Friedman Industries has acquired PlatePlus Inc. facilities in East Chicago, Ind., and Granite City, Ill., including real estate, buildings, equipment, inventory, and other assets. The deal between the two service center groups closed on April 30, Friedman said. It includes not only steel inventory but also customer and supplier networks from Plateplus locations in Loudon, Tenn. […]
The steel market has adapted to the shock of the war in Ukraine – and it’s become clearer with each passing week that a steeper price decline than we have seen to date might be in store. I wrote on Thursday that the headline data from our latest survey indicated the market had peaked. I […]
US Steel is in the midst of a 45-day planned outage on the No. 8 blast furnace at its Gary Works in northwest Indiana. The outage began on April 11 and is for typical repairs, a spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker told SMU. She did not have an end date for the repairs. That said, […]
For the first four months of this year, the US and global economies have endured one shock after another. It’s hard to know what to expect whether you are running a business, regulating an industry, or feeding a family. This past week, the government announced that the US economy shrank in the first quarter at […]
US Steel is no longer importing pig iron from Ukraine and Russia for its Big River Steel Works – now the official name of its Osceola, Ark., electric arc furnace (EAF) sheet mill. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker has also mostly weaned its integrated steel mill in Košice, Slovakia, off Russian raw materials as well, they said. […]
US Steel posted the best first quarter earnings in company history and expects to set another new record in the second quarter. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker recorded net earnings of $882 million in the first quarter of 2022, up nearly tenfold from $91 million in the first quarter of 2021 on revenue that increased nearly 43% […]
Preliminary Census data shows that steel imports in March increased 31% month-over-month to 3.09 million net tons, rising from an 11-month low to a 2+ year high. April import licenses through April 24 are currently at 2.07 million tons, down 33% from March and down 12% compared to February. Preliminary finished steel imports were 2.52 million tons in March, up […]
We’ve all grown used to worrying about global supply chains and their shortcomings – as underscored by the pandemic, the chip shortage and the war in Ukraine. But it’s important not to forget that foreign supply chains aren’t the only ones that can get tangled up. And exotic problems don’t mean that long-standing issues – […]
US Steel is planning a 21-day maintenance outage on its No. 3 blast furnace at its Mon Valley Works in western Pennsylvania, a company spokeswoman confirmed to Steel Market Update (SMU). The outage, scheduled for mid-October, will be used to apply shotcrete – a sprayed concrete – and other standard upkeep. The furnace is located […]
Earlier this week, US Steel and Big River Steel notified customers of an upward revision to their galvanized steel coating extras. New USS extras are effective May 29, 2022, while BRS extras are effective June 4, 2022. “Input costs of zinc and aluminum for our Hot Dipped Galvanized and Galvalume products have continued to rise, […]
On Monday, April 18, Nucor and USS-UPI both notified customers of an upward revision to their galvanized steel coating extras. New Nucor extras are effective June 4, 2022, while USS-UPI extras are effective immediately (April 19, 2022). “Consistent with our practice to monitor the cost of zinc, we have revised our galvanized coating weight extras […]
US apparent steel supply levels slipped 11% from January to February, down 997,000 net tons to 8.37 million tons, according to the latest US Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) data. Recall that just last September, the market saw the highest monthly supply level in over six years (9.92 million tons). […]
US steel mills shipped 7.233 million net tons in February, a 7.4% increase from the same month last year when shipments totaled 6.753 million net tons, the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) said. But while shipments were up year over year, they were down 6.8% from January. Shipments by US steelmakers year-to-date through February […]
Voestalpine is in advanced talks to sell a majority stake in its hot-briquetted iron (HBI) plant in southern Texas, the company said. “In recent months, Voestalpine has been conducting an open-ended market sounding to stabilize the business model of its direct reduction plant in Corpus Christi, Texas.” The Austrian specialty steelmaker didn’t disclose a potential […]
US steel exports increased 5% in February to 727,000 net tons, following a 6% rise in January, according to the latest US Department of Commerce data. The 12-month moving average through February has now reached a 3-year high. February exports are 7% higher than levels seen one year ago. As shown in the graph below, […]
