Bulk & Structural Metals (Reshoring)

Commercial Metals Company expects its TAG Transform, Advance, Grow program to deliver run-rate gross EBITDA benefits exceeding $250 million by the end of fiscal 2026, rising to more than $350 million by the end of fiscal 2027. Launched in 2024, the program spans more than 150 individual projects across the company's business segments and support functions, aimed at optimizing logistics, reducing input consumption, lowering costs and boosting energy efficiency. Backed by the program, CMC expects fiscal 2029 core EBITDA of $1.65 billion to $1.80 billion, a 106% surge at the midpoint from the $837 million delivered in fiscal 2025, with a core EBITDA margin of 15-16%. Separately, Cleveland-Cliffs is investing $1 billion to modernize its Middletown Works facility in Ohio, half of it funded by a $500 million U.S. Department of Energy award, while Carpenter Technology set a fiscal 2029 operating income target of $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion, up from $702 million reported in fiscal 2026. The Zacks Consensus Estimate puts CMC's fiscal 2026 sales at $9.18 billion, up 13.9% year over year, and earnings at $6.62 per share, up 111.5%.

Steel Dynamics expects third-quarter 2026 earnings of $5.34-$5.38 per share, well above the $3.69 it reported in the second quarter and the $2.74 it posted in the year-ago quarter. The company said stronger steel metal margins, record shipments, higher realized selling prices and lower scrap costs are projected to drive the significant sequential improvement in steel operations profitability, with healthy order activity, solid end-market demand and low customer inventories also supporting pricing conditions. Steel fabrication earnings are expected to improve modestly on higher shipments despite narrower metal spreads, and the backlog is nearly 50% above prior-year levels and extends through the first quarter of 2027, supported by demand from commercial construction, data centers, manufacturing and healthcare. Metals recycling earnings are expected to decline sequentially on lower metal spreads and slightly weaker shipments, while aluminum earnings are expected to improve meaningfully on higher shipments as the company advances its Columbus, MS aluminum flat rolled mill, where all three cold mills are operational and the first Continuous Annealing and Solution Heat line is expected to ship commercial material in the fourth quarter. Steel Dynamics has repurchased $261 million, or just under 1% of its common stock, so far in the third quarter, and is scheduled to report third-quarter 2026 results after market close on Oct. 19, 2026.

Prysmian and Rio Tinto announced that electrical cables made with ELYSIS aluminum have been contracted for installation at an Amazon data center near Columbus, Ohio, marking the first known use of inert-anode-smelted, low-carbon aluminum in a data center. ELYSIS technology produces aluminum with no direct greenhouse gas emissions from the smelting process, emitting oxygen instead. The cables are manufactured and shipped from Prysmian's Sedalia, Missouri factory, with Wesco handling distribution. The companies had previously introduced ELYSIS aluminum in building wire in March 2026. All aluminum Rio Tinto supplied for the cables was produced in Quebec, Canada, using hydropower. Prysmian aims to become Net Zero by 2035 and targets 55% of revenues from sustainability-linked solutions by 2028.

GoldHaven Resources Corp. is highlighting a US$450 million U.S. government investment in The Elmet Group aimed at expanding domestic tungsten capacity and securing America's tungsten supply chain. The company said the landmark commitment signals tungsten's growing strategic importance to national security, defence, aerospace and advanced manufacturing. GoldHaven noted that more than 800 metres have been drilled at its historic Kuhn tungsten system in northern British Columbia, with broad skarn intervals encountered including approximately 20 metres of skarn in the second drill hole, and assays pending. Historical drilling at Kuhn returned 13.0 metres grading 0.55% WO3 and 11.3 metres grading 0.59% WO3 with 0.10% MoS2, along with a historical estimate of approximately 616,500 tonnes grading 0.48% WO3 across four modelled lenses, though the company cautioned these pre-date NI 43-101 and have not been independently verified. President and CEO Rob Birmingham said the message coming out of Washington is increasingly clear that securing reliable and diversified tungsten sources is now a national-security priority. GoldHaven clarified that the US$450 million investment relates specifically to The Elmet Group, that it is not a recipient of the investment, and that it has no relationship with The Elmet Group.

