Manufacturing activity in New York State changed very little from October to November. The general business conditions component of the Empire State Manufacturing Index posted a 2.9 for November, indicating sluggish manufacturing growth for the sixth consecutive month. The shipments index fell four points to 8.8 and new orders increased slightly to 5.5, still above […]
Manufacturers still face slowing business conditions for 2020, according to the Deloitte 2020 Manufacturing Industry Outlook. Deloitte projects that annual manufacturing GDP growth will end 2019 at 2.7 percent and at 1.3 percent for 2020, down from prior projections of 3.7 and 2.0 percent, respectively. Job growth was muted in 2019 with the manufacturing sector […]
The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU) and other trade associations are calling for sunset provisions to be included in any comprehensive Section 232 tariff reform legislation considered by Congress. A letter sent today to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley and Ranking Member Ron Wyden emphasizes the damage Section 232 tariffs are […]
United Auto Workers have ratified a new four-year contract with Ford with the approval by 56.3 percent of union members. The new contract includes a $9,000 signing bonus for full-time workers, performance bonuses, two 3 percent annual raises and two 4 percent lump sum payments. Health care costs remain unchanged. “Every Ford employee and temporary […]
Favorable winds are blowing for Nucor Steel in Missouri. The company will start production at its new rebar micro-mill in Sedalia, Mo., by the end of December powered by clean energy provided by Evergy Inc. Evergy has plans to build a windfarm at the Sedalia site that will offset 100 percent of the energy used […]
Housing starts grew 3.8 percent from September to October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,314,000 and rose 8.5 percent from October 2018, according to the latest report from the Commerce Department and U.S. Housing and Urban Development. Single-family housing starts were up 2 percent from September and housing starts in buildings of five […]
The first U.S.-flagged Great Lakes bulk carrier to be built in more than 35 years will be made from steel supplied by ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor. The carrier was commissioned by Interlake Steamship Company and will be built by Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding. A ceremony celebrating the first cut of steel for the new vessel was held at […]
Change and growth, both personal and professional, were the dominant topics at the 2019 Annual Conference of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries, held in San Antonio Nov. 6-9. Beginning with a workshop by Asbury Group CEO Kailei Carr—”Unveil Your Most Powerful Self”—and ending with Anne Phelon, CEO at Merrett Davies International—”Moving from […]
AK Steel Ashland rolled its final coil on Monday, Nov. 11, at 10:14 a.m. The Kentucky plant is expected to close its doors for good on Dec. 31. “Everyone was walking the line, and as we walked the line, everyone watched it,” said Brian Boggs, an electronics technician at the mill, in a comment to […]
Canadian integrated steelmaker Stelco managed to improve on its revenues and operating income from the second to the third quarter, but still reported an $11 million loss in Q3 adjusted net income. The company plans to expand its product mix by adding pig iron production and shipments in 2020. Third-quarter revenue of CAD $475 million […]
U.S. Steel announced on Wednesday a new target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions intensity. As part of its “best of both” strategy, U.S. Steel said it will reduce its global greenhouse gas emissions intensity 20 percent by 2030, based on 2018 baseline levels. Emissions intensity is measured by the rate of carbon dioxide equivalents emitted […]
Flack Global Metals says it will move forward on plans to build a new coil coating and downstream processing facility adjacent to Big River Steel in Osceola, Ark. The new facility will cost approximately $150 million and create more than 150 new jobs. This investment, if completed, will add production capability to the Big River […]
Allegheny Technologies Inc. and NLMK USA have signed a one-year agreement to extend and expand carbon steel hot rolling conversion services for NLMK at ATI’s Hot-Rolling and Processing Facility (HRPF) in Brackenridge, Pa., through December 2020. ATI expects 2020 volumes to increase significantly compared to 2019 levels and provide guaranteed volumes and fixed fee-per-ton revenues, […]
British Steel may soon have a new owner—China’s Jingye Group. British Steel has been under government receivership since May after it could no longer meet its financial obligations. At stake are 4,000 UK jobs at the Scunthorpe and Teeside plants, 1,000 in France and the Netherlands, and about 20,000 supply chain jobs. British Steel produces […]
ArcelorMittal USA will shut down its blast furnace #3 at Indiana Harbor West. The furnace has reached the end of its current operational life and will be taken down in a safe and orderly fashion, said a spokesperson for the company. The furnace could be restarted in the future “if customer demand merits the necessary […]
