US Steel restarts Mon Valley blast furnace

Market: Coking coal, Metals
09/06/20

Integrated steelmaker US Steel has restarted its idled 1.5mn short ton (st)/yr No 1 blast furnace at Mon Valley south of Pittsburgh.

The blast furnace was brought online last week to meet increased demand after being shut down due to Covid-19-related demand shocks, US Steel said today. It is the first blast furnace to be restarted since nearly 18mn st/yr of blast furnace-based steel production was taken offline beginning in March.

Mon Valley's smaller 1.4mn st/yr No 3 blast furnace has remained online.

The No 1 blast furnace was idled on 30 April along with the No 6 blast furnace at US Steel's Gary Works in northern Indiana. The Pittsburgh-based company idled five of its eight US blast furnaces in response to Covid-19-related demand shocks.

Some steel market participants questioned the timing of the restart and whether there is enough demand to consume additional tons made at the Mon Valley mill.

After the US economy was hit with coronavirus closures beginning in mid-March, spot hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices fell by 30pc to a low of $470.75/st at the end of April. Since then steelmakers have announced $80/st of price increases, helping spot prices to recover somewhat to $514.50/st today.

By Rye Druzin

Related news posts

Argus illuminates the markets by putting a lens on the areas that matter most to you. The market news and commentary we publish reveals vital insights that enable you to make stronger, well-informed decisions. Explore a selection of news stories related to this one.

News

21/11/24

US alleges Nippon dumped HRC at higher rates

Houston, 21 November (Argus) — The US government alleged that Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel dumped hot-rolled (HR) flat steel products at higher rates than previously determined. The US Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration (ITA) determined that during the period from October 2022 through September 2023, Nippon sold HR steel flat products with a weighted-average dumping margin of 29.03pc, up from the 1.39pc dumping margin the ITA determined for the prior period of October 2021 through September 2022. Tokyo Steel Manufacturing, which was also investigated, was determined to have not sold HR flat steel below market value, unchanged from a prior review. US imports during the period from October 2022 through September 2023 of the investigated items from Japan were 202,000 metric tonnes (t), down from the 293,600t imported in the same period the prior year, according to customs data. The original investigation into imports of Japanese flat-steel products was concluded in 2016. The ITA is now reviewing the time period of October 2023 through September 2024 and expects to issue the final results of these reviews no later than 31 October 2025. The US imported 235,700t of the investigated products from Japan during that time, customs data showed. By Rye Druzchetta Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Find out more

News

Recent deep-sea and short-sea cfr Turkey scrap deals

21/11/24

News

21/11/24

Recent deep-sea and short-sea cfr Turkey scrap deals

London, 21 November (Argus) — A summary of the most recent deep-sea and short-sea cfr Turkey ferrous scrap deals seen by Argus. Ferrous scrap short-sea trades (average composition price, cif Marmara) Date Volume, t Price, $ Shipment Buyer Seller Composition Index relevant 19-Nov 5,000 345 November Izmir Greece HMS 1/2 80:20, shred Y 19-Nov 2,000 342 November Izmir Malta HMS 1/2 80:20, shred Y 12-Nov 3,000 348 November Izmir Romania HMS 1/2 80:20 N 12-Nov 5,000 350 November Izmir Croatia HMS 1/2 80:20 N 12-Nov 5,000 350 November Turkey France HMS 1/2 80:20 Y 12-Nov 10,000 351 November Marmara France HMS 1/2 80:20 Y Ferrous scrap deep-sea trades (average composition price, cfr Turkey) Date Volume, t Price, $ Shipment Buyer Seller Composition Index relevant 20-Nov 40,000 345 (80:20) December Marmara Scandinavia HMS 1/2 80:20, shred, bonus Y 20-Nov 20,000 340 (80:20) December Iskenderun UK HMS 1/2 80:20 Y 19-Nov 30,000 344 (75:25) December Izmir Cont. Europe HMS 1/2 80:20, bonus N 19-Nov 40,000 353 (80:20) December Iskenderun USA HMS 1/2 80:20, shred, bonus Y 15-Nov 40,000 354 (80:20) December Iskenderun Cont. Europe HMS 1/2 80:20, shred, bonus Y 15-Nov 40,000 356 (80:20) December Marmara Cont. Europe HMS 1/2 80:20, shred, bonus Y 14-Nov 20,000 350 (80:20) November Iskenderun UK HMS 1/2 80:20 N 13-Nov 40,000 356 (80:20) December Marmara Cont. Europe HMS 1/2 80:20, shred, bonus Y 13-Nov 40,000 353 (80:20) December Marmara Cont. Europe HMS 1/2 80:20, shred, bonus Y Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

