Ray Napolitan, Jr., Executive Vice President of Engineered Bar Products and Digital at Nucor, plans to retire on June 5, 2021, after 25 years of service with the company. Napolitan joined Nucor in 1996 as Engineering Manager of Nucor Building Systems-Indiana. He became Operations Manager of Nucor Building Systems-Texas in 1999 and was promoted to […]
Zekelman Industries has completed the exterior construction of its new rolling mill in Blytheville, Ark. The 515,000-square-foot facility, located next to Zekelman’s Atlas Tube, will be the largest continuous electric resistance welding (ERW) mill in the world and is expected to be operational by September 2021. The mill will be able to roll HSS from […]
Looking for a Top… Looking for Steel…. As we conduct our analysis of the flat rolled and plate steel prices this week, we cannot help but notice the pace of increases has slowed…or is the slowing due to many mill order books being closed and having nothing new to offer. The availability of spot tonnage […]
Looking for a Top… Looking for Steel…. As we conduct our analysis of the flat rolled and plate steel prices this week, we cannot help but notice the pace of increases has slowed…or is the slowing due to many mill order books being closed and having nothing new to offer. The availability of spot tonnage […]
NOTICE: NO SMU PUBLICATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 4 DUE TO EASTER HOLIDAY Imports are coming. We are watching galvanized carefully as automotive production is being reduced due to the chip shortage, and we are seeing higher volumes of galvanized imports coming in. March 2021 license data is showing 240,000 net tons of galvanized, which is […]
Imports are coming. We are watching galvanized carefully as automotive production is being reduced due to the chip shortage, and we are seeing higher volumes of galvanized imports coming in. March 2021 license data is showing 240,000 net tons of foriegn galvanized imports, which is up 55,000-65,000 tons above the levels seen over the prior […]
Nucor increased plate prices by $50 per ton ($2.50/cwt) in the afternoon on Friday, March 26, after SSAB had earlier in the day lifted plate tags by $100 per ton. It was not immediately clear why there was such a large difference. The steelmakers don’t always increase plate prices by the same amount, but a […]
President Joe Biden will be in Pittsburgh next week to unveil his administration’s multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure spending plan. The plan will focus on both physical and technological infrastructure, the president said in a press conference. Spending on infrastructure is about both creating jobs and making the United States a more attractive place to do business, Biden […]
President Joe Biden will be in Pittsburgh next week to unveil his administration’s multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure spending plan. The plan will focus on both physical and technological infrastructure, the president said in a press conference. Spending on infrastructure is about both creating jobs and making the United States a more attractive place to do business, Biden […]
In the famous words of Isaac Newton, “what goes up must come down.” While he was not referring to steel prices per se, the sentiment still holds true. Steel tags can’t stay at record highs indefinitely. Supply will eventually catch up with demand. What happens then? Will prices see a sharp correction or a gradual […]
In the famous words of Isaac Newton, “what goes up must come down.” While he was not referring to steel prices per se, the sentiment still holds true. Steel tags can’t stay at record highs indefinitely. Supply will eventually catch up with demand. What happens then? Will prices see a sharp correction or a gradual […]
Nucor plans to build a new tube mill at Nucor Steel Gallatin in Kentucky. The tube mill will have the capacity to produce approximately 250,000 tons of hollow structural section (HSS) steel tubing, mechanical steel tubing and galvanized solar torque tube. The mill will be advantageously near to growing solar markets and the largest consuming […]
I want to write a few words today about Section 232. Not for or against it. Just some reflections on a trade action that’s been with us for a lot longer than I expected. The catalyst for that reflection was a conference call the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington policy think tank, held earlier this […]
Nucor has signed its second Virtual Power Purchase Agreement with another Texas energy provider. The 10-year VPPA with Ørsted Onshore North America, LLC, for 100 megawatts from Ørsted’s Western Trail wind farm adds to Nucor’s commitment to clean, renewable energy, the company said. In November, Nucor signed a VPPA with EDFR Renewables North America as […]
The U.S. steel market could lose one million tons of production in the months ahead because of several lengthy blast furnaces outages, and the volume of iron and steel impacted could be well over one million tons when shorter-duration electric-arc furnace (EAF) and hot strip mill outages are considered. The issue is particularly relevant because […]