UBS has upgraded industrial metals to Overweight, turning more bullish on the sector as it argues structural forces will support commodity prices over the coming years. The bank's strategists pointed to a steady rise in emerging market demand, global efforts to reach net-zero emissions, climate change and structural underinvestment across almost every sector. UBS said it expects commodities to deliver strong diversification benefits for traditional bond and equity portfolios over the medium term, with both macroeconomic conditions and market-based signals remaining supportive. The strategists wrote that the recent pullback in base metals prices offers an opportunity to increase exposure, and that constrained supply and supportive structural demand should provide a floor for prices and underpin a recovery over the coming quarters. Still, the bank cautioned that prices are unlikely to rise in a straight line and recommended an actively managed approach built on three pillars: dynamically adjusting overall exposure to the asset class, taking a differentiated sector approach, and enhancing returns on cash collateral by replacing money-market securities with a higher-yielding portfolio.

Google has entered into an agreement with Stegra to purchase environmental attribute certificates connected to Stegra's steel production in Boden, Sweden. The agreement covers certificates for a volume of up to 91.000 tonnes of steel in the first year, with an ambition to add more volumes over the length of the agreement. The certificates let Google address steel-related emissions from its own operations, including datacenter construction, while generating increased cash flow for Stegra's early years of operations and production ramp-up. Adam Elman, Director of Sustainability for Google in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said certificates are another vital mechanism alongside physical procurement, following proven models in clean electricity and sustainable aviation fuel. Stegra CEO Henrik Henriksson said the company is grateful Google chose to work with Stegra and support its first years of operations. The arrangement uses a book and claim model that decouples environmental attributes from the physical steel, with buyers of the physical steel obliged to commit to making no green claims to avoid double counting of emission avoidance.

The U.S. International Development Finance Corp approved a $500 million trade financing facility on Wednesday that will help U.S. companies access emerging markets in South America, Southeast Asia and Africa, chief executive Ben Black said. The facility, approved by the DFC's board, will offer counter-guarantees in partnership with the World Bank's International Finance Corp and its Global Trade Finance Program. Black said the trade facility could unlock up to $20 billion in U.S. exports to new and challenging markets and support up to 10,000 U.S. jobs. Under Black's leadership, DFC has expanded its investment cap to $205 billion and shifted its focus from traditional poverty alleviation toward mining, extractive industries, energy and digital infrastructure, aiming to counter China's global influence and secure vital supply chains for the U.S. The program is expected to support agriculture, primary metals such as iron and steel, and industrial and consumer products including computers, electrical products, light vehicles and industrial machinery, with some of the biggest benefits expected in Iowa, Ohio, Colorado, Kansas, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Black said the IFC's Global Trade Finance Program had funded $141 billion in trade over 20 years with zero losses, and DFC will earn fees on the loan guarantees that could generate tens of millions of dollars over 10 years.

Steel and materials stocks swung between rallies and pullbacks as the US-Canada trade relationship shifted from near agreement to open dispute, with the US imposing 50% tariffs on a wide variety of Canadian exports on August 22. Nucor Corporation and Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. rose on August 25 after talks between the two countries broke down, a reversal from the prior week when several of the same stocks fell on hopes a deal would lower steel and aluminum tariffs; the VanEck Steel ETF gained 1.6% that day while the State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR hit an intraday high, though by week's end the materials ETF had slipped to negative territory and the steel ETF was about flat, with both still substantially up for 2026. The escalation followed a Bloomberg report on August 19 that the US and Canada had tentatively agreed to cut tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 25% and vehicle charges to 15%, before Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney declared Canada officially "at war" with the United States and Ottawa announced counter-tariffs of C$27.6 billion on American goods, effective September 8 at rates of 15% to 50%. Moody's chief credit officer Atsi Sheth said, "Expect much more of this uncertainty for some time to come." Nucor, which relies primarily on scrap-based electric arc furnace steelmaking, is up more than 50% year-to-date, while the vertically integrated Cleveland-Cliffs remains negative for 2026 despite similar structural insulation, which analysts attribute to balance sheet stress rather than tariffs.

