Volvo has become the world’s first truck manufacturer to deliver electric trucks made with fossil-free steel. The Swedish auto manufacturer announced on Nov. 10 that the trucks are now being delivered to customers. According to a press release, Volvo began manufacturing the heavy-duty electric trucks in September. “Our journey to net zero emissions includes both […]
The US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) is updating import duties on hot-rolled steel flat products from Turkey and South Korea. The agency just released preliminary results in reviews of the countervailing duties on Turkish product and antidumping duties on South Korean product, according to Federal Register filings. In the initial results of […]
Nucor on Thursday confirmed its plate prices would remain unchanged with the opening of its December order book. Though the market was anxiously awaiting the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker’s announcement, few were surprised by it. Why? It’s not clear that a price decrease at this stage in the fourth quarter would generate buying. And it would devalue […]
The strong performance of SSAB Americas was a bright spot in Swedish parent company SSAB’s third quarter earnings report as the company’s European segment was impacted by weaker demand and low shipments. SSAB Americas posted Q3 operating profit of SEK 3,036 million (US$276.65 million) — a 61% improvement from the same quarter of 2021. The […]
The Biden administration is pushing its Federal Buy Clean Initiative to reduce carbon emissions from American industry and to support the purchase of low-carbon, made-in-America construction materials. The administration last week lauded two domestic steelmakers for their commitments to lower emissions and for participating in the initiative. Cleveland-Cliffs is the first domestic steel producer to […]
Well, earnings season is now well underway. We’ve seen the early reporters like steel processor Worthington Steel (who announced it will be splitting off its steel segment and creating two separate, publicly traded businesses), as well as tube producer Webco, and steel and metal manufacturer Commercial Metals Co. all report strong results in their latest earnings. […]
Well, I guess it’s the official outage and idling season. In the month of September alone we’ve confirmed a half dozen or more maintenance outages (some pulled forward) and temporary idlings. Why? It sure looks like some steelmakers are trying to deal with declining demand and uncertain market conditions. The hope? Somewhat of a stopgap measure […]
NLMK USA has planned a roughly month-long outage for upgrades to its electric-arc furnace (EAF) sheet mill in Portage, Ind. The work is scheduled for October and November and will be focused on enhancements to the plant’s melt shop and hot strip mill, a company spokesman said. NLMK USA in emails to customers specified the […]
US plate prices fell this week, responding to Nucor’s latest price announcement on Monday, Sept. 19. Price tags remain under pressure and further declines are expected through the fourth quarter as spot demand is likely to remain limited. But few expect Nucor’s latest plate price announcement to generate any immediate business, sources told SMU, speculating […]
SSAB is expanding its decarbonization efforts. The Swedish steel company recently announced its partnership with equipment manufacturer Oshkosh Corp. Oshkosh will receive fossil-free steel from SSAB to manufacture environmentally-friendly vehicles. “We are very happy to welcome Oshkosh Corp. into our partner group to be the first in the US to prototype fossil-free steel in commercial and […]
SSAB Americas is forging ahead to show customers, the government, and other stakeholders that it is serious about sustainability and achieving its ultimate goal of “net zero” emissions. The flat-rolled steelmaker recently released Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for its steel plate and coil products that show it is well ahead not just of others in […]
A planned maintenance outage at SSAB America’s 1.25-million-tons-per-year plate mill in Montpelier, Iowa, began this week, the company confirmed to Steel Market Update. The outage had been planned for October but was moved up into September and is now expected to last through Oct. 5. Costs related to the outage were previously anticipated to be […]
The transformation the steel industry has undergone has been accelerated over the past 18-24 months, with even greater dynamics underway, said a panel of steel executives and analysts during the first day of Steel Market Update’s 2022 Steel Summit conference in Atlanta, Ga. Demand trajectories across regions are diverging, finished steel consumption in China is […]
We had a big development this week with London-listed Russian steelmaker Evraz Plc announcing plans to sell its North American operations. A move like this has been rumored for some time. We’ve heard versions of it going back to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February. Still, it was something of a shock to […]
Austal USA has been contracted to build two more towing, salvage, and rescue ships (T-ATS) for the US Navy. The latest contract for the Mobile, Ala.-based shipbuilder, valued at $156 million, is in addition to two other T-ATS contracts awarded to the company last year. The T-ATSs support the Navy fleet operations with ocean-going tug, […]
