General Motors said Monday it plans to invest $632 million in its Fort Wayne, Ind., assembly operation for future truck production. The Detroit-based automaker said the investment will prepare the plant for production of “the next-generation internal combustion engine (ICE) full-size light-duty trucks,” adding that product details and timing related to future trucks are not […]
The US and European Union are working on an agreement dealing with carbon emissions in the steel industry. The impact on bilateral trade could be high. In 2021, the US and EU agreed that the US would suspend the 25% Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, and the EU would drop its World Trade […]
The LME aluminum three-month price is moving higher again as the week ending June 9 closes trading at $2,230/t. Failing to dip below the critical transition price of $2,000/t, The LME steadied itself despite very lackluster demand anywhere in the world. Trading in China also kept the regional exchange there neutral, if not a bit […]
General Motors Co. recently announced a series of investments to bolster its automobile manufacturing in the US – and it’s not all just for electric vehicles (EVs). Internal Combustion Engines The Detroit-based automaker plans to inject $1 billion into two of its manufacturing sites in Flint, Mich., for the production of heavy-duty trucks with internal […]
General Motors Co. recently announced a series of investments to bolster its automobile manufacturing in the US – and it’s not all just for electric vehicles (EVs). Internal Combustion Engines The Detroit-based automaker plans to inject $1 billion into two of its manufacturing sites in Flint, Mich., for the production of heavy-duty trucks with internal […]
Go figure, in the last month, HR spot has continued to decline. The index tied to CME HR futures has given up $140/ST ($1,130/ST to $990/ST). A look at the fundamentals would appear to support the latest market direction. The list includes declining steelmaking component prices (zinc, coking coal, iron ore and scrap), a sharply […]
Bipartisan legislation was introduced in Congress on Wednesday to level the playing field for American workers. The Leveling the Playing Field Act 2.0 would enhance US trade remedy laws to protect American workers and “combat China’s unfair, anti-free market trade practices that distort the global market,” according to a release from Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio). […]
H2 Green Steel has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mercedes-Benz for the potential supply of green steel made in North America. In the same news release on Wednesday, the Swedish sustainable steelmaker said it has signed a binding agreement with Germany-based Mercedes-Benz to deliver ~50,000 metric tons of green steel annually for use in the […]
I wanted a fresh perspective on the steel market this week, so I turned to a new voice – namely, ChatGPT. I won’t weigh in on whether the AI-driven chatbot is a useful tool, an extinction-level threat, or just another shiny object. That said, ChatGPT has been available publicly since Nov. 30, 2022. And it […]
Overall economic activity saw little change in April and early May, while manufacturing activity was flat to up in most Federal Reserve Districts, and supply chain issues continued to improve, the Federal Reserve said in its latest Beige Book report. The Beige Book is a compilation of information on current economic conditions, gathered by each district […]
Australian steelmaker InfraBuild said it could be on the hunt for steel plants in the US after closing on a $350-million asset-backed term loan. The loan, managed by BlackRock and Silver Point Finance, will allow InfraBuild to pursue growth objectives, which include the “potential acquisition of steel assets in the United States currently owned by GFG […]
The US labor market added 339,000 jobs in May, up from April’s payroll gain of 253,000 and well ahead of consensus estimates of 190,000, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Last month’s result marked the 29th straight month of positive job growth. Despite the surprise jobs gain, the unemployment rate rose to […]
The US economy added 339,000 new jobs in May, according to data from the US Department of Labor. The labor market again outperformed economists’ consensus expectations with another show of resilience, and beating April’s total of 253,000. May’s job growth came despite the Federal Reserve’s aggressive efforts to cool the economy to slow the labor […]
Over the last two weeks, we have seen worsening market sentiment, as evidenced by movement in the futures curve, which sold down as much as $45 per ton in July and $28 per ton in August and September, respectively. This overall flattening of the curve is most clearly seen in the chart below, with the […]
US construction spending jumped in April on strength in nonresidential and multifamily home building. Total construction spending during the month was estimated by the US Census Bureau to be $1,908.4 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). This was a 1.2% increase from March’s revised estimate of $1,885.0 billion and a 7.2% rise from $1,780.9 […]
