, Steel Market Update provided our “Flash Report” on flat rolled steel service center inventories to those distributors who are actively providing months of supply data to SMU. Our first Flash Report prompted three comments from the group that we would like to share with our readers: Service Center One: “This market is the […]
Operational problems this past fall impacted Algoma Steel earnings and the mill’s winter build-up of raw materials, according to the latest report from CCAA bankruptcy monitor Brian Denega. Delays on a stove rebuild project along with an unplanned shutdown of the blast furnace at the end of November affected Algoma’s production and shipments. The rebuild […]
All four raw materials tracked by Steel Market Update— iron ore, scrap, coking coal and zinc—increased in price in December. From Australia News Digest on Dec.18: “Steelmaking raw materials made strong gains on Monday as Chinese mills, responsible for half the world’s steel output, restock ahead of the resumption of full production at the end […]
The following industry data, current through the end of the month of December 2017, covers a number of important indices and drivers of steel prices, as well as supply and demand. As the month ended, the Steel Market Update (SMU) Price Momentum indicator was referencing higher flat rolled steel prices over the next 30 to […]
The Fed rate increase in December was a non-event as far as the Broad Index value of the U.S. dollar was concerned. From Jan. 3 through Sept. 8, 2017, the Broad Index value of the U.S. dollar depreciated by 9.3 percent. The value rebounded by 2.97 percent from Sept. 9 through Dec. 15. Please see […]
Steel Market Update performs this analysis of global scrap trade each quarter to help readers understand the gyrations of the domestic scrap market and where the U.S. stands as a global player. This data is not very current because some nations are slow to report, but we still believe it gives a valuable perspective on […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures markets was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Director of Risk Management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled futures market, and we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing futures articles for Steel […]
More than nine out of 10 respondents to Steel Market Update’s latest market trends questionnaire see steel prices heading higher in the first quarter. Seven percent say they see no clear direction for prices. Virtually no one expects prices to decline in the wake of price hike announcements by the major mills earlier this month. […]
The Georgia Port Authority is expanding the Port of Savannah to handle increased cargo demand. “A strong Southeast U.S. economy, on-terminal expansion, and investment by private logistics firms throughout the region have resulted in phenomenal growth for Georgia,” said Executive Director Griff Lynch. Total tonnage for fiscal year 2017 grew 23 percent to 33,397,357 tons […]
As the year winds down, shipping in the United States is moving along with minor complications in December. River traffic has encountered reoccurring problems with aging infrastructure as record grain harvests put pressure on capacity. Ocean freight volume is improving and rates are strong. Truckers are rushing to meet electronic logging device mandates, and the […]
ArcelorMittal’s new headquarters in Luxembourg will be a testament to the strength and beauty of steel. The primarily steel and glass structure designed by Wilmotte & Associés will “showcase the diverse benefits of steel over other building materials,” said ArcelorMittal in a press release. Approximately 5,000 to 7,000 metric tons of steel produced in Luxembourg […]
Cleveland Cliffs has acquired 553 acres and the lease to 3,215 additional acres from Glacier Park Iron Ore Properties, LLC. The real estate includes mineral and surface leases in the Biwabik Iron Formation. The iron ore reserves are west of Nashwauk and were formerly leased by Essar Steel Minnesota, now called Mesabi Metallics. “We are […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures markets was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Director of Risk Management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled futures market, and we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing futures articles for Steel […]
As a result of this week’s preliminary circumvention ruling, Vietnamese traders here in the United States must pay the Chinese duties on the substrate used to produce cold rolled and CORE (corrosion resistant) steels if they are unable to prove the substrate used was from another country. Here’s the actual ruling: “The Department of Commerce […]
Steel Market Update’s steel market indicators show improved trends in the November data. In our examination of data released in November, our view of the present situation is that 47.2 percent of the 36 indicators are historically positive with only 19 percent negative. The balance is within the band of historically normal. The total of […]
Except for a few flat rolled steel mills that have not yet completely filled their December order books, most steel producers are holding firm on steel pricing in anticipation of good demand in the first quarter. The result is we are seeing two distinct pricing markets – those who have December tons and are willing […]
The broad index value of the U.S. dollar has strengthened since Sept. 8, but in the last month the dollar has weakened against 13 of the 16 steel trading nations’ currencies. From Jan. 3 through Sept. 8, 2017, the Broad Index value of the U.S. dollar depreciated by 9.3 percent. The value rebounded by 2.9 […]
Raw material markets have been tranquil since our October update, but the value of the U.S. dollar is once again in decline. In this report, we examine the latest prices for iron ore, scrap, coking coal and zinc. To put the raw materials analysis into perspective, we begin with Figure 1, which shows the spread […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) has been canvassing our ferrous scrap sources to find out where the industry sees prices once the negotiations begin with the domestic steel mills. All of our sources tell SMU they expect prices to be higher, somewhere in the $10 to $30 per gross ton range, compared to the November prices. […]