Steel Mills
September 19, 2019
U.S. Steel Offers Gloomy Guidance
Written by Sandy Williams
U.S. Steel is feeling the pain of falling steel prices and deteriorating market conditions. The company expects an earnings loss of 35 cents per diluted share for the third quarter of 2019 compared to a profit of 39 cents per share in the second quarter. The company followed Nucor and Steel Dynamics in lowering guidance for the quarter.
Declining steel prices in the second quarter and a larger than anticipated drop in scrap prices are expected to negatively impact earnings in the second half of 2019. As a result, U.S. Steel will extend the idling of two U.S. blast furnaces until at least the end of the year. The company’s U.S. flat-rolled shipments are expected to drop to 10.7 million tons.