The global wear-resistant materials market is projected to grow from USD 10.9 billion in 2026 to USD 17.6 billion by 2033, a 7.1% CAGR, according to a new report added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The market was valued at USD 10.2 billion in 2025, with Asia Pacific leading globally that year at a 37.6% revenue share. Growth is being driven by expanding activity across mining, construction, power generation, oil and gas, and industrial manufacturing, alongside industrial automation and infrastructure investment. Mining and mineral processing remains one of the largest end users, while steel and cement producers, the oil and gas industry, and power generation also represent significant demand segments. The report profiles key players including SSAB, Saint-Gobain, ArcelorMittal, Kennametal Inc., JFE Steel Corporation, Vautid Group, Industeel, Tega Industries, Dillinger Group, and thyssenkrupp Steel Europe.

Blue Moon Metals, the Elmet Group and EQ Resources have agreed to invest between $150m and $175m in the Springer Tungsten Complex in Imlay, Nevada, under a binding letter agreement aimed at strengthening the US tungsten supply chain. TEG plans to invest a total of $150m, split between a direct investment in Blue Moon's activities at Springer and an equity injection into a new joint venture that will own and operate the ammonium paratungstate plant, while Blue Moon retains control of the mine and mill. The package also includes a $50m tungsten prepayment facility from TEG to Blue Moon, repaid through sales credits against concentrate output, and a further $25m in standby funding from TEG and EQ for the APT plant's restart if needed. The JV will receive a $75m capital injection from TEG, leaving TEG with 70% equity, Blue Moon 20% and EQ 10%, with TEG operating the APT plant. Springer's mine and plant are expected to return to operation in the fourth quarter of 2027, with the APT restart projected for the second half of 2028, and the parties expect to finalise a $50m initial investment within 45 days, subject to regulatory approvals and due diligence.

The Elmet Group Co. said on September 14, 2026, that the US Department of War has committed to invest $450 million in the company to expand domestic tungsten manufacturing and international mining capacity. The investment will begin with an initial $200 million drawdown at closing, followed by additional drawdowns, and in return the department will receive redeemable preferred equity and warrants representing up to 19.9% of Elmet's common stock, plus the right to appoint one independent director and one non-voting observer to Elmet's board. More than $165 million of the investment is allocated to Elmet's existing US facilities in Lewiston, Maine; Coldwater, Michigan; and Euclid, Ohio, while approximately $150 million is expected to fund development of the Blue Moon Springer Tungsten Complex in Imlay, Nevada, a project being developed through a majority-owned joint venture involving Elmet, Blue Moon Metals and Australia's EQ Resources. The company also plans to establish a new division called Elmet Refining & Trading to coordinate sourcing, processing and delivery of materials across its supply network in the US, Australia and Spain. Separately, Elmet subsidiary Elmet Technologies has received an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract from the Defense Logistics Agency to supply tungsten ores, concentrates and sodium tungstate to the US National Defense Stockpile, with a ceiling value of up to $2 billion and a guaranteed funded commitment of $150 million, running through August 2031 with an option to extend through August 2033.

BMO announced it plans to mobilize up to $70 billion in new capital over 10 years for sectors critical to Canada's economic security and resilience. The commitment, described by the bank as Canada's first, targets electricity infrastructure including generation, transmission and distribution, energy infrastructure such as pipelines, transportation infrastructure including roads, airports and terminals, mining and critical minerals, AI computing, defence and security, and oil and gas. Chief Executive Officer Darryl White said the initiative builds on more than 200 years of financing Canadian growth, dating to 1817, and that the opportunities in these sectors represent the latest chapter in that story. The capital is expected to take the form of bank financing, debt capital markets activity and the raising of public equity, and reflects expected demand from initiatives proposed to Canada's Major Projects Office, projects supporting Canada's National Electricity Strategy, the Trilateral MOU among the Federal Government, the Province of Alberta and the Oil Sands Alliance, Canadian Sovereign AI initiatives, and proprietary BMO analysis for the defence and oil and gas sectors. BMO said it authorized nearly $300 billion in lending to over 270,000 Canadian businesses and organizations in 2025, invested approximately $3.4 billion in Canadian companies and innovation ecosystems, and has more than 30,000 employees across Canada.