Final Census data confirms that February steel imports declined 23% month-over-month to 2.35 million net tons, now at an 11-month low compared to January’s two-year high. March import licenses through April 4 are up to 3.08 million tons, a 31% increase over February and 1% higher than January. Current April licenses are already at 449,000 […]
The US Commerce Department has decided to continue anti-dumping duties on cut-to-length plate from a dozen nations. It has also determined that countervailing duties – more than 250% – on plate from China should remain in place. The Sun Doesn’t Set on Steel Duties Those decisions follow an expedited “sunset” review that began on December […]
NLMK USA’s lawsuit claiming US Steel had misled the Commerce Department into denying the company Section 232 tariff exemptions was dismissed last week. The lawsuit was originally filed in January 2021 in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pa. NLMK alleged that US Steel undermined its requests for exemptions from Section 232 tariffs […]
Too much went on last week to limit this week’s column to a single issue. The Ukraine war touches everything these days, including almost all recent developments on the trade front. It was a week that, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, was “not entirely uneventful.” First, the NATO summit meeting took on issues that have divided Europe […]
U.S. Steel wants to make Big River Steel the leader in non-grain-oriented electrical steels (NGOES). To that end, the Pittsburgh-based integrated steelmaker will invest $450 million at Big River’s steel mill in Osceola, Ark., to target the growing demand from the electric vehicle market. Funded entirely from cash generated at Big River, the NGOES expansion […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary and found in CRU’s Zinc Monitor US steel mills have reportedly been taking more refined zinc over the past few weeks and the outlook for Q4 is looking slightly more positive according to market contacts. There have been suggestions that the uptick in spot demand from mills could be […]
Virtual Summit Networking – better than in real life? The SMU Steel Summit Virtual Conference will have a strong focus on networking, to facilitate business and to give you that human connection. From the minute you enter the virtual venue you’ll be able to see everyone else who is there and can start networking and […]
Today, Steel Market Update adjusted our flat rolled Price Momentum Indicator to Neutral. We are of the opinion, based on intelligence we are gleaning from steel buyers, that steel prices are in transition. We no longer believe prices on hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume will decline over the next 30 days. However, a […]
Only one out of four respondents to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week feel President Trump’s 25 percent tariff on steel imports will have a beneficial effect on their businesses. Most (62 percent) expect it to hurt business in the long term, while the remaining 13 percent predict it will have little effect […]
Barry Zekelman calls himself a free-trader. Yet his company, Zekelman Industries, filed a trade case last year alleging that Chinese producers of circular welded steel pipe were guilty of evading U.S. import duties. Espousing free trade while suing to block imports may seem like a contradiction, but Zekelman made a good case for his position […]
U.S. Steel announced the appointment of Kevin P. Bradley as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Bradley will lead all aspects of the company’s financial enterprise, including internal and external reporting, credit, tax and treasury services, investor relations, internal controls and internal audit administrative oversight. He will also assist in developing and implementing the […]
“I bet the next increase happens later this week or at the latest next Monday,” one mill executive told Steel Market Update (SMU) earlier this week. Soon, we were hearing similar comments about new flat rolled steel prices coming from others (non-mill) in the industry. As you all are well aware by now, the U.S. […]
Bedrock Industries received a deal on the purchase of Canada’s Stelco, acquiring it for less than $500 million, according to a report by the Hamilton Spectator. U.S. Steel originally purchased what was then a much larger Stelco for $1.1 billion in 2007. The many transactions required to satisfy creditors, pension payouts, retiree benefits, taxes and […]
All of the major flat rolled steel producers have approached their customers and advised them of their intention to increase hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume prices by a minimum of $30 per ton. As of this evening (Tuesday, June 6, 2017) we have seen price announcements out of California Steel Industries, USS Posco […]
Over the course of the day today (Tuesday, June 6, 2017) Steel Market Update (SMU) spent time communicating with top executives at some of the largest flat rolled steel service centers in the United States about the steel price increase announcements and about the market as it exists right now. Four service center presidents responded […]