U.S. automakers reported strong sales in April. WardsAuto expects the seasonally adjusted annual rate to reach 17.6 million units, surpassing last month’s rate of 16.6 million and 2015’s rate of 16.7 million. Volume sales for the month are expected to reach 1.51 million units exceeding the previous record for the month set in 2005. Sales […]
NanoSteel announced delivery of its first advanced high strength steel to General Motors for initial testing. The new product was developed in partnership with AK Steel and is designed to provide automakers with a new standard in strength, formability and weight for steels used in the production of lightweight, fuel efficient vehicles. NanoSteel says what […]
Olympic Steel reported a narrower than expected net loss of $767,000 for first quarter 2016. Revenues were $258.3 million compared to $346 million in Q1 2015 due to lower prices and volume. First quarter shipments increased, however 16 percent from fourth quarter 2015 recapturing market share from last year’s declining marketplace. “We successfully navigated challenging […]
Steel Market Update is a member of an association connected to the construction industry called HARDI. HARDI stands for Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International. HARDI and The Institute for Trend Research (ITR), an economic forecasting company, work together to gather economic data to provide a forecast to the HARDI members located in the United […]
First, Steel Dynamics Industries (SDI) reported an increase in steel shipments (+17%) and that they were continuing to grow, “…across all divisions but most significant in flat rolled.” They went on to report customer inventory levels are now “better aligned with actual demand, which is supporting increased domestic steel production and now also flat rolled […]
SSAB Americas announced the launch of a new awareness program—EcoSmart, to demonstrate its commitment to environmental stewardship. SSAB Americas’ EcoSmart steel contains 97 percent recoverable scrap metal that has been diverted from landfills. The recycled steel contains everything from old automotive parts to discarded appliances. Along with the use of recycled scrap metal, SSAB Americas […]
Nucor announced first quarter 2016 consolidated net earnings within its projected range. Net income was $70.8 million and consolidated net sales were $3.72 billion, a 7 percent increase from Q4. Average sales price per ton decreased 11 percent from Q4, total shipments to outside customers was 5,148,000 tons. Nucor steel mills produced 5,390,000 tons of […]
Steel Dynamics announced a strong quarter with net income of $63 million on net sales of $1.7 billion for first quarter 2016. Steel operating income increased 104 percent to $136 million from fourth quarter due to a 17 percent improvement in shipments which totaled 2.12 million tons. Average steel selling price dropped $40 from Q4 […]
Both auto and light truck sales in the US dropped abruptly in March to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of 16.5 million units, down from 17.5 million in February, Figure 1. Auto sales fell by 11 percent, while light truck sales rose 3 percent. Year-to-date sales are 3 percent higher than for the first […]
NLMK USA crude steel production of 160,000 tonnes was a 94 percent increase quarter over quarter and a 68 percent increase year over year. The jump in production was due to the re-launch of steelmaking at NLMK Indiana after repairs at the end of 2015 as well as from improved steel demand. Capacity utilization improved […]
The global steel industry situation and its impact on U.S. steel industry is the topic of discussion this week at hearings held by the United States Trade Representative and Department of Commerce in Washington DC. Representatives from the steel industry, manufacturing, mining and Congress are giving their opinions and suggestions during three days of hearings, […]
Mill Steel Company, one of the nation’s largest distributors of flat-rolled carbon steel, announced the appointment of Pam Heglund to President. Heglund will be the first female president of a steel service center of this size. Heglund was Mill Steel’s first intern, starting at the company in 2000 and serving the past five years as […]
Is Now the Time to Panic as Steel Mills Control Their Order Books? The flat rolled steel markets continue to march to their own drummer. Lead times are extending, spot flat rolled steel prices are rising and many of the mills are not opening their order books for spot business. There are a number of […]
NLMK USA was the first mill to raise prices, going up $40 per ton. I am hearing comments from both sides on whether the price increases are a good or bad thing. My personal opinion is prices got a little “over-done” last year and dropped too low. A hot rolled number closer to $500 may […]
March U.S. automotive sales exceeded expectations on a year over year basis with total raw volume sales growing 3 percent due to higher volume of premium brands. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of 16.5 million units, however, fell below 17 million for the first time since April 2015. WardsAuto expects a major spike in SAAR […]
