Cleveland-Cliffs, the largest U.S. plate producer, said April 22 it raised its full-year 2022 flat-rolled steel sales estimate by $220 per ton to $1,445 per ton, based on various bullish trends seen in the first quarter. The company’s average net selling price for steel shipments in the first quarter was $1,446 per ton, $500 per ton higher than last year.
Despite lower sales volumes in the first quarter (approximately 3.6 million tons) due to weak demand, higher prices increased overall profits, with sales of $6 billion in the first quarter, up $2 billion from a year ago.
CEO Lourenco Goncalves said the company’s investments in raw material alternatives such as domestic pig iron, direct reduction paste and hot pressed iron briquettes over the last year have protected the company from this global supply chain disruption while avoiding the potential risks of a single source of raw materials and an overextended supply chain. Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, producing primarily pig iron and hot pressed iron, with some iron ore and pellet ore produced in Minnesota and Michigan.