The U.S. Coast Guard commenced ice breaking on the lower St. Mary’s River last week in preparation for the 2019 Great Lakes shipping season and opening of the Soo Locks on March 25. The USCG will begin ice breaking operations in Sturgeon Bay on Friday. A tug and barge docked in Cleveland on Tuesday, ahead […]
U.S. Steel announced that it has accepted an award from the High-Performance Computing for Manufacturing Program (HPC4Mfg) Special Call: Steel and Aluminum, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, to expand the company’s manufacturing capabilities for advanced high-strength steel. The winning U.S. Steel project, drafted by researchers Evgueni Nikitenko and Susan Farjami at U.S. Steel’s […]
Orders for manufactured durable goods increased for the third month in a row, gaining 0.4 percent in January despite economists’ predictions of a decline. Orders were driven by an increase in transportation orders, especially orders for civilian aircraft, which grew 15.9 percent. Excluding the volatile transportation category, durable goods orders declined 0.1 percent. Core capital […]
Stelco, one of the most technologically advanced integrated steelmaking facilities in North America, will take another step forward in the technology realm. Stelco has signed an agreement with Canvass Analytics to use the Canvass AI software to transform operational data into “actionable intelligence.” “By partnering with Canvass Analytics, we are systematically transforming our facilities into […]
Algoma Steel announced today the appointment of Michael McQuade as Chief Executive Officer. McQuade will succeed Kaylan Ghosh who served as CEO prior to and during the restructuring of Algoma. “Mike has the skills and experience to lead Algoma in the next stage of its evolution as a leading Canadian steel company and globally competitive […]
A much weaker than expected jobs report showed that only 20,000 jobs were added in the U.S. last month. The unemployment rate was 3.8 percent, dipping from 4.0 percent in January, according to the latest report from Commerce. Average earnings rose 0.4 percent in February for a year-over-year gain of 3.4 percent. In the construction […]
Housing starts jumped 18.6 percent in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.23 million, says a delayed report from the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development. The increase was higher than the single-digit rise expected by economists. Single-family starts soared 25.1 percent from December to a rate of 926,000. […]
After an accelerated decline in carbon and steel prices in the fourth quarter, spot prices bottomed in January and are now moving higher in the first quarter, said Ryerson President and CEO Eddie Lehner. Demand conditions appear favorable in the first part of 2019 despite weather interruptions in the early part of the year. Ryerson […]
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is onboard with an effort to restrict President Trump’s ability to use national security as a reason to impose tariffs. Grassley reportedly has told his staff to work with Sens. Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Rob Portman (R-OH) to create legislation that would garner enough Senate support to override […]
The federal government of Canada announced it will give EVRAZ North America C$40 million ($29.78 million U.S.) from its Strategic Innovation Fund to help with C$112.6 million of upgrades planned at facilities in Regina and Red Deer, Alberta. “This will enable the company to produce valued-added OCTG products that match Canadian market demand and make […]
The Dodge Momentum Index, a measure of the initial report for nonresidential construction projects in planning, fell 4.4 percent to 146.9 in February after rebounding in January. “Since November, the Momentum Index has re-established a sawtooth pattern that’s often been present in recent years,” said Dodge Data & Analytics. “It’s also become clear that the […]
The Trump administration released its 2019 Annual Trade Policy Agenda and 2018 Annual Report on Feb. 28, outlining its trade policies and initiatives for 2019. The report details how the administration is “rebalancing trade to benefit Americans.” Priorities for 2019 include: Supporting national security through economic security and free, fair and reciprocal trade relations Strengthening […]
Sales of new single-family houses rose 3.7 percent from November to December to a seasonally adjusted rate of 621,000, says the latest report by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. November’s data was revised downward to 599,000 homes sold from a previously reported rate of 657,000. Sales fell 2.4 […]
“Moderate and balanced growth” is evident across the residential, nonresidential and public construction sectors, although labor shortages continue to plague the industry, says an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America Construction spending dipped 0.6 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.29 trillion, but increased 1.6 […]
A review by Commerce of antidumping duties on carbon and alloy cut-to-length steel plate from Austria has resulted in an amendment lowering the rate from 53.7 to a new final weighted-average dumping margin of 28.57. Commerce published its final determination in the investigation of CTL steel plate imports from Austria on April 4, 2017. Following […]
