Market Segment
November 11, 2021
Written by Michael Cowden
ArcelorMittal recorded it best quarterly earnings performance since 2008 in the third quarter as sharply higher prices offset lower shipment volumes.
The shipment declines came partly because of weaker demand and order cancellations from the automotive sector, the company said.
Steel markets in the United States now feature supply shortages. Spot tons are well-nigh unavailable, and even contract tons are scarce. Based on the available statistics, the US market for flat-rolled products is seriously constrained. The US economy is still the strongest in the world, and manufacturing output remains vigorous. But the available supply is tight. The reason is fairly obvious. US domestic supply has increased a bit. Meanwhile, imports have fallen significantly.
Shipbuilding is set to return to Sparrows Point, Md. President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced plans to develop a new shipbuilding facility at the site called Arsenal-2. The 2-million-square-foot facility sitting on an 187-acre site will manufacture critical components for the Virginia-class submarine. Sparrows Point is the former site of Bethlehem Steel, once the world's largest steel mill, and the Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard.
The Department of Commerce is adjusting the countervailing duties (CVDs) on imports of hot-rolled steel flat products from two South Korean producers. The agency released the final results of its administrative review for calendar year 2023, finding a lower rate for Hyundai but a higher rate for POSCO.
President Trump’s senior counsel for trade and manufacturing, Peter Navarro, has criticized South Korea for subsidized and transshipped steel. “South Korea is inundating the U.S. with highly subsidized steel and steel transshipped from China,” Navarro wrote in a post on X. “We are cracking down." In comments to C-SPAN, Navarro pointed to the White House’s recent report, the Great Transshipment Scam.
Steel imports into the US crept higher in August and continued climbing in September, according to the Department of Commerce's latest import license data. August imports rose 3.4% from July to a 15-month high. September license data collected through Oct. 5 shows another 6.2% month-on-month increase. Imports continue to recover from some of the lowest levels since 2020, seen late last year through February this year.