Tata Steel’s exit from the United Kingdom may be a precursor to a merger with Thyssenkrupp. Wall Street Journal reports Tata and Thyssenkrupp have been in high-level talks for more than a year about combining their European steel operations. Whether the two companies are considering a buyout or forming a joint venture is unclear at […]
Nucor plans to invest $4.4 million in its Decatur steel manufacturing plant to upgrade the hot metal pickle line. On Monday, the Decatur Industrial Development Board approved an abatement of about $117,545 in non-educational state, city and county taxes over a 10-year period for the project. “We appreciate Nucor’s continued investment in their Decatur operations […]
Japan steelmaker JFE Holdings and Nucor Corp reportedly are in talks to build a jointly run steel plant in Mexico. JFE plans to invest $264 million in the project, according to the Nikkei Asian Review. The plant will have an annual capacity of 400,000 tons and will service the Mexican auto industry, supplying steel for […]
US vehicle sales in February were the strongest for that month in 15 years with a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of 17.5 million units, up from 16.4 million in February last year. Figure 1 shows auto and light truck sales since January 2006. Auto sales have been essentially flat for four full years as […]
Worthington Industries reported net sales of $647.1 million for third quarter 2016, ending February 29. Sales were down from second quarter and year over year as a result of lower volume in Pressure Cylinders and Engineered Cabs, combined with lower average selling prices in Steel Processing due to a decline in the market price of […]
As we head into the Good Friday and Easter weekend holiday we want to wish everyone an enjoyable time with family and friends. Steel Market Update will not publish a newsletter on Sunday so our next official publication will be on Tuesday evening of next week. Even so, that should not prevent you for communicating […]
There have been four price announcements on flat rolled steel beginning in early December 2015. The first increase was for $40 per ton followed by a succession of $30 per ton announcements. The total of the four announcements is $130 per ton or, $6.50/cwt. Looking at the galvanized markets, when the first price increase was […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel continue to smile when asked about their company’s ability to be successful both in the current market environment as well as looking out into the future three to six months. The result has taken the SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index higher and we are approaching record levels in […]
Steel Dynamics anticipates stronger earnings results in first quarter 2016 due to higher steel shipments. A significant increase in flat rolled product volume is expected due to better aligned customer inventories and a decrease in import volumes. Lower average realized steel product pricing will more than offset savings from lower ferrous scrap costs, said SDI. […]
US Steel Canada continues to lose money due to low steel prices said Court Monitor Alex Morrison in the 22nd monitor’s report. January steel shipments at the CCAA protected steel mill increased by 9 percent to 150,878 tons. Revenue was *$79.0 million resulting in an average selling price per ton of $524. Selling price was […]
Nucor guidance for first quarter 2016 came in below analyst consensus. Nucor expects first quarter results in the range of $0.20 to $0.25 per diluted share compared to $0.21 in Q1 2015 and adjusted net earnings of $0.45 per diluted share in Q4 2015. Analysts polled by Reuters expected earnings results of $.29 per share. […]
Steel prices continued their three month hike higher as SMU benchmark hot rolled price index (average) for the month was $408 per ton. Even with some minor stumbles noted in hot rolled and cold rolled during the second half of the month, our Price Momentum Indicator is still pointing toward higher prices over the next […]
Automotive sales for February are expected to increase as much as 8 percent year over year for the highest February volume in 15 years. GM estimates the seasonally adjusted annual rate will be 17.7 million units while WardsAuto predicts 17.5 million. Most automakers are posting positive gains for February sales. GM sales slipped 1.5 percent […]
ArcelorMittal USA has closed the aluminizing line at Indiana Harbor West. Workers have been transferred to a galvanizing line that restarted after being idled near the end of 2014. The closing has been in the works for more than a year and was actually expected in December. ArcelorMittal has been in talks with the USW […]
US vehicle sales in January exceeded expectations and came in at 17.6 million units on a seasonally adjusted annual rate basis. This was up by 300,000 from December and by 5.4 percent year over year. Light truck sales contributed 10.1 million units and autos 7.4 million. This month we decided to examine the long term […]