US Steel has been very cooperative answering Steel Market Update inquiries regarding the status of their Gary Works and Great Lakes steel mills. Both mills have issues regarding steelmaking operations. Because the steel industry is prone to over-react when production issues hit any mill we thought it prudent to try to understand to the best […]
US Steel’s Great Lakes (Ecorse) facility suffered a roof collapse at the #2 BOP on Thursday evening which has ceased steelmaking operations at the plant. According to our sources, the USS Great Lakes facility in Ecorse, Michigan only has one basic oxygen process plant (BOP) which is fed molten pig iron from the blast furnaces […]
The word out of U.S. Steel has been silence since they reported a collection pipe (collector main) falling onto and collapsing part of the roof over their #2 BOP Shop at Great Lakes Works on Thursday evening. Our understanding continues to be that all three blast furnaces are in hot idle (not producing pig iron) […]
US Steel’s Great Lakes (Ecorse) facility suffered a roof collapse at the #2 BOP on Thursday evening which has ceased steelmaking operations at the plant. According to our sources, the USS Great Lakes facility in Ecorse, Michigan only has one basic oxygen process plant (BOP) which is fed molten pig iron from the blast furnaces […]
Following an unsuccessful attempt to block the air pollution permit for Big River Steel, Nucor Corp. finds itself on the on the receiving end of tighter air pollution orders from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA has ordered the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) to require Nucor Steel Louisiana to take additional steps […]
AK Steel lost their Ashland, Kentucky blast furnace on February 22nd. The furnace, which is called Amanda, is rated at 6,000 net tons per day according to AIST data. According to customers of AK Steel, the company found a crack in the bottom of the furnace and the expected repairs are expected to take three […]
Based on local news reports as well as information from Steel Market Update flat rolled sheet sources, the blast furnace issue at AK Steel Ashland was due to a break out at the bottom of the vessel. A break out is when molten pig iron penetrates the outer wall of the blast furnace. Since the […]
AK Steel has lost their Ashland, Kentucky blast furnace. The furnace, which is called Amanda, is rated at 6,000 net tons per day according to AIST data. According to customers of AK Steel, the company found a crack in the bottom of the furnace and the expected repairs are expected to take three weeks. When […]
Transactions in the ferrous scrap market are beginning to become clearer and what scrap dealers are seeing is not making them happy. Prices in the Detroit market, which tends to be one of the first markets to settle, saw an across the board decrease of $30 per ton on all grades. Busheling and shredded prices […]
Ferrous scrap prices, which prior to the beginning of negotiations for the month of January were forecast to rise by $20 to $50 per gross ton, actually began shrinking as this past week progressed. Early settlements ranged from $10 on prime grades to $15-$25 per gross ton on obsolete and shredded scrap. As the week […]
Market sentiment in Asia is contrary to the United States. Finished steel sales have been very lackluster and slow. Main causes: • Exchange rates: US$ has been stronger recently, approximately 1.3-1.5% against most Asian currencies. This affect on exchange rates also is affecting Turkish buyers. On a currency exchange difference from 3 weeks ago, it […]
In the United States approximately 60 percent of the steel produced is through electric arc furnaces (EAF) used by so-called “mini-mills.” Electric arc furnaces use primarily scrap along with pig iron or DRI (direct reduced iron) to charge the furnaces. All of the long products (rebar, bar, angles, beams) are produced through EAF technology and […]
Ferrous scrap prices are expected to rise as we enter the New Year. Early indications are for scrap prices to make a rather serious move as cold weather sets into the North, further reducing already weak flows of the material into the scrap yards. Prices are forecast to move a minimum of $20-$30 per gross […]
A Christmas Eve start-up of the Nucor direct reduced iron (DRI) facility in St. Louis Parish, Louisiana, came off without a hitch. Within 24 hours the output quality matched best-in-class levels of Nucor’s Trinidad plant, said the company. “We are very pleased to announce this important step in executing our raw materials strategy,” said John […]
The U.S. ferrous scrap market has seen prices moving higher during the first 10 days of December. We have seen shredded scrap prices moving $20 to $45 per gross ton depending on the market. Busheling has been more plentiful and has managed to remain stable to up $10 in most markets. We asked one of […]
