The highs of the post-pandemic were but a memory in 2024 for most members of the metals supply chain. The combination of high interest rates and continued inflation resulted in a year of pullback for producers and distributors alike.
Hovering over the industrial economy was the 2024 election, even if the outcome was not likely to mean much one way or the other to the metals sector. But getting it, and the other drags of 2024, behind the industry can only brighten the outlook heading into 2025.
On the production side, the in-limbo acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel was the dominant storyline, one that remained unresolved as the calendar drew to a close. Another deal, such Cleveland-Cliffs purchase of Stelco, was announced and completed while the fight for U.S. Steel continued.
Consolidation remained apace in the service center sector as well, moving at a similar rate of previous years with most of the major players all gobbling up assets over the course of the past 12 months.
Here’s a look back at some of the top stories of 2024.
FIRST QUARTERThe steel processing side of Worthington Industries, now Worthington Enterprises, completed its split from the company. Worthington Steel remained a public company, traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol, “WS.”
Ryerson Holding Corporation, Chicago, acquired Hudson Tool Steel Corp., a supplier of tool steels and high-speed, carbon and alloy steels. Hudson is headquartered in Cerritos, Calif., with additional locations in Loves Park, Ill., and Dover, N.H.
A.M. Castle & Co. and Banner Industries merged under a single asset combined vehicle of MiddleGround Capital, a Lexington, Ky.-based private equity firm. The companies will continue to operate under their original brand names but operated by MiddleGround Capital Carbon CV, L.P.
Nucor Corporation announced plans to invest $280 million to modernize its steel plate mill in Tuscaloosa, Ala., with a new mill stand. The investment will enable Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa to strengthen its ability to serve key market segments that are part of the overall Plate Mill Group strategy.
Tenaris completed its acquisition of Mattr’s pipe coating business unit for $182.6 million. With the deal, Tenaris brought nine plants in Canada, Mexico, Norway, Indonesia, the UAE and the United States into its fold.
U.S. Steel indefinitely idled operations at its Granite City Works facility in Illinois. The decision affected approximately 1,000 workers at the facility.
Gerdau Long Steel North America completed the commissioning of the new Gerdau Midlothian Steel Processing heat treatment facility. The location is adjacent to Gerdau’s Midlothian, Texas, electric arc furnace steel mill.
Six U.S. manufacturers of OCTG products formed a new Washington D.C.-based trade association called the U.S. OCTG Manufacturers Association. The six companies are Tenaris in the USA, Vallourec Star LP, Borusan Pipe US, PTC Liberty Tubulars, Welded Tube US and Axis Pipe and Tube.
O’Brien Steel Service Co. completed an acquisition of the assets of Sligo Steel’s Madison, Ill., operation. The facility contains approximately 135,000 square feet.
Eastern Metal Supply, one of the largest value-added distributors of aluminum products in the U.S. and a Wynnchurch Capital L.P. portfolio company, sold its Eastern Architectural Systems division to Cornerstone Building Brands Inc., the largest manufacturer of exterior building products in North America by sales.
Wieland expanded its growing holdings in North America with two new acquisitions, including leading copper producer Concast Metal Products Co. The company also added Randall Bearings Inc.
Two of the best-known full line metal service center software leaders, Enmark Systems and Bayern Software, joined forces. The combined organization operates as Enmark Systems.
Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., North America’s largest service center company, added two new distribution businesses to its portfolio. In separate transactions, Reliance acquired Houston’s American Alloy Steel Inc. and Cooksey Iron & Metal Co. Inc., Tifton, Ga.
thyssenkrupp Materials de México inaugurated its new service center in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The $37 million project will supply the growing automotive industry in the area.
Nataly Marks was named the new president of Triple-S Steel Holdings Inc., Houston, one of North America’s largest distribution companies. Gary Stein, son of company founder Bruce Stein, will remain CEO for the company.
U.S. Steel Corp. permanently closed its Clairton coke battery in Pennsylvania. The decision comes as part of a settlement with Allegheny County Health Department and Penn-Environment following a plant fire in 2018 and power outages at the plant in 2019 and 2022.
SECOND QUARTERJemison Metals, Birmingham, Ala., acquired Advanced Metal Components, Swainsboro, Ga. Advanced Metal Components is a leader in precision sheet metal manufacturing North America’s largest service center company rebranded itself. Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. is now Reliance Inc.
The Nucor Corp. board of directors approved $860 million to construct a new rebar 650,000-ton micro mill in the Pacific Northwest. The facility will be Nucor’s fourth and largest micro mill, with approximately 50 percent more production capacity than the mill under construction in North Carolina.
