[SMM Iron & Steel] July 3 - Iron Ore Inventory Across China's 10 Major Ports

Canada's Algoma Steel Group issued guidance for its second quarter ended June 30, 2026, projecting total steel shipments of 175,000–180,000 tons and adjusted EBITDA of CAD$5–15 million, a figure boosted by a CAD$45 million insurance settlement tied to a January 2024 coke-making incident and an expected CAD$50–55 million capacity-utilization benefit. The company reported record plate sales and said its first electric arc furnace continued ramping up as expected following the completed shutdown of its last blast furnace in January 2026; a second EAF unit is expected online in the second half of 2026, completing the transition and cutting carbon emissions by roughly 70%. Algoma also introduced "Volta" as its new low-emissions steel brand produced via the EAF route.

Cleveland-Cliffs officially announced on July 1, 2026 that it had received a $400 million sole-source, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract from the US Defense Logistics Agency to supply grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES), a critical material for transformers and other power equipment. The five-year contract, which runs through September 2030, was originally awarded in September 2025 but was formally announced by the company this week. GOES production has become a strategic US priority amid concerns over grid infrastructure resilience and reliance on imported transformer steel. The contract is expected to support jobs at Cleveland-Cliffs' Ohio operations, where the company produces the specialty steel grade. The announcement adds to a series of defense- and infrastructure-linked demand signals for US electrical steel producers this year