During my conference call with Cowen & Company and their customers last week I mentioned that I thought we could see a domestic mill price increase by the middle of May. My reasoning is inventories should begin to drop at the service center level and many of the end users want to tie up steel […]
According to the latest data released from the US Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute, apparent steel supply for the month of February 2015 is 8,968,831 net tons. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished US steel imports and subtracting total US steel exports. February supply […]
US Steel has revised their galvanized coating extras to those being used prior to October 1, 2014 when the last change was made. The new extras are lower than those used this past year. Here are the new extras being charged: The change in extras came as a surprise to some within the industry as […]
Our scrap sources are advising Steel Market Update that the scrap markets in the Midwest have been slow to settle with only a few deals done as of Tuesday morning. The expectation by those involved in the Midwest ferrous scrap markets is that the transactions will be completed over the next day or two. Most […]
On Easter Sunday, US Steel began the layoff of 165 employees at its Irvin plant at Mon Valley Works in West Mifflin, Pa. The layoffs are expected to be short term and according to Local Union 2227 President Kevin McKelvey, some of the workers could be back on the job as early as next week. […]
There have been so many announcements made by the integrated steel mills (US Steel and ArcelorMittal especially) since the beginning of 2015 we thought we would provide details on various blast furnace outages and other equipment and plants associated with steel making that have been affected by slowing order books in the energy sectors and […]
US Steel Canada will be in court on Thursday to settle the terms of sale for its steel mills, Hamilton Works and Lake Erie Works. Workers and the provincial government objected to a clause in the proposed plan which would freeze the sale process if any bidder’s offer included settlement of debts owed to it […]
Last week a number of steel mill CEO’s testified before the U.S. Congress about the flood of steel imports and the need to protect the domestic steel industry. Separate from the CEO’s testimony, former Nucur CEO called for quotas to be implemented against foreign steel which he considered to be unfairly traded. Steel Market Update […]
US Steel announced today it will adjust operations and temporarily idle a portion of its Minntac plant in Mount Iron, Minnesota, effective June 1st 2015. This is due to the company’s current iron ore inventory levels and ongoing adjustment of its steel making operations throughout North America. The company will continue to operate Minntac at reduced capacity […]
Earlier today, Steel Market Update adjusted our SMU Price Momentum Indicator from “Lower” to “Neutral.” Since November 16, 2014 the SMU Price Momentum Indicator has been pointing toward “Lower” steel prices. Prior to November 16th we had a period of time where our Momentum Indicator vacillated between Neutral and Lower going back to May 2014. […]
US Steel announced Wednesday it would consolidate its North American Flat-Rolled operations and temporarily idle operations at Granite City, Ill. Layoffs at Granite City will be effective on or after May 28, 2015. Granite City is the primary supplier for US Steel Lone Star Tubular which was issued layoff notices in January due to the […]
First, before everyone goes completely crazy regarding the US Steel announcement to “idle” the Granite City Works steel plant, SMU has been told by Courtney Boone, US Steel media spokesperson, that the plant would not go down prior to May 28, 2015. A lot can happen (and will happen) in the industry prior to that […]
A blustery March 25th marked the beginning of the Great Lakes shipping season and the opening of the Soo Locks. The first lake freighter to enter the Locks was the Edwin H. Gott from Great Lakes Fleet Inc. The Gott, named for the former US Steel chairman and CEO, entered the Locks at 11:05 a.m. […]
The following information is from the United States Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs concerning an accident at US Steel Fairfield in September 2014. Steel Market Update spoke to the U.S. Department of Labor who told us that the press release was not unusually harsh and the Labor Department was going with “narrative releases” […]
Three steel industry executives met in Washington D.C. on Thursday at the Congressional Steel Caucus to discuss state of the US steel industry and the impact unfairly traded imports have had on jobs and manufacturing. Revisions to the “material injury” standards were proposed to add language that clearly defines indicators of injury and allows relief […]
