Contributor: Laura Miller

US housing starts pulled back in June after a hitting an 11-month high in May.

Antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of steel wire rod from a handful of countries will remain in place for another five years. The US International Trade Commission (ITC) made its final decision in an expedited sunset review of the AD duties on wire rod from Belarus, Italy, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, […]

US housing starts pulled back in June after a hitting an 11-month high in May. Total privately owned housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,434,000 units in June, according to the latest estimates from the US Census Bureau. Starts in May were revised slightly downward, from the previous estimate of […]

On Steel Market Update’s most recent Community Chat, we caught up with Timna Tanners, managing director of Wolfe Research, to hear her latest take on the steel market.

On Steel Market Update’s most recent Community Chat, we caught up with Timna Tanners, managing director of Wolfe Research, to hear her latest take on the steel market. Tanners chatted with SMU managing editor Michael Cowden about the myth of mill discipline within the sheet market. The market isn’t much more disciplined than a few […]

Commercial Metals Co. (CMC) has secured a permit giving it the go-ahead to begin construction of its new micro mill in West Virginia. The Irving, Texas-based longs and scrap producer said on July18 the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection granted it the permit, allowing for the commencement of construction of its “fourth technologically advanced micro […]

Commercial Metals Co. (CMC) has secured a permit giving it the go-ahead to begin construction of its new micro mill in West Virginia.

South Korean steelmaker Posco has big plans to increase its global production capacity, including the making of electrical steel in North America, according to local media reports. The Korea Times reported that Posco is planning to “build additional hyper non-oriented electrical steel factories in Korea and North America to produce 1 million tons of electrical […]

The ongoing drama with AHMSA continues, but the bankrupt Mexican steelmaker has finally put out an official statement. A spokesperson for the company has previously made statements to local media, but an official announcement has not been released by the company since April. On Wednesday, July 12, a statement was issued on the company’s Twitter […]

A South Korean pipe and tube manufacturer is planning to build a new oil country tubular goods (OCTG) mill just north of Houston. Husteel, part of South Korea’s Shinan Group, is set to build a $122-million greenfield OCTG facility in Splendora, Texas, according to industrial equipment manufacturer Fives Group. Paris-based Fives said it has already […]

US steel exports spiked in May to the highest monthly level in nearly five years. Exports reached 914,018 net tons in May (Fig. 1), according to the latest figures from the US Department of Commerce. That’s 19% higher month-on-month and 15% higher year-on-year. Recall that exports in March neared a five-year high; May’s total was […]

US light-vehicle sales posted solid growth in June, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and sales are expected to continue pushing upward. Light-vehicle sales reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 15.7 million units in June. Showing 4% month-over-month growth, this beat previous forecasts. June’s sales pushed total second-quarter sales […]

US steel imports climbed in June to the highest monthly level over the past 12 months, based on June import license data compiled by the US Department of Commerce. Import license applications reached 2,803,597 net tons in June, according to Commerce’s license count as of July 5. This was a 20.7% spike from the month […]

Leeco Steel has acquired Texas plate processor Titan Steel. Titan Steel, based in Alvarado, Texas, specializes in plasma and oxy-fuel cutting and machining of steel plate. The acquisition will allow Leeco to produce parts that require precision machining and milling. The purchase closed on June 30. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. As of […]

Ternium and Tenaris have upped their stake in Brazilian steelmaker Usinas Siderúrgicas de Minas Gerais S.A. (Usiminas). Ternium’s Brazilian subsidiary Confab Industrial S.A., Ternium Investments, and Ternium Argentina, collectively known as the T/T group within the controlling group of Usiminas, closed on a previously announced acquisition of 68.7 million ordinary shares of Usiminas. The shares […]

Lead times were broadly stable this week, with sheet products rising modestly and plate unchanged from SMU’s market check two weeks ago. More meaningful movements in lead times should be seen in the coming weeks as buyers return to the market after the Fourth of July holiday. Should the mills’ recent sheet price hikes take […]

