In a letter to customers this week, Cleveland-Cliffs said it does not expect the geopolitical fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to directly impact the company’s operations. “While we continue to monitor the situation closely, we have not identified any specific elevated risk to our operations at this time,” the company stated. Cliffs said it will continue […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Matthew Watkins and Research Analyst Christopher Dix, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service, Feb. 28. Contributors Erik Hedborg, Dmitry Popov, Ryan McKinley and Clare Hanna. Following the escalation of the situation in Ukraine, we set out what positions Russia has currently in the export market through the steel value chain. In the short term […]
By CRU Multi Commodity Analyst Alex Christopher and Research Analyst James Mills, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor, March 3 The sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine will have direct and indirect implications for commodity markets, and their impact will be felt by everyone involved along the length of commodity value chains. […]
U.S. Steel Corp. is investing $60 million at Gary Works to give the Indiana mill the capability to produce up to 500,000 tons of pig iron annually and provide a critical raw material for the steelmaker’s electric arc furnaces. Once complete in the first half of 2023, pig iron production at Gary will provide nearly […]
Some North American flat-rolled steelmakers were silent when asked what the impact of the conflict between the U.S. and Russia might be on their operations. Others said their supply lines weren’t in the crossfire. One reason for the silence in some corners: Many rely heavily either on Russian slab or Russian or Ukrainian pig iron […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg and Senior Coal Analyst Dmitry Popov, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor, Feb. 24 On Feb. 24, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine as President Vladmir Putin ordered a large-scale “specialized military operation.” Russian troops entered Ukrainian territory – from Belarus in the north, the separatist-controlled regions in the […]
Prices for five of the seven steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis increased over the last 30 days, with only one product decreasing. Through Feb. 17, iron ore prices rose 18% from one month prior, aluminum prices increased 10%, coking coal prices rose 9%, zinc prices were up 3%, and pig iron prices […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. could join other steel producers in adding electric-arc furnace (EAF) capacity, the company’s top executive said. The Cleveland-based steelmaker is considering that because the cost of relining a blast furnace – and investing in the supply chains needed to feed it – are roughly the same as those for of building a new EAF. […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor, Feb. 9 The global sheet market often exhibits price trends that vary by region. Occasionally, prices do move in the same direction, though on these occasions, prices typically reflect a unified trend of global costs or inventory change. In the current sheet […]
By CRU Research Analyst Aaron Kearney-Keaveny, from CRU’s Iron Ore Market Outlook, Feb. 8 The iron ore price has been driven up over the last week, despite sparse activity during and after the Chinese holiday. The rise in price primarily came from traders who have been increasing their stocks in anticipation of higher prices, not […]
Nucor has closed its $400 million deal for a majority stake in California Steel Industries (CSI). “We are excited to officially welcome our CSI teammates to the broader Nucor family,” said Rex Query, Nucor’s Executive Vice President of Sheet and Tubular Products. “This joint venture gives us a strong presence in the Western region and grows our ability to produce […]
U.S. Steel joined competitors Nucor Corp. and Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) in posting record annual profits. But the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker’s fourth-quarter net earnings were significantly lower than those in the third quarter. U.S. Steel recorded net earnings of $1.07 billion in the final quarter of 2021, down 46.5% from $2.00 billion in the third quarter […]
Prices for four of the seven steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis increased over the last 30 days, while three products decreased. Through Jan. 26, coking coal prices rose 26% from one month prior, aluminum prices increased 10%, iron ore prices rose 8%, and zinc prices were up 2%. In that same time […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg and Research Analyst Aaron Kearney-Keaveny, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor, Jan. 19 Over the past month, the iron ore price has continued its rise that started back in mid-November, reaching $125 /dmt on Jan. 18. The rise has been more volatile than the previous month, but has shown […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor January 2022 The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) fell in January m/m by 4.4% to 383.9, which is an unusual move for this time of year. Demand in most markets, particularly in Europe and the USA, was weaker-than-expected, and relatively mild weather conditions leading up […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor, Feb. 10 The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) rose in February m/m by 2.4% to 392.9, gaining back some of the ground lost during January’s unusually bearish market. This slight upward trend was driven primarily by supply scarcity for obsolete grade scrap and pig iron, […]
