Steel Market Update surveys readers each week to monitor market sentiment. The prevailing view on key issues this week: record high steel prices still have room to run; the high prices have not cut into demand yet; repealing Section 232 on imports from the EU is a questionable move; and inflation poses a threat to […]
“We are focused on availability more than price.” This morning Steel Market Update participated in a very subdued galvanized steel conference call with members of the Heating, Air-conditioning, Refrigeration, Distributors International trade group. HARDI members are wholesalers who supply the mechanical contractors doing work on residential and commercial construction jobs. The key takeaway I got […]
“We are focused on availability more than price.” This morning Steel Market Update participated in a very subdued galvanized steel conference call with members of the Heating, Air-conditioning, Refrigeration, Distributors International trade group. HARDI members are wholesalers who supply the mechanical contractors doing work on residential and commercial construction jobs. The key takeaway I got […]
Japanese automaker Toyota continues to grapple with shortages of microchips and other parts at its North American manufacturing facilities. But some market participants are looking beyond automotive plant idlings to a potential rebound in auto builds in the second half of the year. “Toyota is currently experiencing a supply shortage that is affecting production at […]
Auto assemblies in North America backpedaled in April as the ongoing shortage of semiconductor chips intensified and hindered automakers’ ability to produce cars and trucks, according to LMC Automotive (LMCA). April’s production totaled 1.087 million units, down from 1.217 million units in March or 10.7%. March saw a bump in auto production—the first in nearly […]
Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs, will be honored as Steelmaker of the Year by the Association for Iron and Steel Technology at this year’s AISTech 2021 conference. The award recognizes Goncalves for his leadership in the iron and steel industry. Said AIST in a press release: “Goncalves is awarded Steelmaker of the […]
Two of the “Big Three” U.S. automakers are extending downtime at their North American plants into the summer months because of the ongoing microchip shortage. And one, Ford, has upcoming outages at all its U.S. assembly plants besides one in Dearborn, Mich., that makes the F-150 pickup truck, the best-selling vehicle in the United States. […]
The flat rolled steel market was a little tougher to read this week. Steel Market Update’s survey of the market over the past two days clearly shows a further increase in hot rolled prices, with buyers reporting offers as high as $1,600 per ton. SMU puts the average HR price at $1,540 this week as […]
“It’s a miserable boat, but at least we are all in this together.” Large manufacturing company A new hole in the boat today…NLMK USA lost their Farrell, Pa., hot strip mill for one to two weeks. Price becomes irrelevant when your customers need product and there is nowhere else to go. That is what one […]
“It’s a miserable boat, but at least we are all in this together.” Large manufacturing company A new hole in the boat today…NLMK USA lost their Farrell, Pa., hot strip mill for one to two weeks. Price becomes irrelevant when your customers need product and there is nowhere else to go. That is what one […]
Record-high steel prices result not from Section 232 tariffs or industry consolidation but instead from uniquely strong supply-demand fundamentals, Cleveland-Cliffs’ top executive said. And an ambitious infrastructure package would go a long way toward keeping those fundamentals, and the resulting investment in the domestic steel industry, stronger for longer, he suggested. “We in this country […]
Record-high steel prices result not from Section 232 tariffs or industry consolidation but instead from uniquely strong supply-demand fundamentals, Cleveland-Cliffs’ top executive said. And an ambitious infrastructure package would go a long way toward keeping those fundamentals, and the resulting investment in the domestic steel industry, stronger for longer, he suggested. “We in this country […]
2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference Revised Agenda as of May 9, 2021 The 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference will be held at the Georgia International Convention Center on Aug. 23-25. The convention center is conveniently located next to the Atlanta International Airport (ATL). The center and the hotels surrounding it are at the first stop […]
2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference Revised Agenda as of May 9, 2021 The 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference will be held at the Georgia International Convention Center on Aug. 23-25. The convention center is conveniently located next to the Atlanta International Airport (ATL). The center and the hotels surrounding it are at the first stop […]
The U.S. appliance industry has a chip on its shoulder when it comes to competing with automakers for the scarce supply of semiconductors. The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturing (AHAM) has joined two of its sister industry associations—the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)—in appealing to the Department […]
