Nucor Corp. aims to increase base prices for steel sheet by at least $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt). The price hike is effectively immediately and applies to all new orders, the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said in letters to customers dated Monday, Aug. 8. “We reserve the right to review and re-quote any offers that […]
Another Russian steelmaker has been sanctioned by the US government in response to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. The US Department of Treasury officially sanctioned Russian steelmaker Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) and its majority owner Viktor Filippovich Rashnikov. MMK’s subsidiaries MMK-FINANS and MMK Metalurji were added to the list as well. The companies […]
Flat-rolled steel prices fell again this week as they have just about every week since late April. But there were a couple of new trends of note this time, even if they don’t change the overall narrative of a continued correction in flat-rolled steel prices. For starters, plate prices took a big tumble – down […]
Despite lower domestic coke sales in the second quarter, SunCoke Energy is seeing favorable export coke pricing and is increasing its earnings guidance for the year as a result. “Our domestic coke and logistics segments continued to perform well in the second quarter with the backdrop of strong commodity markets. Although our coke production was […]
US Steel is trying to keep a stiff upper lip despite lower flat-rolled steel selling prices, continued supply chain problems, and an uneven economic outlook. “Let’s face it. There’s a lot of uncertainty. Some people say more uncertainty than ever before,” company president and CEO David Burritt said. “I’m not so sure that’s true. But […]
Prices for all seven of the steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis declined over the last 30 days, receding further from record-high levels seen in March and April. Through the latest data available as of July 27, coking coal prices decreased 56% compared to one month prior, pig iron and busheling scrap prices […]
New sheet and plate capacity from Nucor will be entering the market in force by the end of this year, just in time for an anticipated increase in infrastructure demand, company executives said. Whether those facilities ramp up to their nameplate capacity will ultimately depend on demand, they added. “While we recognize there is considerable […]
Leaders of the American steel industry gathered with members of the Congressional Steel Caucus on Wednesday in Washington, to discuss the state of the industry and how Congress can continue to support this critically important sector of the economy. Topics of discussion at the Caucus hearing included building and supporting critical supply chains and domestic manufacturing, […]
We’ve been covering the latest turn of the screw in contract talks between US and Canadian steelmakers and the United Steelworkers (USW) union. Some of you have asked us lately what the key dates and companies are. Below is a summary of where things stand – rhetoric and minutia aside – with USW and Canadian […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Puneet Paliwal, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor on July 14 The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) registered its third consecutive double-digit percentage decline in July, falling by 18.5% month over month (MoM) to 313.9, its lowest value since February 2021. Bearish sentiment in the metallics market, prevalent since May, has been […]
As it prepares to take over the two blast furnaces at US Steel’s Granite City Works in Illinois, SunCoke Energy is joining the contract negotiations in Pittsburgh that started this week between US Steel and the United Steelworkers union. It was announced last month that SunCoke and US Steel have signed a non-binding letter of […]
The rally was fun while it lasted, but new capacity delayed in large part because of Covid has arrived or soon will, popular analyst Timna Tanners said. And it will coincide with some demand weakness. The result: “steelmageddon” (aka “sheet storm”) might have been delayed. But it has finally arrived, she said. “Here we are with capacity starting […]
Approximately 950 jobs could be lost at US Steel’s Granite City Works near St. Louis once the mill stops making steel, a company spokeswoman confirmed. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker currently employs approximately 1,500 people at the mill. There would be an estimated 550 employees when the shift to pig iron production happens in 2024. “There is […]
It’s going to be a long, hot summer. I was thinking we might start to see the “summer doldrums” ahead of the long Independence Day weekend. Instead we’ve gotten a barrage of news on prices, US Steel and labor contract talks. Let’s start with prices. Our average hot-rolled coil price fell below $1,000 per ton […]
The steel industry’s push to decrease CO2 emissions in steelmaking will require an increase in high-grade iron ore production and improved beneficiation techniques, according to a report from The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). To reach net-zero emissions by 2050, not only will steelmakers need to switch production methods from coal-consuming blast […]