U.S. Steel initiated layoffs for some of its non-union staff on Friday, citing challenging market conditions requiring a leaner and more efficient organization. The layoffs are related to restructuring plans that were announced in early October. “While market headwinds persist, we continue to focus on what we can control, including re-scoping our asset revitalization investments […]
Big River Steel announced it will be the long-term provider of high-quality steel products to Array Technologies, an industry-leading solar tracking manufacturer. Array was committed to finding a source of steel products that would allow the company to maintain its commitment to providing reliable renewable energy not only in their product design but also through […]
Olympic Steel reported third-quarter net sales of $384 million, a 16 percent decline from third-quarter 2018 due to lower shipping volumes and pricing in the carbon flat segment. Net income was $591,000 for the quarter, down from $11.6 million in Q3 2018. “Softer global demand, unsettled trade agreements, excess global steel capacity and overall market […]
The Dodge Momentum Index increased 6.9 percent in October to 152.6 from a revised September reading of 142.7. The Momentum Index, issued by Dodge Data & Analytics, is a monthly measure of the first report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which has been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full […]
AK Steel Chief Financial Officer Jaime Vasquez will retire from the company effective Nov. 30, 2019. Christopher Ross, current AK Steel Vice President and Treasurer, has been named interim CFO and Treasurer, effective Nov. 5. “Jaime’s experience and financial focus have served the company well as we forged a new strategic path,” said CEO Roger […]
Olympic Steel announced the appointment of Daniel Harnois to General Manager of Berlin Metals, effective Nov. 1. Harnois will be responsible for driving profitable growth for Berlin Metals and will report directly to Andrew Wolfort, Regional Vice President and General Manager. Berlin Metals is an Olympic Steel company that specializes in tin mill products, stainless […]
The last few weeks have been busy ones for the U.S. auto industry. A 40-day strike by the United Auto Workers at General Motors ended with ratification of a new four-year labor agreement, allowing negotiations to move forward at Ford. Ford negotiations wrapped up in just three days with a tentative agreement now ready to […]
The global manufacturing downturn showed some signs of easing in October. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI posted 49.8, still in contraction but rising for the third consecutive month. The intermediate goods sector fell to a three-month low of 48.8, but PMIs for consumer and investor goods saw expansion in October. The Eurozone remained in contraction […]
ArcelorMittal is withdrawing from a deal to acquire the troubled Italian steel plant Ilva after the government removed legal protection for the company while it brings the mill up to environmental standards. On Monday, AM InvestCo Italy sent a notice to Ilva’s commissioners that it will withdraw from or terminate the agreement. Ruling political party […]
The Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing PMI remained in contraction in October with a reading of 48.3, the third month of contraction, indicating continued softening in the manufacturing sector. The October reading was an increase of 0.5 percentage points from September. Nine of the ten components of the index registered below the neutral point of […]
Lower prices for line pipe and less drilling activity in the U.S. and Argentina contributed to declining tubular sales for OCTG producer Tenaris. Net tubular sales for the company totaled $1.8 billion in the third quarter, down 8 percent sequentially and year-over year, on shipments of 796,000 metric tons. Tubular shipments fell 6 percent from […]
The Associated General Contractors of America maintains that trade fights with China, the EU and other countries are undermining demand for private sector construction projects. “The best way to make sure our economy continues to expand is to quickly resolve a series of trade disputes that have contributed to business uncertainty and likely held back […]
Liberty Steel plans to merge all of its GFG Alliance steel businesses into one global entity—Liberty Steel Group. The consolidation will include GFG’s upstream and downstream steel manufacturing, mining and distribution businesses that encompass 10 countries and 30,000 employees. Liberty Steel Group claims it will be the eighth largest steel producer outside of China with 18 […]
AK Steel eked out a net income of $2.8 million in the third quarter, down from $66.8 million in Q2 and $67.2 million in Q3 2018. Included in net income was a $15.3 million mark-to-market loss from iron ore derivatives. Net sales of $1.5 billion fell 12 percent year-over-year and 9 percent from the second […]
FCA and Peugeot announced a $48 billion merger on Thursday that will make the combined company the fourth largest automaker in the world. The 50/50 merger will have combined revenues of nearly $190 billion and annual unit sales of about 8.6 million vehicles. Together the company will employ roughly 410,000 employees. Peugeot parent PSA Group […]