ArcelorMittal Reports 6% Surge in North American Steel Demand During 2017

The steel shipments for the year totaled 85.2 million tonnes, as against the total shipments of 83.9 million tonnes in 2016. The shipments in NAFTA, Brazil and Europe registered increases during the year.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster):  The Annual Report 2017 published by the steel major ArcelorMittal states that North American steel demand surged higher by 6% during the previous year. The growth in the US accelerated to an estimated 2.3% in 2017. The company’s various segments reported strong growth during the year.

The company reported sales of $68.7 billion during the entire year 2017, higher by nearly 21% when matched with the sales of $56.8 billion during the year prior to that. This was mainly aided by the sharp 20% jump in average steel selling prices. The cost of sales for the year stood higher at $60.9 billion as compared to $50.4 billion in 2016, mainly on account of rise in prices of steelmaking raw materials including iron ore and coking coal and also on account of rise in electricity and other direct costs.

ArcelorMittal’s operating income rose significantly from $4.2 billion in 2016 to $5.4 billion in 2017. The steel shipments for the year totaled 85.2 million tonnes, as against the total shipments of 83.9 million tonnes in 2016. The shipments in NAFTA, Brazil and Europe registered increases during the year.

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The sales in NAFTA segment totaled $18.0 billion, higher by 14% over 2016. Operating income for the NAFTA segment was $1.2 billion, as compared with operating income of $2.0 billion in 2016. Crude steel production dropped 2.6%, whereas steel shipments were up by 2.6%.

In Brazil segment, sales totaled $7.8 billion, higher by nearly 25% from 2016. The operating income from the segment surged higher by 13.5% to $697 million during the year. Crude steel production declined by 4.1% to 11.1 million tonnes. Steel shipments remained stable during the year.

Sales in Europe segment edged higher by 24% to total $36.2 billion. The operating income from the segment increased significantly to $2.4 billion. Crude steel production dropped by 2.8%, whereas steel shipments recorded marginal jump by 1.7%.

The ACIS segment reported total sales of $7.6 billion in 2017. The operating income from the segment more than doubled to $508 million. Crude steel production decreased marginally by 0.8%. The yearly steel shipments dropped marginally by 1.3% to total 13.1 million tonnes.