Add the United Steelworkers to the list of those opposed to President Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. President Trump announced Kavanaugh’s selection on Monday, commenting that “what matters most is not a judge’s political views, but whether they can set aside those views to […]
Are imports of motor vehicles and auto parts a threat to the security of the United States? More than three out of four respondents to last week’s Steel Market Update market trends questionnaire say no. Citing the same argument that it used to justify the tariffs on steel and aluminum under Section 232 of the […]
Steel executives canvassed by Steel Market Update this week reported that demand remains strong, though they are less confident about conditions later in the year. Many expressed concern about the tariffs and trade issues unfolding in Washington, difficulty with trucking and logistics, and the impact of high steel prices on their customers. Following are some […]
Mill lead times on most flat rolled steel products saw little change in the past two weeks, according to Steel Market Update’s latest market trends data. Lead times for hot rolled now average nearly five and a half weeks, cold rolled a bit less than seven and a half weeks, and galvanized a bit more […]
Steel mills appear slightly more willing to negotiate spot prices on cold rolled and less open to price discussions on hot rolled, galvanized and Galvalume products, according to respondents to last week’s Steel Market Update market trends questionnaire. Every two weeks, in a proprietary poll, SMU tracks how buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel […]
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce could normally be expected to support the policies of a “pro-business” president. But recent and proposed trade actions by the Trump administration threaten the nation’s economic resurgence and as many as 2.6 million American jobs, contend Chamber leaders. In a new analysis, the Chamber outlines the state-by-state impact of retaliatory […]
I would like to comment on the letter from the Midwestern Service Center Executive published in Steel Market Update’s July 5 newsletter. First, to call a decrease of $200/ton a “decrease of that magnitude” may have been the way to describe it 10 years ago, but in times where domestic mills have made increases in […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: The steel product exclusion process is stuck. While more than 11,000 comments have been filed, the overwhelming majority of which are product exclusion requests, less than 100 (by my latest count) have been processed. Of […]
Raw steel production for the week ending June 30 totaled 1,781,000 net tons, a 1.9 percent increase from the same period last year and up 0.5 percent from the previous week. The mill capability utilization rate for the June 30 week averaged 76.0 percent, up from 75.6 percent in the prior week and 74.9 percent […]
Steel Market Update received the following comments regarding predictions made at the annual Steel Success Strategies Conference by Peter Marcus of World Steel Dynamics. Steel Market Update did not attend the conference, but we felt the substance of the issues raised by one of our readers would be of interest to all of our readers. […]
Worthington Industries, Inc., the Columbus, Ohio, steel processor and manufacturer, reported net sales of $3.6 billion and net earnings of $194.8 million for its 2018 fiscal year ended May 31. While the company’s sales increased by 19 percent over the prior year, its earnings showed a decline from the $204.5 million in fiscal 2017. Improved […]
Tariffs on cars and trucks made in Canada and exported to the United States could have a significant effect on ferrous scrap prices, says scrap consultant John Harris of Aaristic Services, Inc. Speaking at a recent meeting of the Canadian Association of Recycling Industries, Harris said if the proposed 20 percent or 25 percent tariff […]
Big River Steel had made no secret it was considering further expansion less than two years after opening the high-tech Flex Mill on the Mississippi River in Osceola, Ark, and today announced it will proceed with a $1.2 billion investment that will double the mill’s annual capacity to 3.3 million tons. Some of that tonnage […]
With the price of zinc down considerably from recent highs, buyers of galvanized steel are wondering if the mills will reduce their coating extras anytime soon. The price of zinc on the London Metal Exchange was about $1.33 per pound on June 28. The average for the month of June was around $1.40, down from […]
Steel imports fell by nearly a quarter from April to May as the Trump administration’s steel tariffs began to take effect, reported the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS). Imports fell 23.2 percent month-to-month to 2.89 million net tons, which was almost 16 percent lower than in May 2017. South Korea—which has agreed to a […]
