West Chester, Ohio-based AK Steel said Monday that for Q2 2013, it anticipates shipments of approximately 1,340,000 to 1,360,000 tons, compared to shipments of 1,289,800 tons in Q1 of 2013, an increase of approximately 4 to 5 percent. For Q2 2013, the company said it expects increased shipments to the automotive market and carbon spot market compared to the previous quarter.
The company expects its average selling price per-ton for Q2 2013 to decrease by approximately 1 percent, to about $1,055 per ton, from its average selling price per ton of $1,062 for Q1 2013. The expected decrease in average selling prices is primarily due to lower spot market prices for carbon steel products compared to the previous quarter. Despite this quarter over quarter reduction, AK Steel said that pricing has been more favorable in recent weeks and on May 23, 2013 and June 13, 2013, the company announced price increases on carbon flat-rolled steel products. As a result, the company's spot market selling prices have improved recently and the company expects to continue to benefit in future months from these announced price increases.
As previously disclosed, the company's Q2 results will include the effect of a planned seven-day maintenance outage at its Middletown blast furnace, which was the first major maintenance outage that has been required for that furnace since a reline in 2009. Total maintenance outage costs, including for the Middletown blast furnace, are expected to be about $21 million in Q2, compared to $1 million in Q1, representing an increase of approximately $20 million in costs from the prior quarter. The company does not have any other planned blast furnace maintenance outages for the remainder of 2013.
As a result, AK Steel said it expects to incur a net loss of between $0.33 and $0.38 per diluted share of common stock for Q2 2013.