The Stainless Steel Monthly Metals Index (MMI) fell 10.4% this month as the ATI strike continued into its third week.
The U.S. Steelworkers’ strike at nine Allegheny Technology (ATI) plants continued into the third week of the week.
As we noted late last month, the union announced strikes at nine factories, citing “unfair labor practices.”
“We would like to meet with management on a daily basis, but ATI needs to work with us to resolve outstanding issues,” USW International Vice President David McCall said in a prepared statement on March 29.“We will continue to haggle. Faith, we strongly urge ATI to start doing the same.
“Through generations of hard work and dedication, ATI’s steelworkers have earned and deserved the protection of their union contracts. We cannot allow companies to use the global pandemic as an excuse to reverse decades of collective bargaining.”
“Last night, ATI further refined our proposal in hopes of avoiding a shutdown,” ATI spokeswoman Natalie Gillespie wrote in an emailed statement.”In the face of such a generous offer – including a 9% wage increase and free health care – we are disappointed by this action, especially at a time of such economic challenges for ATI.”
The Tribune-Review reports that ATI has called on unions to allow workers to vote on the company’s contract offers.
Late last year, ATI announced plans to exit the standard stainless plate market by mid-2021.Therefore, if stainless steel buyers are ATI customers, they already have to make alternative plans.The current ATI strike presents another point of disruption for buyers.
Katie Benchina Olsen, senior stainless analyst at MetalMiner, said earlier this month that the production losses from the strike would be difficult to make up for.
“Neither NAS nor Outokumpu have the capacity to fill the ATI strike,” she said.”My view is that we may see some manufacturers run out of metal or have to replace it with another stainless steel alloy or even another metal.”
Nickel prices surged to a seven-year high in late February.LME three-month prices closed at $19,722 a metric ton on February 22.
Nickel prices plummeted shortly thereafter.Three-month prices have fallen to $16,145 a metric ton, or 18%, two weeks after reaching a seven-year high.
News of the Tsingshan supply deal sent prices tumbling, suggesting ample supply and driving down prices.
“The nickel narrative is largely based on a shortage of battery-grade metals driven by demand for electric vehicles,” Burns wrote last month.
“However, Tsingshan’s supply contracts and capacity announcements suggest that supply will be adequate. As such, the nickel market reflects a profound rethinking of the deficit view.”
Overall, however, demand for nickel for stainless steel and electric vehicle batteries remains strong.
LME three-month nickel prices traded in a relatively tight range throughout March before breaking out in April.LME three-month prices have risen 3.9% since April 1.
Buyers using Cleveland-Cliffs/AK Steel will note that its April surcharge average for ferrochrome is based on $1.56/lb instead of $1.1750/lb for Outokumpu and NAS.
When chrome talks were delayed last year, other plants implemented a one-month delay.However, AK keeps adjusting at the beginning of each quarter.
This means that NAS, ATI and Outokumpu will see an increase of $0.0829 per pound for 304 chrome components in their surcharges for May.
Additionally, NAS announced an additional $0.05/lb reduction at the Z-mill and an additional $0.07/lb reduction for a single sequential casting heat.
“The surcharge rate is considered to be the highest level in April and will be reviewed monthly,” NAS said.
The 304 Allegheny Ludlum stainless surcharge fell 2 cents in a month to $1.23 a pound.At the same time, the surcharge for 316 also fell by 2 cents to $0.90 per pound.
Chinese stainless 316 CRC prices were flat at $3,630 a tonne.304 coil prices fell 3.8% MoM to US$2,539 per metric ton.
Chinese primary nickel prices fell 13.9% to $18,712 a metric ton.Indian primary nickel prices fell 12.5% ​​to $16.17 a kilogram.
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