US Steel plans to stop making steel at its Granite City Works near St. Louis in the second half of 2024, a company spokeswoman told Steel Market Update on Tuesday. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker expects that the mill’s blast furnaces will switch over to pig iron production as part of a deal with SunCoke Energy Inc., […]
Prices for six of the seven steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis declined over the last 30 days, again receding from record-high levels seen 2-3 months prior. Through the latest data available as of June 23, coking coal prices decreased 28% compared to one month prior, aluminum prices fell 15%, iron ore and […]
Steel Market Update sources report ferrous scrap prices declined from May to June, dropping further from the record high prices seen in March and April. Prime grades declined between $55-75 per gross ton, with obsolete grades down $50-70 per ton. This puts the SMU price indices for scrap as follows: Busheling scrap at $600-670 per […]
Sheet prices are falling at the fastest clip we’ve seen since before the war in Ukraine. Let’s call it the great rewind. But where are we rewinding to – earlier this year or 2019, the last “normal” market we had before the disruptions caused by the pandemic and the war? First come context: SMU’s average […]
Ukraine has implemented an export ban on energy-related materials, but pig iron has been excluded from that ban. As of June 10, natural gas exports are prohibited by Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers, as are exports of anthracite coal including briquettes, pellets, and similar solid fuels derived from coal. Coking coal, however, has been excluded from […]
Severstal is no longer shipping “anything” to the United States, a company spokeswoman said. The Russian steelmaker instead intends to “continue working with our partners who are not tied with obligations to US,” she said in an email to Steel Market Update. The comments come after the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets […]
Volatility in the steel industry is a given. So rather than trying to predict when or what will be the next big event to trigger a change in the market, why not instead create strategies to help drive volatility down and capital return up for your business? Jeremy Flack, founder and CEO of Flack Global […]
Volatility in the steel industry is a given. So rather than trying to predict when or what will be the next big event to trigger a change in the market, why not instead create strategies to help drive volatility down and capital return up for your business? Jeremy Flack, founder and CEO of Flack Global […]
Construction of a new pig iron caster has begun at US Steel’s Gary Works with start-up expected early next year. US Steel employees joined United Steelworkers leaders and others this week in Indiana to celebrate the $60 million investment. The company’s Minntac and Keetac Minnesota ore operations will feed the pig iron facility, which […]
Steel Market Update sources expect ferrous scrap prices to decline in June, following record high prices in March through May. Some expect prime grades to decline as much as $50 per gross ton from May, with obsolete grades down anywhere from $20-$50 per ton. “Markets are worsening by the day. It looks like there is continued […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Puneet Paliwal, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service, May 23 The Indian government’s sudden move to levy a 15% tax on most exported steel products has surprised the steel industry. While an attempt has been made to soften the impact by exempting import tariff on coking coal/coke and raising export tax […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is please to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Following record price increases in March and April, prices for six of the seven steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis declined over the last 30 days. […]
Three months of war in Ukraine have wreaked havoc on the country’s iron and steel industry and caused repercussions across the global economy, but industry and the country of Ukraine continue to fight back. In this week’s SMU Community Chat, Stanislav Zinchenko, CEO of the GMK Center, spoke with us on the impact Russia’s invasion […]
Editor’s note: Paul Lowrey did a presentation at the Tampa Steel Conference in February 2022 covering a range of industry issues. It was well received by the audience. and SMU asked him to do it again at Steel Summit 2022 with updates. This is an excerpt of his anticipated presentation. I’m approaching 30 years in […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor, May 11 The CRUspi plunged month-on-month (MoM) in May by over 8.6%, which is the largest percentage point decline since late 2008 and the second-largest ever in terms of total fallen points. Supply chain readjustments for both sheet and steelmaking raw materials in the […]