ArcelorMittal Cleveland is planning several maintenance outages over the next few months. A vessel reline at No. 1 basic oxygen furnace (BOF) begins on March 23 and will be completed by the middle of second quarter. The No. 1 steel producing facility will continue operations with one vessel throughout the outage period. The C-5 blast […]
On a seasonally adjusted annual rate, light vehicle sales weakened in February to 16.2 million units, down from 16.7 million units in January but still up by 5.2 percent from February last year. The probable cause was inclement weather at the end of the month. Analysts had been expecting sales at a 16.7 million annual […]
This month we will start with words from Armada Executive intelligence which sum up the present situation nicely: “Last week it was made abundantly clear just how sensitive the markets are to the discussions at the Fed. There was a perception that Janet Yelled was pushing an interest rate increase off to at least September. […]
US Steel announced today it will move forward with two capital projects at Fairfield Works in Birmingham, Alabama. The announcement follows approval by Jefferson County commissioners for more than $14 million in tax abatements on the two investments over the next 10 years. The projects planned for Fairfield Works are a $230 million electric arc […]
A plan to sell US Steel Canada plants Hamilton and Lake Erie Works will be sent for court approval March 30. The prepared court documents outline a plan for “soliciting interest in and opportunities for a sale, restructuring or recapitalization of the assets and business operations” of US Steel Canada. The two-step sale process involves […]
Chinese steel exports to the U.S. in January 2015 were 40 percent higher than in January 2014, according to World Steel Association data. As Chinese domestic demand weakens, exports have flooded not only the U.S. but nations across the globe. The resulting depressed prices and undercutting of domestic steel production has led to increased government […]
The United Steel Workers will be negotiating new contracts with U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal later this year. The current three-year contracts expire August 31, 2015. Discussions start a few months before and serious bargaining begins about a month before contract expiration, said USW Communications Director Wayne Ranick. Contract negotiations are frequently contentious battles as evidenced […]
US Steel has cut 83 more workers at Gary Works as it adjusts production to respond to market fluctuations. The latest cuts are probationary employees at the Gary Works steel complex who have worked for the company six months or less. US Steel spokesperson Sarah Casella said the layoffs are permanent. “The company routinely adjusts […]
The domestic steel mills are resorting to adjustments in supply as a weapon against the chronic short lead times which are helping to push flat rolled steel prices lower and lower. The heavy lifting is being done by the integrated steel mills, especially by U.S. Steel which has taken three blast furnaces down over the […]
US Steel operations at Minnesota Ore Operations-Keetac will be temporarily idled as of May 13. The company said the idling is due to “current inventory levels and adjustment of its steelmaking operations throughout North America to match customer demand.” US Steel cited global influences in the market, including unfairly traded imports, as contributors to a […]
Net imports equals imports minus exports. We regard this as an important look at the overall trade picture and its effect on demand at the mill level. Figure 1 shows that net sheet product imports on a three month moving average (3MMA) basis in January were almost double that which existed before the recession. The […]
Apparent steel supply for the month of January 2015 was 10,378,392 net tons (9,415,130 metric tons). Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished US steel imports and subtracting total US steel exports. January supply represents a 992,133 ton or 10.6 percent increase compared to the same month one year ago. […]
Steel Market Update has received a number of inquiries recently asking questions about the potential for a trade case or anti-dumping filing by the domestic mills against foreign steel imports. In particular, the imports in question are cold rolled and coated steels and, the country mentioned the most is China, although if there is a […]
The monthly value of the Federal Reserve Broad Index value of the US $ against our major trading partners has continued to strengthen and in January reached 92.44 after breaking 90 in December for the first time since July 2009. The monthly BI is a “Real” inflation adjusted index. The Fed also reports a daily […]
US Steel told union workers it will permanently shut down coke-making operations at the Gary Works facility in Indiana. The closure will affect 300 employees and take place in mid May. A US Steel spokesperson said, “This strategic decision was made in light of the company’s long-term coke position and the future anticipated steelmaking operations, […]