North Carolina, US-based steelmaker Nucor Corporation has said that the company's profitability has improved each month from the beginning of the first quarter of 2010 towards the end of the quarter, as utilization rates increased and as price increases for steel mill products caught up with higher raw material costs in the US.
Commenting on the market developments, Nucor said, "We continue to believe that end markets are experiencing some real demand improvement; however, some of the improvement is due to steel buyers reacting to increasing steel prices. Improvement in real demand is most evident in products sold to the manufacturing/industrial sector, including special bar quality products, sheet and plate. The most challenging markets for our products continue to be those associated with residential and non-residential construction. While the market for long products continues to be hampered by weak construction markets and some import pressure, particularly in reinforcing bar, we have experienced some demand improvement due to restocking."
Nucor expects results for the quarter ending April 2, 2011 to be in the range of $0.30 to $0.35 per diluted share, compared to earnings of $0.10 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2010 and a loss of $0.04 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2010.