The sun decided to greet us on the second day of the Tampa Steel Conference 2024. Attendees from the chillier northern parts of the continent got their dose of winter sunshine. But whatever the temps, it was inside the conference room where things really heated up. January is always a time to make sense of the year that’s just passed, and look out for the trends for the year ahead.
Nucor is optimistic about long-term activity from bridges and highways, semiconductor chip plants and renewable energy, but still sees some short-term challenges. The North Carolina-headquartered steelmaker expects the federal programs that support these megatrends “to add somewhere between 5 million to 8 million tons of incremental annual demand for steel over the next several years,” […]
What a difference a few weeks make…. As this is our first column after the new year, it is quite interesting to observe how different the steel world looks at the end of January vs. the end of December.
The 35th Annual Tampa Steel Conference starts in just a few days. As one of the premier domestic steel conferences, it’s the perfect way to kick off 2024. It’s not too late to register if you haven’t already done so, but make sure to book now!
This earnings season will hit a little different. U.S. Steel has announced that it won’t be hosting an earnings call. While this silence is normal during an acquisition process, it does alter a staple of the earnings landscape.
We’re just a week away from the 35th annual Tampa Steel Conference! It’s one of the premier domestic steel conferences and the first can’t-miss event of 2024. If you haven’t already registered, there is still time but make sure to book now!
While there was little change in economic activity since its last update, the Federal Reserve reported declines in manufacturing in nearly all districts in its January Beige Book update.
New York state saw manufacturing shrink in January, reaching its lowest reading since the depths of the pandemic in early 2020, according to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey.
Both the United Steel Workers (USW) union and a number of politicians oppose the deal. The USW supports Cleveland-Cliffs’ offer. That offer is almost half of what Nippon Steel has proposed and what has been accepted by U.S Steel. I don’t understand the USW opposition to Nippon Steel buying U.S. Steel and the union favoring Cleveland-Cliffs. If Cleveland-Cliffs were to acquire U.S. Steel, it would likely mean the end of a headquarters in Pittsburgh.
November’s shipments for domestic heating and cooling equipment shipments declined for a third consecutive month, according to the latest data released from the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI).
Bloomberg has reported that Nippon Steel’s $14.1-billion deal for U.S. Steel might not close until 2025 – well after the Q2/Q3 2024 close date both companies have guided toward. That’s because a national security review of the deal ($14.9 billion if you include the USS debt Nippon Steel would assume) by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) could take longer than initially expected
The Global Steel Climate Council (GSCC) was formed to advance the steel industry's climate strategy. And its intentions are clear: establish standards and advocate for carbon emission reductions by industry members.
Flat rolled distributor Mill Steel Co. announced the appointment of a new CFO on Jan. 9.
The new year represents an opportunity to capitalize on America’s leadership position in free market principles, steel industry modernization, and global efforts to create a lower carbon future for the steel industry. Steel Manufacturing Association (SMA) members are poised to lead the way.
The International Trade Commission (ITC) held a hearing on Thursday, Jan. 4, to consider arguments for and against the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVDs) on tin mill products from a handful of countries. Both sides made compelling arguments.
Radius Recycling reported a net loss in its fiscal first quarter of 2024 on tighter supply flows for recycled metals and lower average selling prices for the company’s products.
New Reibus CEO Temy Mancusi-Ungaro and company President Chris Shipp will join SMU for the inaugural Community Chat of 2024 on Wednesday, Jan. 10, at 11 am ET. You can register here.
Cleveland-Cliffs has appointed private-equity executive Ron Bloom to its board of directors, effective immediately.
Domestic manufacturing activity receded for the 14th straight month, according to the latest Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing PMI report.
Olympic Steel has promoted Zachary Siegal to the newly created role of president of manufactured metal products.
SMU doesn’t do forecasts. We leave that to our colleagues at CRU. But we’re pretty good at surveys, and we’ve got a great group of readers. That’s why we decided to ask you what’s in store for 2024. The results are below, along with some insightful comments in italics.
We started 2023 with HRC spot pricing around $700 per ton and the third-month future (March ‘23) trading at $800/ton. That same future eventually settled at $1,059/ton - a $259/ton swing. Today, spot pricing is just shy of $1,100/ton for HRC, and the third-month future (March ‘24) settled at $1,091/ton. The clear takeaway: a lot can change over three months. And while future contracts are a valuable tool for hedging, they are a terrible predictor of price.
Political opposition to Nippon Steel Corp.’s (NSC) proposed purchase of U.S. Steel continues to build.
A World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute panel has ruled in favor of the US in a case regarding retaliatory tariffs imposed by Turkey in response to Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum.
Over many years—even centuries—the wisdom and utility of tariffs as an instrument of government policy in peacetime have been debated. That incessant debate continues, and is likely to persist.
The 2024 Tampa Steel Conference is coming up soon after the kickoff of 2024. One of the premier steel conferences in the US, it will be a great complement to our record-breaking SMU Steel Summit this past August.
New York state saw a decline in manufacturing in December, according to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey.
The LME aluminum 3-month price is moving higher on the morning of Dec. 15 and was last seen trading at $2,258 /metric ton. This means the price is up 7% already since the new low for 2023 was reached on Wednesday at $2,109 /metric ton. The US Dollar reached its lowest level since early August […]
The US Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced on Dec. 14 proposed regulations for aluminum production under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). According to irs.gov, Section 45X of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) “provides a credit for the production (within the US) and sale of certain eligible components including solar and wind energy […]
The number of open construction jobs reached a record high in October as workforce shortages persist, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported.