SSAB Americas, recorded a third quarter operating loss of SEK 73 million ($8.1 million) compared to a profit of SEK 162 million ($18 million) in Q2 2016. The loss was due mainly to the maintenance outage at Montpelier in the third quarter, higher variable costs, lower volumes and lower capacity utilization which was somewhat offset […]
With all of the domestic steel mills announcing $30 per ton price increases either late last week or early this week, the industry is waiting to see if there was a surge of orders and how those orders have impacted lead times. Everyone knows if lead times begin to extend then buyers will have no […]
On Friday morning US Steel got the ball rolling by announcing a $30 per ton price increase on all spot sales of flat rolled steel (hot rolled, cold rolled and coated products). Before the afternoon was out two other steel mills followed: Nucor and California Steel Industries. On Monday a number of mills were heard […]
Steel Market Update has been reporting flat rolled steel service centers had reached the point of “capitulation” earlier this month. History has shown that when the service centers reach the point of capitulation they tend to support flat rolled steel price increases being made by the domestic steel industry. Essentially, the steel distributors are attempting […]
On Friday morning US Steel became the first domestic steel producer to announce a flat rolled steel price increase. Later in the day Nucor and California Steel Industries (CSI) followed with similar announcements. SMU expects other steel mills to follow with announcements of their own as this new week gets underway. On October 21, 2016 […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) made two market adjustments on Friday afternoon (Friday, October 21st). We have adjusted the range on our hot rolled index to $440 per ton on the low end up to $500 per ton on the high side. Our average is now $470 per ton ($23.50.cwt). This is $10 per ton lower […]
Essar Global has teamed up with Cargill Inc. to make a bid for US Steel Canada, according to the Globe and Mail. Essar’s bid was rebuffed by USSC in June of 2016 and again as the entity Ontario Steel in August, despite the backing of the United Steelworkers. Bedrock Industries is the current favorite for […]
The final three holdouts in the Standard Iron Works v. ArcelorMittal et al. antitrust litigation have come to a settlement. Steel Dynamics, Nucor and SSAB have agreed to settle price-fixing claims for a combined total of $30 million. Steel Dynamics issued an announcement on Tuesday that it will pay $4.6 million in the class action […]
One of my habits when writing this newsletter is to hold my Final Thoughts until after the vast majority if not the entire newsletter is complete. At that point I try to absorb what has transpired through the day and many times that day flows well into the evening. I think this is one of […]
US Steel Canada court monitor Alex Morrison reported sales were good in August, resulting in revenue of CAD $144.6 million. EBITDA increased by $30.7 million from July. Shipments were up 19.7 percent year-over-year to 192,734 tons. The company has been successful in replacing sales to automotive customers that were lost when US Steel cut ties […]
The conversation has begun regarding when flat rolled steel prices will end their slide and reverse course. Flat rolled steel prices have been in a steep decline since mid-June 2016 when benchmark hot rolled prices peaked at $635 per ton ($31.75/cwt, SMU index average) FOB domestic mill. Since then steel prices have retreated $145 per […]
The Vietnam steel industry is between the proverbial rock and hard place. U.S. steel manufacturers claim that Vietnamese exporters are party to China’s circumvention of antidumping and countervailing duties on cold rolled steel and are calling for AD duties to match those on China products. Vietnam’s influx of Chinese steel is also a concern for […]
According to the latest data released from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute, apparent steel supply for the month of August 2016 was 9,115,482 net tons and the percentage of imports was 26.2 percent of the market. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished […]
We include here an unabridged statement from the IMF that was released on Tuesday this week which forecasts economic growth for all regions and nations through 2021. The IMF reduced its forecast for economic growth in the US in 2016 from 2.4 percent in the April forecast to 1.68 percent and in 2017 from 2.5 […]
A welder at US Steel Gary Works died on Friday while working in the U.S. Steel Slab Storage Yard. Details about the fatality are still unclear and the incident is under investigation. US Steel issued the following statement: “On the evening of Friday, September 30, there was an incident at U. S. Steel’s Gary Works […]