ArcelorMittal’s joint venture AMNS Calvert ran at near capacity in the first quarter of 2021, delivering record first-quarter results. Hot strip mill production jumped 19.3% to 1.3 million metric tons from the fourth quarter. EBITDA nearly tripled to $159 million from $56 million in the prior quarter. The mill is currently supplied with slab sourced […]
Price, Price, Price… I might as well begin where I left off in our last issue of Steel Market Update on Thursday. Everyone wants to know when this market will peak, then tip over, and how far it will then fall. There are a wide range of opinions within the steel community, from prices will […]
I have been “out” for the past few days as my daughter has received her shots and has been visiting us for the first time in well over a year. A special thank you to the SMU team for picking up the slack in my absence. Jumping right back into the fray, as Michael mentioned […]
Jumping right back into the fray, as Michael Cowden mentioned in his Final Thoughts in Tuesday’s issue of Steel Market Update, the talk is about nothing but price, price, price. As we look for signs of possible steel mill order book weakness, we are seeing conflicting signals. There are a couple of steel mills who […]
Auto assemblies in North America gained ground in March for the first time since October, according to LMC Automotive (LMCA). North American production rose to 1.217 million units in March, up from 1.092 million in February, but production continues to suffer from the ongoing shortage of semiconductor chips. North American production was up 20.1% in […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this exerpt from one of our Premium articles with Executive members. For information on the benefits of upgrading to a Premium-level membership, email Paige@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Auto assemblies in North America gained ground in March for the first time since October, according to LMC Automotive (LMCA). North American production rose to 1.217 […]
Nucor plans to spend $58 million to upgrade its engineered bar mill in Norfolk, Neb., with the aim of increasing sales to the automotive industry. The modernization project is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2022, the electric-arc furnace steelmaker said. The scope of work will include adding a new reheat furnace, […]
U.S. automotive sales were robust in April despite production challenges from the continuing shortage of semiconductor chips. April sales were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of over 18 million vehicles and may be one of the best months ever, said Cox Automotive. April sales were well over Cox Auto’s forecast of 16.5 million. […]
U.S. automotive sales saw their lowest third-quarter performance in a decade, a 13.4% decline in new vehicle sales, due primarily to low inventory and high prices. In September, new-vehicle inventory was down nearly 60% from 2020, and sales suffered accordingly, said Cox Automotive. New-vehicle sales totaled 3.395 million in the third quarter, the slowest third […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen and Principal Economist Alex Tuckett from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook This month has seen strong signs that the speed of the recovery in the global industrial sector is feeding through to costs throughout the supply chain. Although this does present a risk to our forecast, our baseline case remains […]
By CRU Consulting CEO Rebecca Gordon and Principal Consultant Alex Laugharne The increasing momentum behind transportation electrification is driving new supply chains to evolve rapidly. Historically, long and lean automotive supply chains led to cost efficiencies. The challenges of developing entirely new suppliers and embedding sustainability objectives mean: working with many completely new suppliers who […]
Ford expects to lose 50% of its planned second-quarter production because the global chip shortage has become a “significant headwind” for the company. The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker had already lost 17% of its planned production in the first quarter because of the chip issue, and it anticipates losing 10% of forecast output in the second […]
Ternium has strong confidence in the growth potential for the Mexican steel industry. Despite a poor performance by the government in helping the economy recover from the impact of the pandemic, CEO Maximo Vedoya expects the industrial base will continue to grow. One of the drivers will be reshoring of the supply base, which will […]
Orders for durable goods—products expected to last three years or more—recovered partially in March, increasing 0.5% after dipping 0.9% in February, said the Commerce Department on Monday. Orders for the month totaled $256.3 billion, increasing for the 10th time in the last 11 months, but at a much lower rate than the 2%-plus uplift expected by […]
Nucor, SDI and Cliffs all announced earnings last week. All of the CEOs are quite bullish as all of their flat rolled mills are running at full capacity. And with pricing now in excess of $1,400 per ton for benchmark hot rolled, the mills are reporting record or near record quarterly profits for first-quarter 2021. […]