The following are my opinions. You’ve got to be an optimist to be in the steel industry. I have made that statement often over the course of my steel career. When I first started in the steel business with Rolled Steel Corporation in Skokie, Ill., in 1977 I used to joke, “the only people who […]
Nucor Executive Vice President Ladd Hall will retire on June 20 after 39 years with the company. Hall began his career at Nucor Steel-Utah in 1981 in sales, progressing through several managerial positions until his promotion to Vice President of Nucor in 1994 and to Executive Vice President in 2007. “Ladd has been an exceptional […]
Nucor has idled its direct-reduced-iron facility in Louisiana due to impacts from the coronavirus. “With the state of Louisiana having been particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 outbreak and economic uncertainty nationwide, we have temporarily suspended operations at our Nucor Louisiana direct reduced iron plant,” said a spokesperson for Nucor. “Our steel mills that use […]
Nucor’s direct reduced iron (DRI) facility in Trinidad has been shut down by the government in its effort to control COVID-19 infections. “Our Nu-Iron direct reduced iron plant has been temporarily taken down in order to comply with government orders to combat the spread of COVID-19 in Trinidad,’ said Nucor spokesperson Katherine Miller. “With the […]
So, this is where we will put responses to questions, human interest items and various other “bits and pieces” that we feel will be of value to our readers. The constant news reports on the coronavirus with their rolling tallies of the number of Americans infected, and the number who have perished, are profoundly troubling. […]
Steel mills in the U.S. are taking precautions to reduce risks to workers and operations from the coronavirus pandemic as production continues. Social distancing and proper hygiene/sanitation is encouraged, non-essential business travel is cancelled, air travel is banned and those personnel who can perform their jobs remotely are allowed to do so. Visitors are limited […]
Steel Dynamics and Nucor are both expecting improved earnings for the first quarter of 2020 due to higher steel prices and increased shipments. So far, the impact from the COVID-19 outbreak has been minimal on supply chains and operations, said the companies. Disruptions are expected, however, as more manufacturers temporarily suspend production and construction activity […]
Nucor-JFE Steel Mexico began production at its continuous galvanizing line in Silao, Guanajuato, this week. The facility will produce hot-dip galvanized sheet steel for the automotive market. With an annual production capacity of 400,000 tons, Nucor-JFE Steel can produce sheet thickness from 0.4 mm to 2.6 mm and widths of 800 mm to 1,850 mm. […]
NLMK USA has filed a complaint with the U.S. Court of International Trade alleging that NLMK’s requests for steel slab exclusions from Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act have been wrongfully denied. The Indiana and Pennsylvania mills use imported steel slab to process into finished products. The 250-255 mm thick slab (nominally “10 inch”) […]
Steel Market Update raised its Flat Rolled Price Momentum Indicator to Neutral yesterday from Lower in anticipation of a price hike believed imminent from the mills. As expected, Nucor and U.S. Steel both announced increases today of $40 per net ton on all new spot orders of hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel, effective […]
Steel Market Update raised its Flat Rolled Price Momentum Indicator to Neutral yesterday from Lower in anticipation of a price hike believed imminent from the mills. As expected, Nucor and U.S. Steel both announced increases today of $40 per net ton on all new spot orders of hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel, effective […]
Steel Market Update is revising our Price Momentum Indicator on flat rolled to Neutral from Lower. Sometimes you need a bit of a prod in order to see things clearly. We’ve had many conversations and reviews of the spot pricing data and came to the conclusion the timing of our move to Lower was incorrect. […]
Written by: John Packard, President & CEO, Steel Market Update Steel prices in general appear to have weakened further for the fifth week, based on Steel Market Update’s canvass of the market over the past two days. Hindsight being 20/20, SMU arguably could have adjusted its Price Momentum Indicator from Neutral to Lower earlier than […]
We have adjusted our plate price momentum indicator from neutral to lower. Prices have been dropping over the past couple of weeks, and steel buyers are very negative on the markets right now (see some of the comments in an article above). I have to tell you I am really struggling with all of the […]
“Transformational” is what Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves called the acquisition of AK Steel in remarks during the Q4 2019 earnings call Thursday. “With the acquisition of AK Steel, Cleveland-Cliffs becomes the most relevant supplier of steel to the automotive industry in the United States, fully integrated from iron ore in the ground to auto parts […]