Molly Beerman, chief financial officer of U.S. aluminum giant Alcoa, said on the 10th that the hefty premium paid for aluminum in the United States will not fall sharply even if the U.S. government halves tariffs on metal imported from Canada, because imports from other countries will still be needed. She spoke at a Jefferies conference held in New York. The Midwest Premium, the price paid for physical aluminum on top of the London Metal Exchange benchmark price, stands at a high level of $1.09 per pound, but has fallen from its June peak of $1.19 on expectations that import tariffs on Canadian aluminum may be halved. Beerman noted that the United States needs to import about 4 million tons of aluminum, of which Canada supplies only 3 million tons, meaning 1 million tons must be imported elsewhere, and explained that even if a favorable tariff rate is applied to Canada, the Midwest Premium will not fall sharply. She said that if tariff relief or exemptions are granted to other trading partners such as Japan, South Korea and Europe, covering the remaining 1 million tons, the benefit from tariffs would effectively disappear and the Midwest Premium would shrink accordingly. According to Beerman, Alcoa produces about 900,000 tons of aluminum a year in Canada and pays more than $1 billion in tariffs to import most of it into the United States, but it can not only fully recover that amount through the Midwest Premium but also generate profits from tight supply.

On September 11, Sungrow, a global leader in solar and energy storage, sent a product price adjustment notice to downstream customers, announcing that starting September 20 it will raise prices for photovoltaic inverters, energy storage converters, and energy storage systems by 5% to 15%. A reporter from The Paper confirmed with a relevant person in charge of Sungrow's power energy storage product line that the main reason for the price increase is the rise in bulk material prices such as copper and aluminum, and secondarily to curb vicious low-price competition. Sungrow stated that the magnitude of upstream material price increases in this round has continued to exceed expectations, and existing product pricing can no longer cover the comprehensive investment in raw materials, manufacturing, technology iteration and upgrades, as well as after-sales operation and maintenance. This is not Sungrow's first price increase this year. In the first quarter, it and other inverter leaders such as Ginlong Technologies took the lead in raising prices for energy-storage-specific models by 6% to 10%. Since July, more than ten companies along the industry chain, including EVE Energy, Sinexcel, and Inovance Technology, have intensively issued price adjustment notices covering battery cells, converters, and solar-storage-charging equipment, with increases ranging from 5% to 30%. Cost pressure comes from multiple sources: lithium carbonate prices rebounded from a low point of less than 60,000 yuan per ton in mid-2025, and once exceeded 210,000 yuan per ton in June 2026, a cumulative increase of more than 200%. The surge in AI computing power has squeezed wafer production capacity, and prices of key components such as memory chips and IGBTs have generally risen by between 50% and 800%. Tian Qingjun, senior vice president of Envision, expressed opposition to vicious price competition and pointed out that planned capacity expansion for energy storage cells in the industry this year has already exceeded 800 gigawatt-hours, with completed capacity by the end of the year expected to be about 1.2 to 1.5 terawatt-hours, and total planned capacity approaching 2 terawatt-hours, far exceeding real global market demand. At present, price increases along the industry chain are mainly driven by rising costs, and whether the price increases can be accepted by downstream project owners still needs to be observed by the market.

In this morning's session, A-share market style shifted, with agricultural and non-ferrous metals cyclical sectors surging while semiconductor technology sectors pulled back. The Shanghai Composite Index reported at 3,946.99 points, up 0.36%, with combined turnover on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges reaching 1.26 trillion yuan in the half-day session. The agricultural sector saw another wave of limit-ups, with Yasheng Group hitting its fourth consecutive limit-up, Dunhuang Seed achieving a third consecutive limit-up, and the Shenwan Agriculture, Forestry, Animal Husbandry and Fishery Index rising 1.53%. A World Meteorological Organization bulletin shows the probability of the El Niño event persisting until February 2027 is close to 100%, and it will reach super intensity in the coming months, with a peak expected around the end of 2026. Affected by this, global agricultural product prices have risen, with Chicago wheat futures hitting a three-year high. The fertilizer sector also moved, with Luhua Technology and other stocks hitting limit-up, and domestic urea quotes rising by 50 to 150 yuan per tonne in a single day. The non-ferrous metals sector rallied, with LME copper prices hitting a record high, touching 14,617 US dollars per tonne. Analysts at Guosen Futures noted that record-low copper concentrate processing fees, inventory divergence, and the start of peak-season restocking are supporting copper prices.