Japan’s crude steel output drops further in October

21/11/24

News

21/11/24

Japan’s crude steel output drops further in October

Tokyo, 21 November (Argus) — Japan's crude steel production in October fell on the year for an eighth straight month, partly because of lower steel demand from the construction sector. The country produced 6.9mn t of crude steel in October, down by 7.8pc from a year earlier, according to preliminary data released by industry group the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) on 21 November. Crude steel production by basic oxygen furnace (BOF) fell by 6.8pc on the year to 5.1mn t, marking the eighth consecutive month of year-on-year fall. Crude steel output by electric arc furnace (EAF) declined for a third straight month by 10.5pc to 1.8mn t. A double-digit output fall by EAF is partly reflecting the weaker steel demand in the construction sector. The country's steel demand is heavily dependent on the automobile and construction sectors, and steel products for each industry are generally produced using the BOF and EAF methods respectively. Booked orders of ordinary steel for construction use in September fell by 11.3pc on the year to 651,035t, marking the fourth consecutive month of year-on-year decline, according to the separate data released by JISF on 18 November. The country's major steel producer JFE on 6 November revised downward its crude steel output to 22.4mn t for the current fiscal year ending 31 March 2025. This is 600,000t lower than its initial figure announced in August, partly owing to weaker than anticipated steel demand from the construction sector, according to the steel company. Rising material costs and labour shortages are causing delays in major construction projects, JFE said, adding that lower steel demand in the construction industry is "becoming even more obvious.". By Yusuke Maekawa Japanese ferrous output ('000't) Oct '24 Sep '24 Oct '23 m-o-m ± % y-o-y ± % Crude steel production Ordinary steel 5,328 5,098 5,792 4.5 -8.0 Specialty steel 1,597 1,525 1,719 4.7 -7.1 Total crude production 6,925 6,623 7,511 4.6 -7.8 Crude steel production method Basic oxygen furnace 5,101 4,794 5,473 6.4 -6.8 Electric arc furnace 1,824 1,829 2,038 -0.3 -10.5 Pig iron production 5,075 4,802 5,405 5.7 -6.1 Source: Japan Iron and Steel federation *Based on preliminary data Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

ArcelorMittal could close two service centres in France

20/11/24

News

20/11/24

ArcelorMittal could close two service centres in France

London, 20 November (Argus) — Europe's largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal is contemplating closing two service centres in France as part of a restructuring at its Centres de Services business in the country. The company informed staff on Tuesday that it might close its Reims and Denain sites because of a "sharp drop in activity among its industry and automotive customers", the company told Argus . Negotiations with trade unions will begin shortly, it said. Rumours about the potential closures have been circling since just before a large industry event in Hannover, Germany, in late October. Further consolidation and restructuring is expected throughout the European service centre market because of the fall in real consumption, and the difficult financial position it has caused for some processors. Most service centres have been selling processed sheet at a loss in recent months, because of weak end-consumption. German cold-roller Bilstein, that sells predominantly to the automotive industry, will reduce headcount and is contemplating closing one of its five lines, or reducing shifts across its business. There have also been market discussions about ArcelorMittal selling other automotive-facing service centres in Europe, as part of a wider reorganisation of the EU processing sector. Germany's largest steelmaker, ThyssenKrupp, has closed some of its distribution sites in its home country. Participants note the service centres are not part of ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe, which is still in talks with Daniel Kretinsky over taking a 50pc share in the business. ThyssenKrupp's ownership change could have wider ramifications for the service centre and steelmaking sector in general, with Kretinsky open to finding a strategic partner. By Colin Richardson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

Graphjet launches Malaysian biomass-to-graphite plant

20/11/24

News

20/11/24

Graphjet launches Malaysian biomass-to-graphite plant

Singapore, 20 November (Argus) — Nasdaq-listed Graphjet Technology has started operations at its artificial graphite plant in Malaysia, which will produce battery-grade graphite using recycled palm kernel shells (PKS), the firm said on 19 November. Graphjet's facility has the capacity to produce 3,000 t/yr of graphite by recycling up to 9,000 t/yr of PKS, which is sufficient to produce batteries for 40,000 electric vehicles (EVs)/yr. The firm has already received its first shipment of PKS, it said. Graphjet has another artificial graphite production facility planned in US' Nevada, and it plans to produce hard carbon at the Malaysian facility to use as feedstock at the Nevada facility. The Nevada facility is expected to have the capacity to recycle 30,000 t/yr of PKS to produce 10,000 t/yr of battery-grade artificial graphite and is slated to begin production in 2026, said Graphjet in April. China, the dominant producer of graphite, added a number of graphite products into its export licensing scheme at the end of last year. The move back then alarmed its neighbours, Japan and South Korea , which are major battery-producing countries and they have since been looking to reduce their dependency on Chinese graphite. China's graphite flake exports fell by 23pc to 44,103t during January-September following the exports curb, according to Chinese customs data. By Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more