Service centers foresee high prices holding

During quarterly earnings phone calls with shareholders and analysts, executives of four publicly held metals distribution chains were bullish on the strength of demand from most consuming end markets. Combined with supply chain issues—such as longer lead times from producers—they expect sustainability in pricing over the next six to nine months.

“Price increases on carbon products continue to climb as lead times remain extended. LME aluminum [prices] continued to rise into the third quarter on strong global demand against tightening supply conditions,” said Ryerson Holding Corp. COO Mike Burbach.

“LME nickel prices similarly appreciated. We anticipate that prices across three of our primary commodities will remain elevated … and that price normalization will be gradual,” Burbach said.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. CEO Jim Hoffman said the company experienced “multiple mill price increase for carbon and stainless products. Most of the markets we sell into are doing quite well. Our customers are busy and they’re glad to get [material] and they’re glad to pay us for it.

“When you see the mills running at 90 percent capacity,” he said, “you can pretty much anticipate maintenance shutdowns [during the second half]. And when the chip situation is squared away, you’re going to see the automotive guys crank back up. With all those things in mind, I don’t see a price decrease. Will there be additional price increases? Probably.”

Olympic Steel Inc., Highland Hills, Ohio, discussed the trend. “Index pricing for carbon hot-rolled steel rose from $1,300 to $1,723 per ton during the second quarter. And as of [Aug. 8], it is $1,863 per ton,” CEO Richard Marabito said on Olympic’s earnings call.

John Reid, president and CEO for Russel Metals Inc., Mississauga, Ontario, reported that “North American mills are full, so I don’t see a lot of negotiation for those prices to slip. Barring any unforeseen demand drops or black swan events, I don’t see indications leading to prices tailing off. Every product we buy right now has seen another increase,” said Reid.

Nucor to acquire racking manufacturer

Nucor Corp., Charlotte, North Carolina, has purchased Hannibal Industries Inc., Los Angeles, for $370 million. Hannibal produces racking solutions for warehouses, serving e-commerce, industrial, food storage and retail markets. Hannibal Industries has manufacturing facilities in Los Angeles and Houston, as well as three distribution centers. It consumes sheet and bar steel, as well as steel decking, wire deck and fasteners to produce its racks, providing potential supply chain efficiencies with other Nucor businesses.

Reliance to acquire Merfish United

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., Los Angeles, has inked an agreement to acquire Merfish United, Ipswich, Massachusetts, from an investment firm. Merfish United distributes steel pipe, copper tubing, plastic pipe, electrical conduit and related products for the commercial, residential, municipal and industrial building markets. The current Merfish United team, including management, is expected to remain in place. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Berry Metal names new president

Berry Metal, Harmony, Pennsylvania, promoted George Boy to president of the company. Boy joined Berry Metal in July 2017 to lead the engineering services group. Boy previously worked as General Manager for SMS Technical Services LLC.

Dallas Industries adds space

Dallas Industries, Troy, Michigan, which builds press feeding equipment and controls for the stamping industry, has added nearly 24,000 square feet of production space, for fabricating and machining capacity. The addition will house new equipment including high-volume lathes and grinding machines.

UAW ratifies pact at Dearborn Works

Employees represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 600 have ratified a three-year labor contract with Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., Cleveland, at its Dearborn Works operations. The new contract is retroactively effective from Aug. 1, 2021 through July 31, 2024, and will cover about 1,000 UAW-represented workers at the Michigan steel plant.

Kaiser Aluminum to relocate HQ

Kaiser Aluminum will relocate its corporate headquarters from Foothill Ranch, California, to Franklin, Tennessee. As part of the relocation, the company will invest $3 million and create 80 jobs as it transitions and expands corporate functions to its new office space.

Majestic Steel acquires Merit Steel

Majestic Steel USA Inc., Cleveland, has acquired the business assets of Merit Steel USA, legally known as Merit Ends and Viking Processing Corp. Merit Steel USA is a service center based in Pittsburg, California, with additional locations in Fontana, California, and Longview, Washington.

Jorgensen expands management team

Jorgensen Conveyor & Filtration Solutions Inc., Mequon, Wisconsin, appointed Tony Diaz as its new national sales manager. He will manage the company’s end user sales team.

NASA adds new member

DoubleDigit Sales, Toronto, has joined the North American Steel Alliance, a purchasing cooperative. DoubleDigit Sales creates custom learning solutions that change behaviors and drive improved sales results for sales leaders and salespeople.

Breakthrough technology delivered

Swedish green steel venture HYBRIT (hydrogen breakthrough ironmaking technology) has made its first delivery of steel manufactured without using coal. Volvo took the delivery as a trial run before the green steel goes into full commercial production in 2026. HYBRIT started test operations at its pilot plant in Luleå, Sweden, a year ago. HYBRIT was launched in 2016 by steel maker SSAB, state-owned utility Vattenfall, and miner LKAB, all Swedish companies.

Azoth produces first metal 3D printed part for GM

Azoth, Ann Arbor, Michigan, is manufacturing the first metal 3D printed part using binder jetting on a General Motors production vehicle. A 3D printed medallion produced by Azoth sits on the manual shifter knob of the new 2022 Cadillac Blackwing V-series models, which features a manual transmission as well as additional 3D parts developed by General Motors.

Emuge-Franken and GROB announce partnership

Emuge-Franken USA, West Boylston, Massachusetts, and GROB Systems Inc., Bluffton, Ohio, have formed a strategic partnership. The alignment of Emuge-Franken, a high-performance cutting tools manufacturer, and GROB, a CNC machining centers manufacturer, provides advanced 5-axis machinery solutions, expertise and support.

COE Press adds purchasing manager

Coe Press Equipment, Sterling Heights, Michigan, named Douglas Thedford as purchasing manager. He will supervise RFQs, manage inventory and materials, procure goods and contractor services, and establish procurement policies that meet cost, quality and value requirements.

Willbanks Metals orders Red Bud line

Willbanks Metals Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, has ordered a Red Bud Industries 0.625 inch-thick by 72 inch-wide heavy-gauge cut-to-length line with a stretcher leveler. The line represents Willbanks Metals’ goal to provide customers with quality products.

Red metals distributor starts e-commerce marketplace

Copper and Brass Sales has launched a e-commerce website, b2b.tkmxplus.com, for customers who want to take charge of their quoting and ordering experience. Until now, customers have been able to request quotes online through their customer portal. Now, U.S. customers can use the new website to instantly quote and order. Users can generate a quote with their price and delivery dates on the site, place immediate orders, verify order status, review order delivery tracking, and download shipping paperwork whether the order was placed online or offline.