Tag: Service Center

Ryerson Holding’s third-quarter sales and net income rose as shipments outperformed the company’s seasonal expectations. Management pointed to demand from data centers and power generation projects, gains in transactional business, and improving contract volumes, while describing demand across end markets as uneven. Chicago-based Ryerson’s latest earnings report released on Thursday shows third-quarter sales rose 8.6% sequentially to $2.18 billion. Shipments rose 1.2% despite the company's guidance for a seasonal decline. Net income attributable to Ryerson was $32 million, compared with $15.5 million in the second quarter. Compared with last year, sales were 87.5% higher and net income rose 316.2%.

Reliance Inc. is keeping a close eye on inventory as extended lead times, elevated prices, and tight material availability complicate purchasing decisions. Executives at the Phoenix-based service center said on Thursday's third-quarter earnings call that inventory levels were appropriate. The company is reducing excess inventory and focusing on inventory turns. Chief Financial Officer Arthur Ajemyan said inventory turns improved 10% year over year.

"Now, the problem is no longer the price. The problem is having access to steel." That would have made a good lead. But I can’t take credit for it. Those (very quotable) words are from Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman and CEO Lourenco Goncalves during the steelmaker’s quarterly earnings conference call on Monday. For a while, I thought the shortages we'd been hearing about might be mostly a problem for small- and mid-sized buyers. But we’re seeing even some of the biggest steel buyers talking openly about supply problems.

Reliance Inc. posted a third-quarter profit more than double that of a year ago on record quarterly sales. The stellar result came thanks to higher steel prices and a jump in tons sold. A government contract for the US border wall with Mexico drove a significant portion of those gains, the company said. And the Phoenix-based service center chain, North America’s largest, predicted that profits would continue to surge in the fourth quarter despite concerns about steel availability and geopolitical instability.

Alro Steel has opened a new, 245,000-square foot facility in Oviedo, Fla., a suburb of Orlando, Fla. The Jackson, Mich.-based service center said the new location would allow it to better serve the Orlando market. The company said the new facility will allow its original location in Orlando, established in 1982, to focus on plate processing. The Oviedo location “significantly increases Alro’s local inventory and processing capacity, providing customers with greater product availability, expanded processing options, and faster shipments,” Alro said in a press release posted earlier this week.

SMU’s Mill Order Index (MOI) surged in September, up for a fifth consecutive month and setting a record high. The increase came as service center on-order volumes and new mill order entries reached record highs—overtaking any prior high-water mark—including the post-pandemic snapback in demand, according to SMU’s latest service center inventory data. The MOI now stands at 162.7, up nearly 18% from 138.3 in August. The MOI was more than 35% above the average year-to-date (YTD) reading of 120.3, and up more than 100% year-on-year (y/y). Results suggest inventories remain uncomfortably lean as service centers try to restock in a market where spot tons are scarce, and contract tons are delayed. September intake surged by more than 21% month over month (m/m), exceeding outbound shipments by 15%. The result: service center inventories remained down more than 14% YTD vs. the same period a year earlier, even as shipments were ~3% higher.

On the face of it, nothing much changed in the US steel market this week. Lead times continue to extend. Inventories remain lean. And mills can pretty much name their price. Sheet lead times, which extend well into December, remain at the highest levels we’ve seen since 2021. Plate lead times, meanwhile, set a new record. At 11 weeks on average, they’re higher than anything we’ve recorded – including during the boom year of ’21.

Varsteel Ltd. has acquired two additional steel and aluminum service centers in Canada. The Lethbridge, Alberta-based company has added to its portfolio Acier Simmonds of Sherbrooke, Quebec, and Acier Menard of Granby, Quebec. The acquisition builds on Varsteel’s three most recent acquisitions and further expands its market presence in Quebec.

Worthington Steel said tight US steel supply, low imports, and extended lead times constrained shipments and quoting opportunities during its first fiscal quarter, even as the conditions supported pricing and spread sustainability.

Worthington Steel reported a surge in sales in its first quarterly results to include the Kloeckner acquisition, but the company posted a net loss as the acquisition reshaped its sales and operating mix.

SMU’s latest Flat-Rolled Steel Survey points to largely stable demand, but foreign steel orders have softened since the previous survey, and service centers continue to report stronger activity than manufacturers.

Fresh off SMU Steel Summit 2026, we are already looking ahead to Tampa. Join industry peers on March 7–9, 2027, for the 38th annual Tampa Steel Conference in Tampa, Florida. The event brings together steel producers, distributors, service centers, ports, logistics providers, and market experts to connect, exchange perspectives, and take the pulse of the […]

Worthington Steel marked another step in its takeover of Kloeckner & Co. The Columbus, Ohio-based service center group announced on Sept. 8 that it had signed a domination and profit-and-loss transfer agreement (DPLTA) with Kloeckner. This was pursuant to the rules of the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG). The DPLTA continues the process of integrating the German service center group. This follows Worthington’s successful voluntary takeover offer for Kloeckner in June and the delisting of Kloeckner shares on the regulated market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, effective Aug. 12.

Worthington Steel remains focused on further acquisitions after the completion of its buy of service center group Kloeckner & Co.

Tight steel availability and lean inventories are increasing pressure on US service centers, according to speakers on a service center panel on Wednesday, August 26, at the SMU Steel Summit 2026.

SMU’s Mill Order Index (MOI) grew further in July, up for a third straight month. The result came as service center on-order volumes and new order entries accelerated, according to our latest service center inventories data.

Premium Report: US service centers’ flat-rolled steel supply rose marginally in July, reversing course for the first time all year. Shipping days of supply ticked up to 45.6, according to SMU data. Service center shipments in were more than 4% below intake, noticeably trailing inbound volumes.

Lindsay Goldberg, a private investment firm specializing in family-owned and founder-led businesses, will make a significant strategic investment in Alro Steel.

Russel Metals posted record quarterly revenues and shipments in the second quarter, boosted by strong market conditions and the integration of seven Kloeckner Metals Co. facilities.

SPS Companies has acquired Jemison Metals, a carbon flat-roll service center and fabricator headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., from Jemison Investment Company.

Ryerson's profits skyrocketed in the second quarter as company executives touted the initial results following the integration of Olympic Steel.

Privately owned service center group Triple-S Steel has announced its acquisition of Camden Yards Steel Co., effective July 21.

Reliance Inc said that US government industrial policies contributed to its second-quarter financial success.

Strong steel prices and elevated interest rates may be reshaping the competitive landscape among metals distributors.

Reliance Inc.'s earnings improved in the second quarter, boosted by a US government project for the border wall with Mexico.

Spot market absorbs price hikes amidst booming plate demand 

Some hot-rolled coil market participants said they're optimistic that the market will remain strong throughout the rest of the year. 

US service centers’ flat-rolled steel supply was down marginally in June, and lower for a sixth straight month. Shipping days of supply slipped to 44.5, according to SMU data.

Worthington Steel has opened the acceptance period for its public delisting tender offer for all outstanding Kloeckner & Co SE shares.

If a trend of flat lead times holds, it would represent a change. And we’ve also seen a few of the other indicators we track slip from historic highs – so the potential shift is worth paying attention to.