Hyundai-Posco Louisiana Steel, a joint venture between Hyundai Steel and Posco Group, has begun construction of a $5.8 billion fully integrated steel plant in Louisiana, with production slated to start in the first quarter of 2029. The venture will fund half of the project, with Posco contributing 20% and Hyundai and Kia each 15%. Described as the first-of-its-kind electric arc furnace plant, it will supply low-carbon steel sheets to North American automakers, particularly Hyundai Motor Group, and is expected to employ over 1,300 people directly. The facility aims to cut CO2 emissions by 70% compared to conventional blast furnaces and will support South Korea's $350 billion US investment commitment under the 2025 trade deal.

Krungsri Securities stated that the renewed conflict between the United States and Iran has intensified market concerns over tight energy supply, particularly the ongoing disruption to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. With global oil inventories at low levels, this supports crude oil prices and creates positive sentiment for energy and petrochemical stocks. Crude oil prices rose approximately 2-6% last week compared to the previous week, with potential for further gains in September 2026. For the refining business, the Singapore refining margin (SG GRM) declined 13% to about $9.2 per barrel, but is expected to stabilize in September due to Europe's demand for diesel restocking. In the petrochemical sector, HDPE and PP prices fell 4% and 2% to $418 and $474 per ton, respectively, while the price spreads for PX and BZ increased by 9% and 14%. The research division maintains a bullish view on the energy and petrochemical sectors, selecting SPRC, SCC, and PTTGC as top picks due to tight supply trends.

Protolabs CEO Suresh Krishna says the company is well-positioned to benefit from the reshoring of manufacturing to the United States, even as the Trump administration considers additional semiconductor tariffs that could raise costs for imported data center equipment. Krishna noted that Protolabs serves all industries, including electronics customers like ASML, and is investing heavily to meet growing demand, with over $150 million in cash and more than $10 million invested this year in CNC machining, 3D printing, and injection molding equipment. He cited evidence of reshoring across rockets, satellites, data centers, drones, and medical devices, with clients including Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson, Boston Scientific, SpaceX, Blue Origin, Anduril, AeroVironment, and Skydio. Krishna emphasized that as manufacturing expands—the index has grown for six consecutive months—companies increasingly rely on Protolabs for supply chain resilience and capacity investment.

US energy firms signed multibillion-dollar deals with Venezuela on Wednesday, days after the South American country granted the United States control of a large portion of its oil reserves. Energy Secretary Chris Wright oversaw the signing in Caracas, with deals worth "tens of billions of dollars of investment" involving Chevron, GE Vernova, and Italy's ENI. The agreements follow a deal giving the US majority control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves, which President Trump called the "biggest oil deal in world history." Interim President Delcy Rodriguez said the deal was already concluded and estimated Venezuela would make $209 billion in profit over 25 years. Chevron valued its deal to develop two additional oil fields in the Orinoco Belt at $7 billion, while ENI gained exclusive rights to explore the Junin 5 field, and GE Vernova will help revitalize Venezuela's electricity sector.

The Ministry of Energy has unveiled the draft of Thailand's Power Development Plan 2026-2050, or PDP2026, proposing four options for transitioning to green energy. The average retail electricity tariff throughout the plan ranges from 3.83 to 3.89 baht per unit, with the clean energy share reaching up to 89% in the case of a full renewable focus. The four options include: the base case with 65% clean energy, the Net Zero by CCS case using carbon capture technology, the Net Zero by RE case maximizing renewable energy, and a hybrid case combining RE and CCS. In the first 12 years of the plan, all four options share the same infrastructure, with a total new capacity of 50,900 megawatts. The key decision point will be between 2038 and 2050, where a path toward the 2050 clean energy target must be chosen. All cases set a minimum clean energy share of 65% and reduce carbon emissions by more than 70% from the baseline. The plan also shifts the reliability criterion from Reserve Margin to the LOLE index and liberalizes electricity trading through Direct PPA and TPA to meet the clean energy demand of the industrial sector and data centers.