The pressure that comes with being a CEO is not for the faint of heart. With every decision they make, CEOs have to keep in mind what’s best for the company. Karla Lewis, president and CEO of Reliance Steel & Aluminum, and Leon Topalian, president and CEO of Nucor Corp., sat down with Metal Service […]
A rare state visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India culminated in a joint statement by President Biden and the prime minister last Thursday. This was a blockbuster statement, covering 58 paragraphs and resolving or narrowing differences on a host of issues. Some disputes had been festering for years. Despite pre-meeting statements advising that […]
CRU research manager Stephen Williamson shares an update on the aluminum market and pricing with SMU readers. This article was written The LME rallied in the days following the debt ceiling resolution by Congress and the price of aluminum pressed towards $2,300 per metric ton. This week, however, the price fell back through a key […]
The US and India have agreed to end six outstanding disputes at the World Trade Organization (WTO), some directly involving steel, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said Thursday. Also, USTR Tai said that India has agreed to remove retaliatory tariffs, which it had imposed as a response to the US Section 232 national security measures […]
SMU’s Steel Summit Conference 2023 is two months away, and it’s never too early for attendees and prospective attendees to start preparing for how to take advantage of the conference’s resources. CRU principal analyst Josh Spoores sat down with SMU managing editor Michael Cowden and senior analyst David Schollaert on Tuesday for a webinar in […]
We are counting down the days until SMU’s Steel Summit Conference on Monday-Wednesday, Aug. 21-23, in Atlanta. It’s only a little over two months away. Approximately 755 people have already registered. Our discounted room blocks are almost gone. Register here. The event will again be held at the Georgia International Convention Center, a massive conference center in close […]
The US Federal Reserve has taken some pressure out of the market by announcing a pause in interest rate hikes, leaving rates at 5% to 5.25% after more than a year of consecutive rate increases. The decision on Wednesday came a day after official figures showed US inflation was 4% – the lowest pace of […]
The US and European Union are working on an agreement dealing with carbon emissions in the steel industry. The impact on bilateral trade could be high. In 2021, the US and EU agreed that the US would suspend the 25% Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, and the EU would drop its World Trade […]
The LME aluminum three-month price is moving higher again as the week ending June 9 closes trading at $2,230/t. Failing to dip below the critical transition price of $2,000/t, The LME steadied itself despite very lackluster demand anywhere in the world. Trading in China also kept the regional exchange there neutral, if not a bit […]
Bipartisan legislation was introduced in Congress on Wednesday to level the playing field for American workers. The Leveling the Playing Field Act 2.0 would enhance US trade remedy laws to protect American workers and “combat China’s unfair, anti-free market trade practices that distort the global market,” according to a release from Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio). […]
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices are down $55 per ton ($2.75 per cwt), the sharpest such decline we’ve seen all year. If this feels like an echo of June 2022, that’s because it is. Check out the chart below: A year ago, prices were falling hard as the shock of the war in Ukraine faded along […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, contact Lindsey Fox at lindsey@steelmarketupdate.com. Prices of steelmaking raw materials have been largely on the decline over the last 30 days, as they were the month prior, the exception being pig […]
The US government is moving forward with its goal of establishing a common framework on carbon emissions in the steel and aluminum industries with the European Union by October. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai asked the International Trade Commission this week to investigate and compile a public report assessing the intensity of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions […]
The LME aluminum three-month price continued to make steady gains on the morning of June 2 and was seen trading at $2,308/t. The move marks the successful test of the key $2,200/t support earlier last week. SHFE aluminum prices also traded higher on that day. The cash price settled at RMB18,585/t and last traded at RMB18,665/t, […]
Steel prices continued to erode in May, following a trend that began halfway through the previous month. Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices ended May at $990 per ton ($49.50 per cwt) on average, falling by $130 per ton throughout the month. The SMU Price Momentum Indicator for sheet products remained Lower during May after shifting to […]
