Buyers Ponder Merger of Major Integrated Mills

Cleveland-Cliffs’ purchase of ArcelorMittal USA took many steel buyers by surprise this week. Initial reactions from some Steel Market Update readers ranged from “a major development” to “business as usual.” Here are some of their comments:

“Quite surprised by this development. Initial reaction is this gives them an incredibly strong position with automotive. Not sure about other end-use markets. This additional consolidation does not guarantee pricing power as there is still plenty of competition in the North American market.”