SMU Community Chat
October 8, 2020
Tanners: Merger May Throw Curve at Steelmageddon
Written by Sandy Williams
The Cleveland-Cliffs/ArcelorMittal merger may throw a curve at the Steelmageddon theory, said Bank of America steel analyst Timna Tanners during Wednesday’s Steel Market Update Community Chat Webinar.
The Cliffs/AM combination includes two mills that are more than 100 years old and another that is 50 years old. A move by Cliffs to permanently close some older blast furnace production could offset some of the new EAF capacity coming online, resulting in better steel prices than projected in Tanners’ Steelmageddon scenario, which predicts excess capacity will lead to drastically lower prices over the next few years (see chart below). Cliffs has made no indication of such an intent with its newly acquired assets.
