Contributor: Sandy Williams

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Orders for manufactured durable goods rebounded in May after a surprise tumble of 0.8% (revised) in April. Orders rose 2.3 percent to $253.3 billion, reported the U.S. Census Bureau. Transportation led the increase after falling in April due to the semiconductor shortage that stalled auto production. Transportation jumped 7.6%, more than reversing April’s revised decline […]

Demand for design services from architecture firms in the U.S. continued to be robust in May, said the American Institute of Architects. AIA’s Architecture Billings Index rose to 58.5 from 57.9 in April for one of the highest scores in the ABI’s 25-year history. The ABI has expanded every month since January. The index for […]

Sales of new single-family homes in May slipped 5.9% from April’s downward revised estimate to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 769,000, the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday. Sales were 9.2% higher than in May 2020. Sales declined in four of the last five months, falling from the 12-month peak of 993,000 homes sold in […]

SSAB and its green steel partners LKAB and Vattenfall claim to have made a major breakthrough in environmentally friendly steelmaking. The HYBRIT team said it has produced the world’s first hydrogen-reduced sponge iron, a major step toward fossil-free steel. The HYBRIT pilot plant in Sweden – a joint project undertaken by steelmaker SSAB, iron ore […]

Existing-home sales fell for the fourth month in a row in May, reports the National Association of Realtors. Sales rose 16% from April in the Midwest but declined in the South, East and West. On a year-over-year basis, sales rose by double-digits in all regions. Sales fell 0.9% from April to a seasonally adjusted annual […]

The Ashland Works steel mill is coming down after operating for the better part of 100 years on the Ohio River. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. confirms that it will demolish the idled Kentucky mill that it acquired from AK Steel in 2019. Although there were initial discussions about restarting the mill to produce pig iron, ultimately the […]

The next three months will be challenging, said metalforming companies in the June 2021 Precision Metalforming Business Conditions Report. Only 36% of companies expect an improvement in economic activity during the period, down from 41% in May, while 12% anticipate a decline in activity, up from 10% in the previous month. The percentage of respondents […]

Algoma Steel recouped its losses from Q3 FY 2021 to report net income of $91.5 million ($114 million CAD) for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year. Third quarter’s loss totaled $59 million ($73.5 million CAD); net income of $15.2 million ($19 million CAD) was reported in Q4 2020. In a report issued June 17, […]

Commercial Metals Company posted record earnings of $130 million on net sales of $1.8 billion in the third quarter of FY 2021. Results were the best the company has achieved in its 106-year history. “CMC achieved exceptional results during the third quarter,” said Chairman, President and CEO Barbara Smith. “Demand for our products was robust […]

Housing starts picked up the pace in May, jumping 3.6% from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,572,000, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Single-family starts rose 4.2% and construction on homes of five units or more increased 4%. “Single-family starts […]

It is a good time to be a steel producer. Both Steel Dynamics and Nucor are expecting record earnings for the second quarter of 2021 supported by strong demand and unprecedented steel prices. And U.S. Steel expects second quarter adjusted EBITDA more than double that in the first. SDI expects earnings to be in the range […]

Manufacturing growth in New York State slowed a bit in June, according to the data collected in the Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The general business index fell seven points to 17.4. Indices for new orders and shipments fell by double digits from May, sliding 12.6 points and 16.5 points, respectively. Unfilled orders were slightly higher. […]

Like the flat rolled steel they are made from, prices for pipe and tube products have increased in June. Leading producers said they are upping their prices due to rising raw materials costs, strong demand and volatile transportation charges. EXLTUBE led off a series of tubular price jumps with a $160 per net ton increase […]

Cleveland-Cliffs increased its second-quarter and full-year 2021 guidance in an announcement on Tuesday. Second-quarter adjusted EBITDA is projected at $1.3 billion and full-year 2021 at $5 billion. The increase is based on current contracts and assumes that the U.S. HRC price index will average $1,176 per net ton for the remainder of the year. The […]

The Tenaris melt shop in Koppel, Pa., is fired up and underway after a $15-million, year-long upgrade. It will soon supply steel bars for the company’s seamless pipe mills in the U.S. and Canada. The facility is Tenaris’ first U.S. melt shop and was part of the 2020 acquisition of TMK IPSCO. The upgrade expanded […]