In light of the recent circumvention complaint against China/Vietnam we thought our readers would be interested in learning what countries have been in the top ten exporters of galvanized steel to the United States beginning in 2008 through July 2016. Canada has consistently been a major supplier of galvanized to the U.S. market. SMU thinks […]
Worthington Industries delivered record earnings in the first quarter of FY 2017 (ending August 31, 2016). Net sales totaled $737.5 million for net earnings of $65.6 million. Gross margin increased $34.3 million year-over-year to $147.3 million primarily due to inventory holding gains of $17 million in Steel Processing which were partly offset by lower volume […]
Steel Market Update spoke with two sources regarding the most recent complaint filed by the domestic mills against Vietnam and China for circumvention of duties (China) on cold rolled and CORE (corrosion resistant steels such as galvanized and Galvalume) products. One of the tenants behind the accusations made by the domestic steel mills is the […]
On Thursday, September 22, 2016 four steel mills: ArcelorMittal USA, Nucor, AK Steel and US Steel submitted petitions asking the US Department of Commerce to review imports of cold rolled and corrosion resistant steels (galvanized and Galvalume) arriving in the United States from Vietnam as actually being a way for China to circumvent antidumping and […]
We received the following comments from a member of the financial investment community regarding the suits just filed by the domestic mills alleging the transformation of hot rolled to cold rolled or coated from China in Vietnam was just a way for China to circumvent U.S. trade duties. The complaint states that the transformation of […]
We might as well get the debate started. The circumvention complaints against Vietnam have prompted comments and a healthy discussion is needed as the industry tries to wrap its collective mind around the facts of the latest request of the US Department of Commerce to stop Vietnamese exports of cold rolled and coated steels. We […]
US Steel Canada has moved closer to a resolution of creditor protection proceedings and a sale of the company. The government of Ontario and Bedrock Industries announced they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate the restructuring of US Steel Canada. The MOU terms are confidential but Ontario says it has agreed to support […]
Steel service centers in the United States shipped a total of 3,378,700 tons of steel (all products) during the month of August, according to data just released by the Metal Service Center Institute (MSCI). The daily shipment rate improved by 1,000 tons per day during August compared to July as the distributors shipped 146,900 tons […]
Retirees of US Steel Canada are appealing the decision by the Ontario Superior Court to uphold the suspension of benefits to former workers at Hamilton and Lake Erie Works. A new report by the Monitor assigned to the CCAA proceedings shows US Steel Canada has more cash available than projected–$160 million at the end of […]
The uncertainty in the market (called the “blahs” by a number of our steel sources) is affecting both buyers and sellers of steel. Steel mills have been doing all that they can in an attempt to keep flat rolled steel prices from slipping too far. One of our mill sources had a sense of humor […]
US Steel President and CEO Mario Longhi said he is encouraged by the affirmative determinations in the recent AD/CVD investigations of hot-rolled, cold-rolled and corrosion resistant steels. Said Longhi in a statement released following the ITC determination on hot-rolled steel: “It is clear that the International Trade Commission recognized the significance of this case to […]
Much has been made about the number of shutdowns there will be at various steel mills due to planned maintenance outages. Steel Market Update has been working with a number of our buyer sources to come up with a tentative schedule of the various projects due in the 4th Quarter 2016. This is our “best […]
Pensioners at US Steel Canada lost another court battle to put their pension claims ahead of US Steel’s debt claims. A ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeals on Friday, upheld a decision made by Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel in March. Pensioners, provincial government, and former Stelco president Bob Milbourne claimed that US Steel, the largest […]
According to the latest data released from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute, apparent steel supply for the month of July 2016 was 9,095,385 net tons. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished US steel imports, then subtracting total US steel exports. July apparent […]
US Steel presented its arguments to the US International Trade Commission on why its Section 337 price fixing claim should not be terminated. Counsel for US Steel told Administrative Law Judge Dee Lord that the Respondents from China have presented a “flawed misapplication of law governing pricing fixing and Section 337 investigations.” “Accepting Respondents’ erroneous […]