Port workers on Canada’s West Coast are on strike, and ports are already feeling the impact of the slowdown in the movement of goods. More than 7,400 workers represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU Canada) took to the picket lines starting on July 1 after failing to reach a new labor […]

With the US aluminum industry at a critical juncture, a new report is highlighting ways the Biden administration can use the Global Arrangement for Sustainable Steel and Aluminum (GASSA) to help the struggling domestic industry. Recall CRU’s aluminum analysts have previously shared with SMU the nightmare US aluminum smelters have been facing when it comes […]

The US Department of Commerce recently updated antidumping and countervailing duty rates on a number of different welded pipe and tube products. An SMU review of the US government’s Federal Register show the following changes by Commerce in multiple administrative reviews: Welded Line Pipe from South Korea Considering the one-year period ended Nov. 30, 2021, […]

As sheet prices continued to decline throughout June, the spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and galvanized coil base prices also shrank further. Recall that at the end of May, the galvanized premium over hot-rolled coil (HRC) averaged $175 per ton. As of this week, that premium had fallen to $150 per ton. Let’s look at […]

After failing to reach a new collective labor agreement, port workers on Canada’s West Coast are set to strike as of July 1. Bargaining talks between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU Canada) and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), ongoing since February, have now stalled. ILWU Canada workers have continued to […]

China’s recent reopening, coupled with increased government spending on infrastructure, has led Fitch Ratings to upgrade the outlook for the global steel sector from deteriorating to neutral. The New York-based ratings agency revised China’s steel sector outlook to neutral as well, according to a research note sent to SMU. China’s “stronger-than-expected infrastructure growth and a […]

China’s recent reopening, coupled with increased government spending on infrastructure, has led Fitch Ratings to upgrade the outlook for the global steel sector from deteriorating to neutral. The New York-based ratings agency revised China’s steel sector outlook to neutral as well, according to a research note sent to SMU. China’s “stronger-than-expected infrastructure growth and a […]

While a lack of inventory is constraining existing-home sales in the US, it’s proving a boon for sales of new homes. Existing-Home Sales Constricted by the lack of inventory, existing-home sales rose just slightly in May, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Sales of existing homes reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) […]

In May’s preliminary count, total US steel imports came in below import licenses tallied for the month. At the same time, however, flat-rolled steel imports came in higher than licenses originally suggested, according to the latest data from the International Trade Administration’s (ITA’s) steel import monitor. SMU’s previous analysis of May import data showed 2,395,039 […]

Global crude steel output during the month of May was flat from April but down almost 5% from the same month last year, according to the most recent data from the World Steel Association (worldsteel). Monthly production dipped in China while rising in the rest of the world (RoW). May’s steel production totaled 161.6 million […]

With hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices falling faster than plate pricing, the price spread between the two flat-rolled products moved this week to its highest level since February. The $1,955-per-net-ton all-time high of average HRC prices was reached in September 2021. Prices then turned downward before jumping up again in March and April 2022, affected by […]

Algoma Steel anticipates increasing its plate production in the third calendar quarter of this year. Phase two of the Canadian steelmaker’s plate mill modernization project continues, CEO Michael Garcia said on the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter of 2023 earnings call with analysts on Thursday, June 22. The second phase had initially been expected to be finished […]

The US Department of Energy has awarded 10 projects with a combined $31.9 million in funding to help decarbonize the iron and steel industry. Through its Low Emissions Steel Manufacturing Research Program, the DOE funding will focus on advancements enabling decarbonization in both ore-based and scrap-based steelmaking, it said. Projects that convert existing operations to […]

Positive structural trends in the North American market are supporting strong earnings results for Commercial Metals Co. The Irving, Texas-based longs producer and metals recycler reported lower fiscal third-quarter sales and earnings compared to levels seen in the year-ago quarter during the 2022 earnings boom, but its results remain strong, said CEO Barbara Smith. “CMC […]