Steel Strip

ArcelorMittal has come out with an upbeat projection for the steel industry for the rest of the year, after reporting a 5.4 per cent rise in net income in the first quarter.
Lakshmi Mittal, chief executive of ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, said: "I am confident the steel industry will this year largely avoid the economic [...]

Continuing a string of deals and expansions announced this week, Charlotte-based Nucor Corp. said Thursday that it’s looking to build a new $2 billion steel plant in Louisiana.
The plant, which would be located in St. James Parish, La., 30 miles west of New Orleans, would create about 2,600 jobs and be a state-of-the-art iron-making facility, [...]

Rautaruukki Oyj said ongoing strike action by around 200 workers at its Raahe steel plant is disrupting hot-rolling production at the site.
Sakari Kallo, Rautaruukki production manager, told Thomson Financial News that the company has been informed that staff will return to their posts on Friday morning.
Around 800 people at Raahe had staged a 24-hour strike [...]

We reported yesterday that ArcelorMittal had announced a price increase of around 20%. We are now hearing "unofficially" that Corus are set to announce a further price increase on steel strip of between £150 and £205 per tonne for the third quarter.
It seems inevitable that the last large European player will "follow" suit. Expect an [...]

Toyota Motor Corp has agreed to pay Nippon Steel Corp and other top Japanese steelmakers over 30 percent more for sheet steel, the Asahi Shimbun daily reported, triggering a rally in steel stocks.
Such a price hike, which is in line with brokerages’ estimates, would boost the prospects that Nippon Steel, the world’s second-biggest steelmaker, will [...]