Artificial Intelligence is no longer just the stuff of science fiction. It has real-world application and is attracting real money from investors. Noodle.ai, a leading provider of enterprise AI applications, announced that it has raised more than $50 million to expand the company’s suite of applications. AI is one of the many topics to be […]
(Updated 6/27/2018) Steel Dynamics, Inc. has announced plans to expand its offering of value-added flat roll steel products through the addition of a new galvanizing line in Columbus, Miss. The company plans to invest $140 million, adding a third galvanizing line at its Columbus Flat Roll Division. The new galvanizing line will have an annual coating capability of […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross reported to the Senate Finance Committee last week that companies had submitted 20,003 product exclusion requests for steel and 2,503 for aluminum, seeking relief from tariffs on products they maintain are […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: The year is now half over. The second half of the year will be even more interesting than the first. Here are the latest developments: Canada’s tariffs went into effect today, July 1. Tariffs of […]
What are the issues affecting price negotiations? What is the direction of spot pricing? Steel Market Update canvassed the market this week to gather executives’ perspectives. Following are some insightful comments: Q: What are you seeing as the biggest issue affecting price negotiations with your suppliers? A: “Supply is constrained. That is the biggest issue.” A: […]
Behlen Mfg. Co. is among many manufacturers who report strong demand for their products despite all the trade conflict making headlines in Washington. Based in Columbus, Neb., Behlen makes grain storage equipment, building systems and other fabricated metal parts. Behlen President and CEO Phil Raimondo is pleased with his company’s performance, but his pleasure is […]
Raw steel production for the week ending June 23 totaled 1,772,000 net tons, a 1.4 percent increase from the same period last year and up 1.8 percent from the previous week. The mill capability utilization rate for the June 23 week averaged 75.6 percent, up slightly from 74.2 percent in the prior week and 74.9 […]
Attendance at Steel Market Update’s Steel Summit Conference, Aug. 27-29 in Atlanta, will set a record this year. With two months to go, registrations already equal last year’s total of 650. But it’s not just a matter of how many individuals will attend, but how many different types of individuals will attend, that promises to […]
John Packard is on an airplane somewhere over the Atlantic, on his way to meet with our new colleagues at the CRU Group, which is headquartered in London. I’m sure John would agree, as he travels far away, that this comment from a Steel Market Update subscriber hits very close to home. Responding to our […]
Sixty-three percent of respondents to this week’s Steel Market Update market trends questionnaire expect steel supplies to tighten and prices to rise even further now that the Trump administration has revoked the exclusions and imposed Section 232 tariffs on steel imported from Canada, Mexico and the EU nations. The 25 percent tariffs took effect June […]
In testimony before a skeptical and sometimes combative group of senators Wednesday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross did his best to defend the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum and the controversial trade policies of the Trump administration. Despite his assurances that the process of reviewing product exclusion requests is on track, members of the […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: On Wednesday, during a Senate hearing on the Section 232 tariffs, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross offered some additional information on the volume of product exclusion requests he has received. As of June 20, there were […]
The Commerce Department’s procedure for filing requests to have products excluded from the Section 232 steel tariffs has been called confusing and burdensome by many companies, some of which have been thwarted in their attempts to file. Applications can be rejected for something as simple as an inaccurate Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) code. In testimony […]
Mill lead times on all flat rolled steel products shortened in the past two weeks, according to Steel Market Update’s latest market trends data. Lead times for hot rolled now average a bit over five weeks, cold rolled a bit over seven weeks, and galvanized and Galvalume at roughly seven and a half weeks. Lead […]
Steel mills appear slightly more willing to negotiate spot prices on hot rolled, cold rolled and coated steel than two weeks ago, according to respondents to this week’s Steel Market Update market trends questionnaire. Every two weeks, in a proprietary poll, SMU tracks how buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel represent the mill negotiation […]