Contributor: Michael Cowden

Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker Stelco swung to a profit in the first quarter and expects high steel prices and sales volumes to galvanize results for the balance of the year. “All signs point to continued robust demand and strong pricing in the near term,” Stelco Executive Chairman and CEO Alan Kestenbaum said in a statement released […] The post Stelco Back in Black in Q1 on High Steel Prices, Increased Tons appeared first on Steel Market Update.

I wish I could start off writing about something other than steel prices. That said, since I joined SMU from Fastmarkets AMM in early January, the news really has been the price. SMU’s average hot-rolled price on Tuesday, May 4,  stood at $1,500 per ton ($75 per cwt). That’s a 12.8% increase from $1,330 per ton a month ago […] The post Final Thoughts appeared first on Steel Market Update.

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 […] The post Ford Cuts Q2 Production Forecast 50% on Chip Shortage appeared first on Steel Market Update.

Ternium remains on track to start up its new hot strip mill in Pesquería, outside of Monterrey, Mexico, on time, according to industry sources. The Latin American steelmaker has indicated that it expects to start up by early June and has already filled its June and July order books, market participants said. Ternium did not […] The post Ternium on Track for Early June Start at New HSM, Selling Aug-Sept: Sources appeared first on Steel Market Update.

Ford has extended downtime at assembly plants in the U.S. and Canada into May because of an ongoing microchip supply squeeze. “The global semiconductor shortage continues, presenting challenges to a number of industries – including automakers worldwide,” a Ford spokeswoman said. The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker will take outages the weeks of May 3 and May […] The post Ford Extends Downtime at U.S., Canada Plants on Chip Shortage appeared first on Steel Market Update.

Cleveland-Cliffs expects historically high steel prices and record profits to continue for the balance of the year. The integrated steelmaker forecasts that U.S. hot-rolled coil prices will average $1,100 per ton for the remaining three quarters the year, according to guidance released with first quarter earnings data on Thursday, April 22. That’s 21.5% below SMU’s […] The post Bigger Is Better, More Profitable for Cliffs: Goncalves appeared first on Steel Market Update.

Cleveland-Cliffs expects historically high steel prices and record profits to continue for the balance of the year. The integrated steelmaker forecasts that U.S. hot-rolled coil prices will average $1,100 per ton for the remaining three quarters the year, according to guidance released with first quarter earnings data on Thursday, April 22. That’s 21.5% below SMU’s […] The post Bigger Is Better, More Profitable for Cliffs: Goncalves appeared first on Steel Market Update.

The global semiconductor shortage continues to disrupt North American vehicle production roughly four months after the issue emerged in a key steel end market. The result: Production at multiple North American assembly plants is down through the end of this month, and some are down in May as well.  Here is where things stand to date. General Motors […] The post Auto Outage Update: Some Plants Restarting, Others Down Through May appeared first on Steel Market Update.

Hot-rolled coil lead times at some mills are well into June, so steel buyers have to ask themselves now whether a year-long upswing in prices is sustainable. In short, can hot-rolled coil prices continue their record run upward? First a Look Back at Where We’ve Been Steel Market Update’s average hot-rolled coil price was $1,340 […] The post SMU Deep Dive: How High Can HRC Go? appeared first on Steel Market Update.

U.S. electric-arc furnace mills have a leg up on the world when it comes to meeting new carbon emissions standards–for now, said CRU Senior Analyst Ryan Smith. That’s according to a “carbon curve” Smith presented that is part of CRU Group’s Emissions Analysis Tool. The carbon curve is similar to the cost curve many steel […] The post U.S. EAFs Have Head Start in Race to Go Green: CRU’s Smith appeared first on Steel Market Update.