It is rare that market direction is clear and uncontested. There have been a few times during my 42-year steel career when it was obvious prices were going to be higher tomorrow than they are today. It was during one of those times in history that I began writing a note to my steel buying […]
It is rare that market direction is clear and uncontested. There have been a few times during my 42-year steel career when it was obvious steel prices were going to be higher tomorrow than they are today. It was during one of those times in history that I began writing a note to my steel […]
While America’s integrated steel producers are investing millions in R&D to reduce harmful emissions from their steelmaking process, the nation’s minimill steel producers have already claimed the high ground for environmental stewardship. Integrated mills and their blast furnaces heat iron ore and coking coal at high temperatures to produce high-quality virgin pig iron and steel. […]
The Super Bowl is done, the Grammys are behind us, the Oscars selected a foreign film (Parasite from South Korea) for the first time as Best Movie. The Iowa caucus presented more questions than answers. Today is the New Hampshire primary and the first votes finally are being cast to see who the Democrats will […]
I spent the second half of last week in Tampa where I was the master of ceremonies for the 31st Tampa Steel Conference hosted by the Port of Tampa. John Anton, IHS Markit Director of Steel Analytics / Pricing and Purchasing Service, provided the key economic and steel forecast for the group. He told the […]
As advanced as steelmaking has become, producing steel is still an inherently carbon- and energy-intensive process. Steel mills in the United States and the rest of the world find themselves in the crosshairs of the many environmental and political groups now calling for dramatic steps to reduce harmful air emissions and slow the pace of […]
Demand is looking good for the steel industry this year, especially in the construction sector, said panel members on the Steel Manufacturers Association media call today. Dave Sumoski, Nucor Executive Vice President – Merchant and Rebar Products, noted that construction is a major area for Nucor. The market for steel bar is very strong with […]
Nucor beat analysts’ estimates for the fourth quarter, reporting net earnings of $107.8 million due to an unexpected surge in sales during December. “Stronger than expected steel mill segment performance in December was the primary driver for higher actual fourth-quarter earnings than we indicated in our mid-December quantitative guidance,” said Leon Topalian, Nucor’s new president […]
The benchmark price for hot rolled steel dipped by about $20 last week to an average price of $590 per ton, according to Steel Market Update data. Despite the small decline, most of the steel buyers responding to SMU’s latest market trends questionnaire believe prices still have upward momentum. Let’s look at the data for […]
As we worked through pricing data this week, it was evident that much of the spot buying has occurred over the past couple of months. In our HARDI steel conference call this morning, those on the call who reported their inventory levels told the group they were either carrying inventories that were higher than normal […]
The wind energy industry received a boost from a U.S. spending bill approved in December. The bill extends energy tax credits for wind, solar and other green energy projects to 2024. Due to the extension, IHS Markit is now expecting a boom rather than a decline for the industry in 2020. The extension increased the […]
I spent today working on two projects. First was contacting and communicating with flat rolled and plate steel buyers in order to get a sense of the current spot price offers/transactions and where the markets are heading over the near term. The second project was working on the 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference. As with […]
An update on the 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference. My team has been very active in soliciting and confirming agenda slots and speakers to go with those spots. Today we confirmed CNN’s Michael Smerconish as a special keynote speaker on Wednesday, Aug. 26. He will be covering the Republican National Convention (which is happening at […]
As widely expected, Nucor was the first to announce another $40 increase in flat rolled steel prices Wednesday, followed closely by ArcelorMittal USA, NLMK USA, California Steel Industries, USS-POSCO Industries and Algoma Steel. This represents the fifth round of price hikes by the major mills since late October totaling around $190 per ton. In a […]
The following article discussing the global ferrous derivatives markets was written by David Feldstein. As an independent steel market analyst, advisor and trader, we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Note that Steel Market Update does not take any positions on HRC or scrap trading, and any recommendations or comments […]