Worthington Industries has acquired certain assets of Shiloh Industries’ U.S BlankLight® business for $105 million. The deal expands Worthington’s capacity and capability with the addition of three facilities, located in Ohio and Michigan, to the company’s laser-welded products joint venture, TWB Company LLC. A fourth facility in Kentucky will operate under Worthington’s Steel Processing business, expanding […]

Crowe LLP, a public accounting, consulting and technology firm, announced two new executive appointments of particular interest to those in the steel and manufacturing industries. Scott L. Spencer, CPA, has been named managing partner of the manufacturing and distribution services group at Crowe LLP. In this role, Spencer will oversee the delivery of the firm’s […]

Steel prices will correct sharply as supply catches up with demand, potentially falling back to an average of $575 per ton ($28.75 per cwt) in 2022, according to one leading industry analyst. “This too will pass,” was the title chosen by Timna Tanners, metals and mining analyst at Bank of America, for her SMU Community […]

A deadline has been set by the European Union and the U.S. to end Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs, and any retaliatory measures, by Dec. 1, according to a draft communiqué obtained by Reuters. An announcement of the agreement is expected at the G7 Summit next week in Brussels. “We commit to work towards […]

A 100-day review, authorized by President Biden, was released this week to address vulnerabilities in critical U.S. supply chains. The report, “Building Resilient Supply Chains, Revitalizing American Manufacturing, and Fostering Broad-Based Growth,” was prepared by the departments of Commerce, Energy, Defense, and Health and Human Services. The 250-page report included recommendations not only for reducing […]

United Steelworkers at ArcelorMittal Mines and Infrastructure Canada have ended their strike and ratified a new four-year labor contract with the company.  “We are happy to turn the page on this conflict. The past few weeks have been a time to pause and start anew. We look forward to welcoming back our employees, and I […]

A deadline has been set by the European Union and the U.S. to end Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs, and any retaliatory measures, by Dec. 1, according to a draft communiqué obtained by Reuters.  An announcement of the agreement is expected at the G7 Summit next week in Brussels. “We commit to work towards […]

ArcelorMittal completed its first XCarb™ innovation fund investment, investing $10 million in renewable energy technology company Heliogen to “unlock the power of sunlight to replace fossil fuels.” Heliogen’s technology harnesses solar energy by using a multi-acre field of mirrors as a magnifying glass to concentrate and capture sunlight. The sunlight can then be converted into […]

JSW Steel (USA) and JSW Ohio are accusing Nucor, U.S. Steel and Cleveland Cliffs of conspiring to boycott and deny critical semi-finished steel slab to the company. A lawsuit filed on June 8 alleges that the three steel giants have formed a cartel that has cost JSW millions of dollars in lost profit.  According to […]

Nucor will purchase Cornerstone Building Brand’s insulated metal panels (IMP) business for a cash price of $1 billion dollars. The purchase is expected to close later this year, pending regulatory approval. The transaction includes seven manufacturing facilities located throughout North America that will complement Nucor Buildings Group and the company’s existing IMP business, TrueCore, the […]

The Dodge Momentum Index soared 9.1% to register 178.0 in May due to a brisk increase in commercial planning activity. The May report marks the seventh consecutive gain for the index. Several large data center, office and warehouse projects entered the planning phase last month resulting in a 13-year high for the commercial component of […]

ArcelorMittal Mines and Infrastructure Canada have reached tentative agreement with the United Steelworkers on a new labor contract following government-mediated negotiations. If ratified, the four-year collective labor agreement will cover 2,500 members in five union locals working at ArcelorMittal mining operations in northern Quebec. Workers launched a strike on May 10 after voting to reject a […]

The U.S. International Trade Commission voted to continue antidumping orders on imports of cut-to-length carbon steel plate from China, Russia and Ukraine. Removing the orders, said the Commission in its sunset review, would “likely lead to continuation of recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time.” The original investigation into CTL steel plate imports […]

Construction employment fell for the third time in the past four months, according to an analysis of government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Construction employment fell by 20,000 jobs from the downwardly revised April data to a seasonally adjusted employment total of 7,423,000. The total in May remained 225,000 less than in […]