Foreign or domestic? “More risk buying domestic….” I had some interesting conversations with steel buyers today as I have been trying to gauge the strength of domestic price support, and what will be the catalyst that will turn the tide. One large manufacturing steel buyer with operations around the world told me, “The prices will […]
Foreign or domestic? “More risk buying domestic….” I had some interesting conversations with steel buyers today as I have been trying to gauge the strength of domestic steel price support, and what will be the catalyst that will turn the tide. One large manufacturing steel buyer with operations around the world told me, “The prices […]
FOB mills prices aren’t the only thing on the rise – so too are service center resale prices, import tags and ocean freight rates. Service centers are selling amongst each other for nearly $1,400 per ton ($70/cwt), and certain master distributors are charging that much if not more for hot band, market participants said. That’s […]
Nucor expects first-quarter 2021 earnings to be the highest quarterly profits in the company’s history, surpassing the previous record set in the third quarter of 2008. Earnings are expected to be in the range of $3.00 to $3.10 per diluted share. Strong steel demand and pricing are generating record results in the steel mills and […]
In Sunday night’s issue of Steel Market Update, I discussed the increase in the days of inventory on order at the service centers. The increase can be attributed to extended lead times, late deliveries and perhaps some double ordering from the distributors’ end-user customers. We saw an increase in the percentage of inventory that is […]
In Sunday night’s issue of Steel Market Update, I discussed the increase in the days of inventory on order at the service centers. The increase can be attributed to extended lead times, late deliveries and perhaps some double ordering from the distributors’ end-user customers. We saw an increase in the percentage of inventory that is […]
I am going to spend some time discussing Steel Market Update this evening. I started SMU in August 2008 as a one-man show. The company has grown over the years both in size and scope. The sale of the company to CRU has turned out to be a blessing (I think for both companies), and […]
Nucor’s tubular products group aims to increase prices for hollow structural sections (HSS), mechanical tubing and piling product by $125 per ton ($6.25/cwt) effective immediately. “The increase is a result of rising raw material costs, strong demand and (the) volatility of transportation costs,” the steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Thursday, March 11. Nucor […]
Nucor today announced board approval to build a tube mill in the Midwestern U.S. The $164 million project will be completed within two years and will capitalize on Nucor’s recent Midwest investments that include a plate mill, galvanizing line and hot roll expansion. A specific location for the new plant was not provided, but sources expect […]
The U.S Department of Commerce has decided to continue antidumping duties on cut-to-length plate imported from China, Russia and Ukraine as part of the “sunset review” process. China will remain subject to dumping margins of up to 128.59%, Russia to dumping margins of as much as 185% and Ukraine to margins of up to 237.91%, […]
Last week, we conducted one of our flat rolled and plate steel market trends analyses. Or, to put it another way (that the search engines don’t like), we conducted one of our surveys that we do ever other week. We invited over 500+ market participants, most of whom are steel buyers in the manufacturing and […]
It took 20 years, but the nation’s infrastructure GPA is no longer in the D range. The 2021 Report Card issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers gives America’s infrastructure a C-, a passing grade that still leaves plenty of room for improvement. Rail transit was the brightest spot in this year’s report, receiving […]
Last week, we conducted one of our flat rolled and plate steel market trends analyses. Or, to put it another way (that the search engines don’t like), we conducted one of our surveys that we do ever other week. We invited over 500+ market participants, most of whom are steel buyers in the manufacturing and […]
You Can’t See the Forest for the Trees Mill lead times have surged over the past couple of weeks, which I believe is a result of Snowmageddon in Texas and other areas of the Southeast. When you look at our lead time graphics, you need to remember we are gathering data from our flat rolled […]
Mark your calendars as Steel Market Update has a wide array of conferences and workshops scheduled through the month of August 2021. Here is what you can expect: March 30 & 31: Steel Hedging 101: Introduction to Managing Price Risk (virtual) At the end of this month, Spencer Johnson of StoneX, the CME Group and […]