The US and EU affirmed their intention to reach a common framework on carbon emissions in steel and aluminum by October at the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) meeting in Luleå, Sweden, on Wednesday. At the meeting the EU and US said that via the Transatlantic Initiative for Sustainable Trade they are “strengthening engagement towards […]
Swedish steelmaker SSAB is urging ambitious standards for the steel industry’s transition to green steelmaking as the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) meeting takes place in Luleå, Sweden, on May 30-31. Martin Lindqvist, president and CEO of SSAB, said that to succeed in the transition, effective frameworks, political leadership, and action are needed. “It is also […]
Bend, Oregon-based Origami Solar has announced its Gen 2 steel module frame, which can be sourced from domestic steelmakers. The solar panel company said the steel solar module frame represents “a game-changing opportunity to disrupt high-risk Asian supply chains.” It can achieve this by leveraging US steel resources to end the solar industry’s reliance on […]
Two separate developments suggest that the Biden administration may have concerns that more tariffs would damage the US economy by harming consumers. First, we saw the president suspend action to impose additional tariffs on solar cells and modules from four countries in the face of an antidumping “circumvention” proceeding. Circumvention determines whether operations in third […]
A weary market worn down by the absence of any positive demand reports ran below the critical $2,300-per-tonne trading line. Falling all the way to $2,200 before settling in the $2,270 – 2,290 range, the LME is in a new lower range as of the week ending May 19 as bearish sentiment pervades the market. […]
United Auto Workers (UAW) members at a Constellium plant in Michigan are on strike after failing to reach a labor agreement with the aluminum products producer. 160 members of UAW Local 174 at Constellium’s automotive structures plant in Van Buren, Mich., opted to strike as of May 17 “after weeks of the company refusing to […]
Lourenco Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs’ chairman, president, and CEO—as well as the newly elected AISI chairman—and Kevin Dempsey, AISI president and CEO, discussed issues ranging from Section 232 tariffs and hydrogen in steelmaking, to steel imports from Mexico, along with a host of other topics on Tuesday at the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) General Meeting press […]
US non-farm payrolls data showed stronger than expected job growth in April and a further drop in the unemployment rate. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that 253,000 jobs were created in April against an expectation of 180,000, while the unemployment rate fell slightly from 3.5% to 3.4%. US non-farm payrolls data showed […]
Private equity firm Apollo has been looking to add Arconic to its portfolio for some time. Almost since its spin-off from its upstream parent, Alcoa, in 2016, Arconic’s assets and key position in the aluminum semis value chain have been on Apollo’s radar. The deal is expected to close before the end of 2023, at […]
The Congressional Steel Caucus (CSC) has urged the US Department of Commerce and the US Trade Representative to take action to address what it calls a “surge of Mexican steel imports” into the US. The CSC claims the imports are in violation of the US and Mexican 2019 Joint Statement on Section 232 Duties on Steel and Aluminum, […]
Steel prices peaked at the start of the month, with hot-rolled coil reaching $1,160 per ton ($58 pet cwt) on average on April 10. Tags began to decline near the month’s halfway mark and closed out the month $40 per ton lower at $1,120 per ton. The SMU Price Momentum Indicator for sheet products was […]
Mississauga, Ontario-based service center group Russel Metals reported sequential improvement in its business segments in the first quarter, while results weakened year over year. The company reported Q1 net income of Canadian $73.9 million (US$55.2 million) on sales of nearly CA$1.2 billion compared to net income of CA$98.7 million on sales of CA$1.34 billion in […]
The 21st century has shown technology transforming the auto industry. From hybrids to pure electric vehicles, even to hydrogen, popping the hood these days can be more microchip than sparkplug. Beyond that, there’s the interplay with AI. Think self-driving cars. One thing our current technology can’t do, though, (yet) is build the cars itself. That […]
Premiums for aluminum in the US took fell again last week following a period of stability after the Federal Reserve stepped in the wake of the closure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Economic struggles have continued to depress shipment volumes into Q2, and many major macro data points are still muddied. Last week another bank […]
Weather events significantly disrupted commodity markets in 2022, fueling already significant price volatility. La Niña has ended in Australia, but other weather events and permanent climate change continue to impact global commodity supply chains. Weather – A Significant Disruptor in 2022 Heightened seasonal weather and extreme weather events disrupted multiple commodity markets in 2022. Heavy […]