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 […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. might shut a blast furnace this year, the company’s top executive said. “When we make a move, we make a move. … You might see a blast furnace going down for good still in 2022,” Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said during a fireside chat at the Tampa Steel Conference this […]
Ferrous scrap prices declined again in February after an unexpectedly big drop in January. Prime scrap traded down $35/GT in most regions, while obsolete grades traded sideways, sources tell Steel Market Update. That puts the February price for busheling at around $525-535/GT, shred at $470-480/GT and HMS at $430-440/GT. “Tepid demand is being offset by […]
Cleveland-Cliffs’ Ashland Works, once the lifeblood of four-generations of residents in the Kentucky community, is now a pile of rubble. The steel mill had operated for the better part of 100 years on the Ohio River. Its Amanda blast furnace was decomissioned in 2015. And the entire mill was permanently closed in 2019, shortly before Cleveland-Cliffs acquired […]
The North American operations of Evraz produced 1.88 million metric tons in 2021, an 18.9% improvement over 2020 despite some falloff near the end of the year, the company said in its Jan. 31 trading update. The Russia-based steelmaker reported fourth-quarter 2021 production of 480,000 metric tons in North America, a 2.2% decline from the […]
I don’t want to lead prices down, but I don’t think it’s any secret at this point that sheet prices are falling fast. “The prophecies have been borne out,” is how one mill executive put it. What does that look like in practical terms? Some mills are offering hot-rolled coil at about $1,200 per ton […]
Nucor Corp. crushed annual profit records in 2021 and posted yet another quarterly profit record in the fourth quarter. The trend continues a 2021 pattern among domestic steelmakers of each quarter setting a record compared to that set in the prior quarter. All told, the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker posted an annual profit of $6.83 billion […]
Nucor Corp. crushed annual profit records in 2021 and posted yet another quarterly profit record in the fourth quarter. The trend continues a 2021 pattern among domestic steelmakers of each quarter setting a record compared to that set in the prior quarter. All told, the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker posted an annual profit of $6.83 billion […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
First the takeaway: Don’t overthink it on the way down. Prices are falling, like it or not. The good thing, demand is still good – so don’t let falling prices ruin your holidays. Now, let’s overthink it a little. We’ve seen some chunky declines in recent weeks: SMU’s hot-rolled coil price fell $70 per ton […]
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 […]
Ferrous scrap prices for December settled mostly sideways across the U.S. following a big jump in November as export demand slowed and as mills sought to reduce year-end inventories. Steel Market Update sources generally put December scrap in the following ranges: Shred $520-540/GT; Bush $600-640/GT; and HMS $470-490/GT. “It was an unusual, and frankly unexpected, […]
Evraz is a major supplier of plate and tubular goods for the traditional oil and gas markets. At the same time, it is a leader in the use of renewable energy, with an electric arc furnace mill in Pueblo, Colo., powered primarily by solar. Jefferson Shaw, vice president of strategy for Evraz North America, sees […]
December ferrous scrap prices are expected to trade sideways or up slightly after a surprise jump higher in November, Steel Market Update sources said. “December scrap is likely to move sideways, particularly for sales done at the higher end of the November range. For sales at the lower end, a $10-20 per ton ‘catch-up’ increase […]
Spot prices might be wobbling. But mill balance sheets are as strong as they’ve ever been – and the cash will continue to pour in as 2022 contracts reset at substantially higher numbers. Here are two opposing trends I’m keeping an eye on: (1) whether mills will use their cash hoards to expand outside of steel […]
Prices for four of the seven steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis declined over the last 30 days. Through Nov. 18, iron ore prices fell 27% from one month prior, aluminum prices are down 17%, zinc prices declined 15%, and coking coal prices decreased 4%. In that same time frame, shredded scrap prices […]
Earnings season is (mostly) done and dusted, so I’d like to turn your attention to another season: M&A announcement season. Bankers like to get deals done before Christmas. And I think there is a decent chance that any deals in the pipeline now are announced in the next month or so. Also, while spot prices […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC), scrap and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Hot Rolled Spot HR has declined each of the last three Wednesday’s for a total loss of $86/ST. Spot HR has lost […]
Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker Stelco posted the highest quarterly profits in its history in the third quarter on strong demand, high prices and increased shipment volumes. And the Hamilton, Ontario-based company predicted that the momentum would roll into the fourth quarter too. “Once again, our business has demonstrated our ability to take full advantage of strong market conditions […]
Ferrous scrap prices saw an unexpectedly big jump in November, with shredded scrap selling as high as $75/GT above October levels. Prime scrap rose $20/GT, sources tell Steel Market Update. Observers were expecting higher prices in November on strong export demand and some seasonal tightening of supplies, but were surprised by the size of the […]
The tariff-rate quota, or TRQ, replacing Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from the European Union will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, per details of the agreement released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). A 25% tariff will be still applied after the quota limit – 3.3 million […]
Algoma Steel Group Inc. and Triple M Metal LP have formed a joint venture – ATM Metals Inc. – to source prime scrap and other iron units for the Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker. The tie up between Triple M, one of North America’s largest private scrap recyclers, and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based Algoma comes as the latter is […]
With record third-quarter earnings of $2 billion in the bank, U.S. Steel President and CEO David Burritt offered a bullish outlook for the steel industry and his company in 2022. Highlights of the company’s earnings call on Friday included an update on the steelmaker’s progress in finding a site for its new electric arc furnace […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.’s earnings skyrocketed higher in the third quarter, and the steelmaker predicted that higher priced contract deals would protect it from any slip in spot prices in future quarters. The Cleveland-based steelmaker recorded net income of $1.28 billion in the third quarter of 2021, up from a mere $2 million in the same quarter […]
Prices for four of the seven steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis increased over the last 30 days. Through Oct. 20, zinc prices shot up 24% over one month prior, iron ore prices rebounded 18% in one month’s time, aluminum prices rose 9%, and coking coal prices increased 8%. In that same time […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) changed little in October, declining slightly by 0.4% to 374.1. Price directions were mixed but fell by the most for European scrap and DRI while scrap prices in Asia had the largest increases. We expect to see similar […]