SMU’s Community Chat webinar with Wolfe Research metals and mining managing director Timna Tanners last week was our second-best attended ever. With more than 800 registered attendees, Tanners topped her own previous record. Barry Zekelman, executive chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, still holds the title. But not by quite as wide a margin. We […]
By CRU Research Analyst James Mills and Multi Commodity Analyst Alex Christopher, Jan. 6 The synchronized rise in commodity prices in 2021 prompted some market commentators to speculate the beginnings of a “supercycle.” At CRU, we are more cautious. In the past year, commodity prices have been more volatile than in the preceding years, with […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Atul Kulkarni, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service, Jan. 31 The global steel industry is going to witness a transformation in terms of technology and operating practice due to decarbonization pressure. However, this transition will not come without substantial costs, as all CO2 abatement pathways are forecast to be more expensive than […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Prices for three of the seven steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis increased over the last 30 days, while three products decreased and one was unchanged. Through Dec. 21, iron ore prices […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor, Dec. 21 Iron ore prices have continued to rise in the past week, a typical year-end development observed in recent years. This is the time when steelmakers start building iron ore stocks in anticipation of restricted transportation of ore from ports to mills […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) has opened its February order book for flat-rolled steel and decreased prices significantly, according to market participants. That’s a big change from 2021, when the Fontana, Calif.-based slab converter often increased prices substantially from one month to the next. “Customers are reminded that prices are subject to change at any time […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) has closed its January order book for flat-rolled steel – but doing so took significantly longer than in past months. “We will contact you when we open the flat rolled order book for February 2022,” the Fontana, Calif.-based slab converted said in a letter to customers on Monday, Dec. 13. The company […]
Nucor has acquired a majority stake in California Steel Industries (CSI) for approximately $400 million in a deal that will significantly expand its presence on the West Coast. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker paid that amount for Brazilian iron ore miner Vale’s 50% stake in Fontana, Calif.-based CSI. It also acquired 1% of Japanese steelmaker’s JFE […]
On Friday, the Labor Department announced the inflation rate for November. At 0.8%, it was a tick lower than the October inflation rate of 0.9%. But most observers paid more attention to the annual rate of inflation. At 6.8% compared to prices one year ago, the inflation rate was the highest it’s been since 1982. […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. Rock provides customers attached to the steel industry with commodity price risk management services and market intelligence. RTA is registered with the National Futures Association as a Commodity Trade Advisor. David has over 20 years of professional trading experience and has been active […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor , Dec. 8 The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) was little changed m/m in December at 401.6 after expectations of another price increase for metallics were dampened by weaker-than-expected demand. Supply is becoming seasonally scarcer in some markets. But, in our view, weakness in […]
Brazilian iron ore miner Vale is in an “advanced stage of negotiations” to sell its stake in California Steel Industries (CSI), according to an investor day presentation. The presentation did not say which company Vale was in talks with. CSI is a Fontana, Calif.-based slab converter. It is also a 50-50 joint venture between Vale […]
By CRU Research Analyst Aaron Kearney-Keaveny from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Dec. 7 Iron ore remained largely stable in the past week, before rising noticeably on Monday and Tuesday, now standing at $108.0 /dmt. Supply is rising and demand seems stable, but speculation around China has resulted in the iron ore price rising yet […]
By CRU Steel Analyst Tiago Vespoli, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor, Nov. 17 There is a high probability that the weather phenomenon La Niña will start at end-November, which could have serious consequences for the steel supply chain, depending on the severity of the event. Some expected impacts include increased rainfall in Australia and […]