Swedish steelmaker SSAB expects the heavy plate market in North America to remain relatively stable, reporting solid demand across most of its customer segments. SSAB Americas, which is made up of steel and plate production at its 1.25-million-tons-per-year mill in Montpelier, Iowa, reported increased operating profits in the second quarter despite lower year-on-year shipments. This […]
US plate prices have been holding steady and bucking the downtrend presently seen across sheet and coated products. Plate demand has remained largely steady, while buyers have maintained lean inventories, only taking volumes to fill gaps. The price dynamic has led to historically high premiums over hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices. Presently, plate prices are more […]
SSAB Americas will hold its raw materials surcharge, or RMS, on #1 Heavy Melting Scrap (HMS) unchanged effective July 31 on all spot orders and all contractual agreements. The Mobile, Ala-based steelmaker said the sideways move was due to a declining HMS #1 price tag, which is currently valued at $351 per gross ton, and […]
We are now eight weeks away from the start of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. Behind the scenes, there are dozens of SMU and CRU team members working diligently to ensure this year’s conference is exceptional for all our attendees. By exceptional, we mean entertaining content that is valuable and timely. And we also provide […]
We are now eight weeks away from the start of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. Behind the scenes, there are dozens of SMU and CRU team members working diligently to ensure this year’s conference is exceptional for all our attendees. By exceptional, we mean entertaining content that is valuable and timely. And we also provide […]
SSAB and Shape Corp., have partnered to deliver fossil-free steel crash management and body structure systems to the US market, the steelmaker said. The Grand Haven, Mich.-based tier-one automotive supplier of lightweight body structures, will be testing SSAB’s HYBRIT steel – made from hydrogen-reduced sponge iron – for use in automotive applications. “We are excited […]
Austal USA has won another contract with the US Navy. This latest design and construction contract is valued at $128 million. Austal will build a medium auxiliary floating dry dock for the US Navy at its shipbuilding facility in Mobile, Ala. The dry dock will have an overall length of 694 feet, an overall pontoon […]
There are 66 days to go before the start of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. The final agenda tweaks are being announced as we look to provide the most timely and relevant program for those attending this year’s conference. The conference starts on Monday, Aug. 22, at 9 a.m. It runs through Wednesday, Aug. […]
There are 66 days to go before the start of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. The final agenda tweaks are being announced as we look to provide the most timely and relevant program for those attending this year’s conference. The conference starts on Monday, Aug. 22, at 9 a.m. It runs through Wednesday, Aug. […]
SSAB and its green steel partners LKAB and Vattenfall have launched HYBRIT’s pilot facility for fossil-free hydrogen gas storage. The first-of-its-kind rock cavern storage facility is in Luleå, northeast Sweden. The launch of the new storage concept marks the beginning of a two-year test period, which will run until 2024, the company said. The unique […]
SSAB AB has named Leena Craelius as chief financial officer. Craelius had held the position of acting CFO since Nov. 1, 2021, succeeding Håkan Folin, who joined mining and infrastructure equipment make Epiroc. Craelius will take up her new position immediately and will be based in Stockholm, the Swedish steelmaker said in a press release […]
SSAB and Alfa Laval have partnered to develop a heat exchanger engineered with fossil-free steel, the first of its kind. The goal is to roll out the first unit made with hydrogen-reduced steel by 2023, SSAB said. “We’re proud to welcome Alfa Laval as a partner and look forward to jointly exploring ways forward to […]
Prices are down across the board this week. That’s not new if you’ve been paying attention lately. Price increases are often announced. Decreases rarely are. What’s new is Nucor’s almost aggressively transparent pricing strategy – announcing not only price increases but also flat and decreasing prices. That is new on the sheet and plate side […]
Carbon border adjustments could be an effective tool for rewarding clean steel production, but any efforts need to be comprehensive and very closely monitored, US steel industry executives said this week during the Town Hall Forum at the Association of Iron & Steel Technology’s AISTech 2022. To truly be effective, carbon border adjustments need to […]
Mill executives said they are ready for the demand infrastructure spending would generate during AISTech 2022’s Town Hall Forum in Pittsburgh this week. “The infrastructure bill is positive for the entire industry and for downstream industries, but we need to cut red tape,” Cleveland-Cliffs chairman, president and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said. “The bill is great. […]