The original forecast for December scrap pricing was for ferrous scrap prices to move sideways (no change) to slightly higher, maybe $10 per gross ton. That was three weeks ago. As the month of December moved closer, the expectation for a sideways move was replaced with up $10 to $20 per gross ton. The month […]
Last week Bhushan Steel, an Indian steel mill known for its exports of coated steel products to the United States, suffered a devastating explosion and fire which has killed at least one person and injured five others. The blast occurred when Bhushan was attempting to commission a blast furnace. Reports out of India suggest that […]
According to Steel Market Update (SMU) sources scrap prices are headed higher for the month of November delivery into the domestic steel mills. Early reports have Detroit settling up $30 per gross ton on all grades. We have also heard shred prices are up $30 per gross ton in the Cleveland and Pittsburgh markets and […]
NLMK USA steel sales totaled 451,000 metric tons (497,141 net tons) for third quarter of 2013, an increase of 5.1 percent from second quarter and 8.7 percent from third quarter 2012. The increase was due mostly to greater US sales for hot rolled coil (HRC) and galvanized steel—275,000 tonnes (303,135 net tons) and 65,000 tonnes […]
Chinese pig iron steel production in August 2013 was 59,931,000 metric tons, a slight decline of 0.15 percent over July figures but an 11.1 percent increase over the same month one year ago. Total crude steel production was 66,277,000 tons in August, a slight increase from the 65,474,000 tons reported for July but a large […]
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 7, 2013 — Nucor Corporation NUE +0.08% announced that The Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) presented Nucor’s Executive Chairman Dan DiMicco with its Iverson-Selig award, recognizing his outstanding contributions to the minimill steel industry. The award is named after Nucor’s founder Ken Iverson and Marvin Selig, founder of CMC Steel, who were two […]
This week the domestic steel mills and their scrap suppliers will be locked in negotiations to determine the price of ferrous scrap used in the EAF’s and BOF’s to make steel. Steel Market Update sources have been advising that the October scrap market looks to be down $10 per gross ton before firming later in […]
U.S. steel industry members are challenging proposed changes to Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Buy America laws that will affect manufactured products, ferry boat equipment, and pig iron and processed, pelletized, and reduced iron ores. The FHWA sought comments from the public regarding the continued, need, in whole or part for the general waivers on […]
ArcelorMittal Cleveland will take down their C-6 blast furnace according to a company spokesperson who communicated with Steel Market Update this afternoon. The blast furnace is scheduled to go down on September 5 and is scheduled to be down approximately ten weeks, according to the company. The company is conducting a partial reline of the […]
Every so often it is interesting to just review the comments made to Steel Market Update (SMU) during our steel market survey. Occasionally we can catch a raw gem. In the comment below a large Midwest based service center discusses their service center spot business (supplying steel from one service center to another): “Lean […]
Written by: John Packard Chicago area scrap deals were lower on shred and basically sideways on #1 HMS and #1 Busheling according to SMU sources as of today. #1 heavy melt was put at $351-$355 per gross ton. Shredded Scrap was put at $366 per gross ton. #1 Busheling was reported to be sideways […]
Written by: Sandy Williams This year Nucor plans to spend $280 million on its Louisiana DRI facility and approximately $260 million towards its natural gas related investments. Essar Steel Minnesota is in talks to build a joint venture DRI plant. Voestalpine and Northstar Bluescope Steel are both considering DRI facilities. Severstal just postponed a DRI […]
A number of domestic steel mills are reported to have purchased their February scrap needs at prices below January price levels. The price levels range from down $5 on some products in the east to as high as down $30 per gross ton on some items in the Ohio Valley. The average appears to be […]
Written by: Sandy Williams Natural gas is providing cost savings for steel plants while at the same time creating more demand for steel products used in pipelines, drilling equipment and rigs. It is a win-win situation for the steel and the natural gas industries One of the ways natural gas is utilized by the steel […]