North Star BlueScope’s Australian parent company announced the company was considering the addition of another 550,000 tons at its Delta, Ohio, facility with the construction of cold-rolling and metal coating lines at the operation.
Nippon Steel, still awaiting approval of its U.S. Steel acquisition, announced further inroads into North America. The Japanese steelmaker will invest $71.3 million to build a new plant to produce automotive steel components near another of its facility in Guanajuato, Mexico.
Reliance Inc. acquired all the outstanding equity interests of Mid-West Materials Inc., Perry, Ohio. Mid-West Materials is a premier flat-rolled steel service center primarily servicing North American OEMs.
Southern Coil Solutions, an automated steel warehouse, announced plans to expand at its Bowling Green, Ky., location. The original facility houses advanced automation systems and specialized machinery tailored for coil storage and handling.
Feralloy received approval to build a nearly 60,000-square-foot expansion at its facility in Portage, Ind. Feralloy already operated three facilities at the location.
Lethbridge, Alberta-based Varsteel Ltd. acquired Pacific Steel of Laval, Quebec. Laval is a structural steel service center with two facilities.
Nucor Corp., Charlotte, introduced a weekly Nucor Consumer Spot Price to provide its customers with consistent and transparent communications regarding the company’s hot-rolled coil spot pricing.
U S. Steel stockholders overwhelmingly voted to approve the proposed merger with Nippon Steel Corporation. More than 98 percent of the shares voted at a special meeting, representing approximately 71 percent of the shares of U.S. Steel common stock.
Lapham-Hickey Steel Corp., Chicago, acquired the operating assets of Middletown, Mass.,-based Crystal Steel Corp., a distributor of carbon steel coil products.
Triple-S Steel Holdings Inc. of Houston acquired Griffin Trade Group, LP. Founded in 2004 and also headquartered in Houston, Griffin Trade Group is a carbon steel plate distributor serving diverse end-markets nationwide.
Majestic Steel USA completed construction of its new Arkansas service center and mass distribution facility. The new facility has four state-of-the-art processing lines.
thyssenkrupp Materials Services opened a new steel service center in Texas. The new facility will focus on steel processing and supply chain management for manufacturing companies across multiple markets in the region and neighboring Mexico.
The Kern County Board of Supervisors in California approved plans from Pacific Steel Group to build a rebar mill and scrap metal recycling facility. It will become the first new steel mill in California in more than 50 years.
Zekelman Industries, the largest independent steel pipe and tube manufacturer in North America, announced plans to invest up to $120 million to expand the manufacturing capabilities and product offerings of its subsidiary, Atlas Tube, in Mississippi County, Ark.
THIRD QUARTERVenture Steel Inc., a flat-rolled metal processor and distributor, announced plans to expand at its Ramos Arizpe, Mexico facility Flack Global Metals, Phoenix, acquired a majority ownership stake in Pacesetter Steel Service. The deal came after Pacesetter conducted an extensive succession planning process.
Kloeckner Metals Corporation acquired New Jersey toll processor Amerinox Processing. Amerinox operates four facilities in Camden, N.J.
National Tube Supply, a premium supplier of mechanical tube and chrome bar, broke ground on a new facility in Hemet, Calif. The new Hemet facility will boast roughly 90,000 square feet of warehouse, dual-hoist 10-ton cranes and double-lane drive-throughs.
Reliance Inc. agreed to purchase certain assets of the FerrouSouth division of Ferragon Corporation, a toll processing operation headquartered in Iuka, Mississippi. The FerrouSouth operations will operate as a division of Feralloy, a Reliance subsidiary.
Steel Warehouse announced plans to expand its presence in Tennessee. The company will invest nearly $20 million to retrofit a former footwear manufacturing operation into a new warehouse.
Outokumpu agreed to sell its branch distribution business in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey – formerly known as Outokumpu Mexinox Distribution. Prominox, the largest stainless-steel distributor in Mexico, agreed to acquire the ongoing business operations and customer base from Outokumpu.
JSW Steel USA, Inc. a subsidiary of India’s JSW Steel Ltd., announced plans to invest $110 million in steel plate mill modernization projects with sustainable technology and equipment within its manufacturing facilities in Baytown, Texas.
Delaware Valley Steel, Upper Darby, Pa., a leading processor and distributor of carbon and alloy steel plate, appointed Bill Leahy as its new president.
CMC announced plans to locate a new facility in Akron, Ohio. The company will produce fabricated rebar at its new facility.
Charter Manufacturing acquired Niles Iron & Metal, a regional scrap metal recycler. Niles serves the Midwest and Northeast from two facilities in Niles, Ohio.
