Steel Mills
March 25, 2013
AK Steel Guides to Bigger 1Q Loss Than Expected
Written by Sandy Williams
AK Steel said its steel shipments will be 1.27 million to 1.30 million tons in the first quarter of 2013, compared to 1.4 million tons in the fourth quarter of 2012, since the normal cycle of spot pricing increases has floundered and not resulted in higher sales. Automotive market shipments are expected to surpass fourth quarter levels.
A higher priced product mix in the first quarter is expected to push average selling price per ton up by 5 percent from last quarter to $1060 per ton. Lower raw material costs should reduce costs for the first quarter.