Trade organizations along the electrical steel value chain are urging President Biden to increase domestic production of the products. Groups represented in a May 22 letter sent to the president included the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, American Public Power Association, Edison Electric Institute, GridWise Alliance, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Leading Builders of America, National Association of […]
Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution are teaming up to build a $4.3-billion battery cell manufacturing plant in Savannah, Ga. A memorandum of understanding was signed by the two companies on May 26 for a 50/50 joint venture with an annual production capacity of 30 GWh, able to support the annual production of 300,000 […]
Forza Steel is investing $60 million to build a manufacturing facility at the Port of Brownsville in Texas on the Mexican border. The Mexican carbon steel pipe producer is planning to install equipment in early July to begin rolling mill operations, according to a press release from the Port of Brownsville on May 2. The facility […]
As pricing and lead times continue to drop, buyers are keeping a close eye on the market, according to members of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) speaking on the Tuesday, May 23, meeting of its Sheet Metal/Air Handling Council. Cautious optimism carried over from April’s meeting. Currently, 90% of galvanized buyers say […]
Two separate developments suggest that the Biden administration may have concerns that more tariffs would damage the US economy by harming consumers. First, we saw the president suspend action to impose additional tariffs on solar cells and modules from four countries in the face of an antidumping “circumvention” proceeding. Circumvention determines whether operations in third […]
In the race to lower emissions, both steel companies and countries are promoting greater use of domestic scrap, but this approach has two key weaknesses. Firstly, using more steel scrap in one country will have no impact on global carbon emissions – it will simply see scrap use move from one country to another. Secondly, […]
Solar tracker maker Nextracker and MSS Steel Tubes USA announced the commissioning of a new factory in Tennessee on Wednesday to make low-carbon steel components for Nextracker’s solar tracking systems. Nextracker said the Memphis facility will manufacture Nextracker steel torque tubes, create 129 jobs, and generate millions of dollars in local economic investment. In February, […]
Jeremy Flack, founder and CEO of Flack Global Metals, joined Steel Market Update for a Community Chat on May 17 where he spoke about his involvement in futures trading, risk management, and the new arm of the organization, Flack Manufacturing Investments. Flack discussed the state of the market for the past three years with SMU’s […]
There is debate brewing about whether sheet prices will see a long, slow slide or whether they’ll fall off the proverbial cliff. Some of you have told me you’re still trying to pass along costs for steel bought following the last round of mill price hikes. That’s not been an easy thing to do, especially […]
Lourenco Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs’ chairman, president, and CEO—as well as the newly elected AISI chairman—and Kevin Dempsey, AISI president and CEO, discussed issues ranging from Section 232 tariffs and hydrogen in steelmaking, to steel imports from Mexico, along with a host of other topics on Tuesday at the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) General Meeting press […]
The latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey shows a steep decline in business activity in the state of New York. The headline manufacturing general business conditions index from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York fell into the negative, dropping by nearly 43 points to -31.8 in the survey taken between May 2-9. The April index […]
Nucor has taken another step toward using nuclear power to fuel its electric-arc furnace (EAF) steel mills. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NuScale Power to evaluate co-locating NuScale’s VOYGR™ small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) power plants near Nucor’s mills. Doing so would provide carbon-free electricity to the mills […]
Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president, and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs, has been elected as chairman of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), the institute said on Monday. The election for the two-year term by AISI’s board of directors took place at the AISI General Meeting at the InterContinental Hotel-The Wharf in Washington, D.C. “Lourenco is a dynamic leader in […]
New York-based steel producer 72 Steel Group LLC has announced plans to build a $218-million steel manufacturing plant in Aliquippa, Pa., near Pittsburgh, according to media reports. The plant on a nearly 44-acre site will produce rebar and products widely used in construction, according to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The current owner of the […]
Cleveland-Cliffs is preparing to lay off approximately 300 workers at its Weirton, W.Va., tin mill operations in June due to “dumped and subsidized imports,” according to a press release from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). The Cleveland-based steelmaker invested more than $50 million over two years in the Weirton plant to increase production. Census data indicates that […]