ArcelorMittal Q4 steel shipments mixed in Americas segments

Fourth-quarter steel shipments from ArcelorMittal's NAFTA segment fell 5.8% year on year, excluding the impact of prior-year shipments from the former ArcelorMittal USA operations, it said Feb. 10.

NAFTA crude steel production totaled 2 million mt in Q4, down 0.7% from Q4 2020, and also when adjusted to exclude US operations it sold to Cleveland-Cliffs in December 2020.

Crude steel production in the region increased 2.6% sequentially in Q4 following earlier production disruptions in Mexico during Q3, including the impact of Hurricane Ida, the company said.

In 2021, the company reported total NAFTA crude steel production of 8.49 million mt, while shipments in the region totaled 9.59 million mt. The company's average steel selling price for 2021 was reported at $1,128/mt for the NAFTA segment, a sharp uptick from $702/mt in 2020.

Q4 hot strip mill production at ArcelorMittal's flat-rolled steel joint venture in Calvert, Alabama, fell 13.8% from Q3, mainly driven by a planned maintenance outage in November, the company said. Calvert Q4 steel shipments were 12.6% below Q3, which the company attributed to the maintenance outage and weak demand.

Full-year production at Calvert totaled 4.8 million mt, up 20% from 4 million mt in 2020, while full-year steel shipments totaled 4.55 million mt in 2021, a 16% increase from 3.91 million mt in 2020.

AM/NS Calvert is a 50-50 joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel Corp.

In South America, Brazil's Q4 steel shipments were 17.8% higher year over year at 3.03 million mt, while crude steel production during the quarter stood at 3.12 million mt, up from 2.58 million mt a year ago.

Overall, the Brazil segment reported 2021 crude steel production of 12.41 million mt, up 30% from 9.54 million mt in 2020. Total 2021 steel shipments for the Brazil segment also were higher at 11.7 million mt, an increase of 24% compared with the 9.41 million mt shipped in 2020.

The average steel selling price for the Brazil segment was reported at $1,030/mt for 2021, up sharply from an average selling price of $634/mt in 2020.