Mexico’s Ministry of Economy announced last week that it will renew tariffs of 15 percent on imports of steel from countries that it does not have a free trade agreement with. The tariff does not impact steel imports from the U.S. or Canada. The Ministry also stated that before signing a new North American trade […]
The Soo Locks are scheduled to reopen on March 25 to begin the new shipping season on the Great Lakes. The last vessel through the locks was the Canadian bulk-carrier Manitoulin headed for Essar Steel on Jan. 15. The locks are currently closed for maintenance prior to the start of the 2019-20 season. During the […]
The Soo Locks are scheduled to reopen on March 25 to begin the new shipping season on the Great Lakes. The last vessel through the locks was the Canadian bulk-carrier Manitoulin headed for Essar Steel on Jan. 15. The locks are currently closed for maintenance prior to the start of the 2019-20 season. During the […]
Altos Hornos de Mexico, S.A. (AHMSA), the largest steel producer in Mexico, reported that sales for fourth-quarter 2018 rose 6.5 percent year-over-year to $733.2 million. The improvement was due to stronger product mix and higher steel prices. The average steel sales price was $803 per metric ton. Adjusted EBITDA was $7.0 million, an 85.2 percent […]
U.S. light vehicle sales in February missed analysts’ forecasts, falling 2.8 percent year-over-year, reported Edmunds.com. Sales were estimated at 1.26 million last month with a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 16.6 million units, down from 17.01 million a year ago. Sales are forecast to remain strong in 2019, but slower than in recent record years. […]
Global manufacturing growth hit a 32-month low in February. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI dipped to 50.6 from 50.8 the previous month. Operating conditions expanded in the consumer and investment goods sector but deteriorated in the intermediate goods sector, said J.P. Morgan and IHS Markit. International trade was blunted as new export orders fell […]
Manufacturing activity slowed its rate of growth in February, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The headline PMI fell further than expected last month, coming in at 54.2, a 2.4 point decline, and below the general consensus of 55.0. “Production expansion continued in February, but at a slower pace compared to January,” […]
The Commerce Department announced Tuesday that it has initiated new antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations to determine whether fabricated structural steel from Canada, China and Mexico is being sold in the United States at less than fair value, and to find if producers in those three countries are receiving unfair subsidies. The […]
U.S. Steel has been issued an enforcement warning by the Allegheny County Health Department for continued violation of air quality standards at the Mon Valley Works facility in Pennsylvania. A fire at the Clairton coke plant on Dec. 24, 2018, caused significant structural damage and damage to the equipment that cleans gases from the coke […]
The MNI Chicago Business Barometer gained 8 points in February, climbing to 64.7, its highest level since December 2017. The February spike in business activity followed a decline to 56.7 in January. New orders rose 15.2 points and production gained 8.5 points. Order backlogs lengthened after declining in January. Supplier delivery times declined for a […]
The Bureau of Industry and Security, a division of the Department of Commerce, announced today that is has denied the requests from California Steel Industries and Evraz Steel for exclusion of semi-finished steel slabs from the Section 232 tariffs. The BIS agreed with an analysis by the International Trade Administration that there is sufficient production, […]
The Bureau of Industry and Security, a division of the Department of Commerce, announced today that is has denied the requests from California Steel Industries and Evraz Steel for exclusion of semi-finished steel slabs from the Section 232 tariffs. The BIS agreed with an analysis by the International Trade Administration that there is sufficient production, […]
Australian steel producer BlueScope has upgraded the expansion plans for its U.S. segment, now planning to add 900,000 to 1.0 million tons of capacity at North Star BlueScope at an investment cost of $600-$700 million. The Ohio steel facility will receive a third electric arc furnace with a melt capacity of about 1.5 million tons […]
Housing starts plummeted 11.2 percent in December to a more than two-year low, signaling continued slowing in the housing market. Single-family starts fell 6.7 percent from November, while multifamily starts plunged 22 percent. “Looking back, the December drop in housing production correlated with the peak increase in mortgage rates and corresponding decline in builder sentiment,” […]
The rate of price growth for homes in the United States continued its slowing trend in December. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index grew 4.7 percent year-over-year in December compared to a gain of 5.1 percent in November. The 20-City composite posted a 4.2 percent year-over-year gain compared to 4.6 percent […]