Written by: Sandy Williams Despite a record year for sales, Olympic steel reported a disappointing fiscal year with net earnings of $2.3 million after a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $6.6 million in the fourth quarter. In comparison, net earnings for 2011 were $25.0 million. Net sales for 2012 were a record $1.4 billion, up […]
Written by: Sandy Williams Reliance Steel reported an 18 percent drop in net income of $80.4 million in fourth quarter 2012. Net income for the year rose 17.4 percent year over year to 403.5 million. Sales of $1.89 billion for the fourth quarter were 7.1 percent lower than a year ago and down 8.1 percent […]
Canadian distributors shipped a total of 522,300 tons (all products) during the month of January. This is down 6.9 percent (actual) from the previous year. The daily shipping rate was 23,700 tons per day, a marked improvement from December’s 16,900 tons per day but barely above November’s 23,600 tons per day. On a seasonally adjusted […]
U.S. service centers shipped 3,643,600 tons of steel products during the month of January, according to Metal Service Center Institute data released earlier today. Total shipments (all products) averaged 165,600 tons per day, down significantly from the 177,300 tons per day shipped during January 2012. Total tonnage shipped was down 2.1 percent on an actual […]
High Steel Service Center LLC, of Lancaster, PA., recently introduced HIGHSL sheet and plate steel that is panel-flat and stress-free for laser processing. This product is new in the Mid-Atlantic Region and unique in that it helps fabricators eliminate waste, offer higher-quality products, and save cost. Produced on a new leveling line, the material will […]
CSN has been looking to expand their operations in the United States ever since they acquired the bankrupt Heartland Steel and turned it into CSN, LLC. The Terre Haute, Indiana rolling facility is capable of taking hot bands and converting them to either cold rolled or galvanized steel – with the vast majority of the […]
Written by: Sandy Williams Severstal NA sales of rolled products rose 17 percent in 2012 to 4.46 million tonnes (4.9 million net tons), up from 3.8 million tonnes (4.18 million net tons) in 2011. Fourth quarter sales were at 967,265 tonnes (1.06 million net tons), down 10 percent from the previous quarter. In 2012, Severstal […]
Esmark Inc., Stahlschmidt Inc. and Bouchard Group LLC have announced the joint acquisition of Esmark Technologies. Esmark Technologies will provide technical management services across the steel, manufacturing and industrial sectors and will be based in Cleveland Ohio. Esmark Inc., founded by Chairman and CEO James Bouchard, has strong roots in the steel industry. Current interests […]
Written by: Sandy Williams ArcelorMittal Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico recently launched production of specialized slabs for use in pipelines that transport sour gas. Lázaro Cárdenas is known as a leading producer of high quality, value added steel. In order to increase its share of the growing market for API (American Petroleum Institute) pipes, best technological practices […]
Written by: Sandy Williams At least eight new steel plants are under construction in Asia (not including India) that will increase the annual output capacity of steel in Asia by 100 million tonnes within the next few years. Currently China accounts for nearly 50 percent of global steel demand with its own annual output capacity […]
Canadian steel service centers shipped a total of 338,600 tons (all products) during the month of December 2012 – this represents a decline of 19.3 percent compared to last year (not adjusted, 16 percent seasonally adjusted) when the Canadian distributors shipped 419,500 tons. At the end of December, Canadian distributors ended the month with 1,832,800 […]
U.S. distributors grew annual shipments by 1.81 percent (all products) according to Metal Service Center Institute data during calendar year 2012. Shipments totaled 41,447,900 tons. Flat rolled shipments also rose during 2012 totaling 26,378,900 tons which represents an improvement of 2.39 percent over the previous year. Plate shipments were up by 2 percent, while pipe […]
The Metal Service Center Institute (MSCI) released service center shipment and inventory data for the month of December on Wednesday of this week. For total steel products, shipments were down slightly to 136,900 tons per day compared to 140,800 tons per day last year. On a seasonally adjusted basis shipments were 4.6 percent lower than […]
Written by: Sandy Williams Steel prices and buyers risks were discussed by John Anton, Director of IHS Steel Service, on Wednesday in the 2013 Steel Buyers Guide a webinar presentation by IHS Global Insight. Anton says right now it is a buyer’s market and there are significant savings to be had for those willing to […]