Chicago-based Ryerson Holding Corporation acquired Production Metals LLC, a distributor of aluminum, stainless and specialty steels.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. announced plans to establish a new electrical distribution transformer production plant in Weirton, W.Va. This downstream direct investment will address the critical shortage of distribution transformers.
The U.S. Department of Commerce denied Vietnam’s request for market economy status. The decision was applauded by the American Iron and Steel Institute. Earlier in the year, AISI President Kevin Dempsey testified before the DOC on the issue.
FOURTH QUARTER Pennsylvania Steel Company Inc., Bensalem, Pa., acquired Besco Steel Supply, a Birmingham, Ala.-based service center. Besco has operations in Birmingham and Winder, Ga.
Tubular USA completed the relocation of its St. Louis-area facility to a new building in Chesterfield, Mo. Tubular USA is one of the SPS Companies, North America’s 15th-largest service center company.
ARKU Inc. announced plans to open a second U.S. leveling center in Greer, S.C. The new facility offers 1,500 square feet of office space and 13,000 square feet of production space.
Beacon, a wholesale distributor specializing in roofing, waterproofing and related exterior products, completed the acquisition of Chicago Metal Supply & Fabrication Inc.
Wieland acquired Aurubis’ plant in Buffalo, N.Y. The facility is used to produce flat-rolled sheet and strip from copper and copper alloys.
Steel producer NLMK Indiana started up a 118-ton electric arc furnace, revamped by Primetals Technologies, at its steel plant in Portage, Ind. The project was undertaken to improve safety and simplify the maintenance process.
Kreher Steel Co., a Chicago-based metals distribution company, acquired Ritchey Metals Company. Ritchey Metals is a leader in the production of zinc and aluminum alloys.
Grand Steel, a flat-rolled steel service center and distributor, acquired and launched a new toll processing facility in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Chattanooga facility is equipped with two 72-inch slitting and packaging lines and a multi-blanker.
Triple-S Steel Holdings Inc. acquired the assets of Borrmann Metals service centers in Burbank and Riverside, Calif., plus the assets of Contractors Steel in the Phoenix area. Borrmann is a long-established West Coast distributor of steel products.
North Star BlueScope announced plans to invest an additional $130 million at its facility in Delta, Ohio. The project will further increase the company’s capacity to 3.3 million metric tons annually.
Wieland acquired Morgan Bronze Products. Lake Zurich, Ill.-based Morgan is a manufacturer of finished parts and components, with a focus on copper-based and high-performing alloys.
The International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance Ltd. reached a tentative agreement on wages to end a three-day strike at the ports on the East and Gulf coasts. Other issues must still be settled by this month to prevent another work stoppage.
Nova Steel’s Scott Jones was named the 2024
Metal Center News Service Center Executive of the Year.
Ground was broken on a new aluminum recycling facility in Russellville, Ky. The $40 million facility, a joint venture between Tri-Arrows Aluminum and Tennessee Aluminum Processors, will process dross and scrap material from TAA’s casting center at the nearby Logan Aluminum operation.
Specialty metals distributor Vested Metals expanded its operations with the opening of a sales and service center in Fort Wayne, Ind. This is the first location outside the company’s headquarters in St. Augustine, Fla.
Olympic Steel Inc., Cleveland, acquired Metal Works, Oakwood, Ga. Metal Works is a manufacturer of components for service station canopies, deck clips, long gutters, trim and boat docks, as well as solar canopy and ground racking components.
Mill Steel Co., one of the nation’s largest distributors of flat-rolled carbon steel, stainless steel and aluminum, acquired Maryland Metals Processing, Baltimore. MMP is a leading stainless and aluminum toll processor, providing cut-to-length, polishing, slitting and coil enhancement services.
Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Special Metals acquired ATI New Bedford, Mass., and Remscheid, Germany, Precision Rolled Strip Operations. Wallingford, Conn.-based Ulbrich is a precision re-roller and distributor of precision metals used in the medical, automotive and aerospace industries.
Benedict-Miller LLC purchased a new building in Lebanon, N.J., moving its operations there. The new location is 30 miles away from the rented space in Kenilworth, N.J., where the company has operated since 2003.
The Formtek Group relocated its manufacturing plant and offices in the Cleveland area. Located in the Southeast suburb of Twinsburg, the 117,000-plus-square-feet facility will contain both manufacturing and office space for the company’s Northeast operations.
Caption:
Inventories were stable in most parts of the metals supply chain in 2024.
(Photo courtesy Benner Metals)