Ryerson saw strong shipments on better-than-expected demand during the first quarter, but weaker prices resulted in lower earnings for the Chicago-based service center group. “Ryerson produced good operating results during a period of better-than-expected composite demand and price support,” company president and CEO Eddie Lehner said. Q1 sales of $1.4 billion increased 9.2% sequentially, driven […]
Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. has made its first acquisition of 2023, announcing the addition of Southern Steel Supply Co. to its portfolio of service center companies. Southern Steel Supply is based in Memphis, Tenn., supplying merchant and structural steel, pipe and tube, steel plate, ornamental products, and laser-cut and fabricated parts to […]
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan recently gave an important speech on the direction of trade policy. It was not his speech alone, but part of a coordinated roll-out of the Biden administration on trade policy, including contributions from President Biden, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. It’s worth looking at […]
A year ago, the LME was $3,100 per metric ton (mt) and the Midwest Premium (MWP) was pressuring $0.39/lb. In early May 2023, the LME is resting near $2,300/mt and the MWP is settled at $0.25/lb. That marks a $0.50 /lb. reversal in underlying metal value year over year (y/y). The US Midwest premium continues […]
We’ve written in SMU about “green” steel and whether steel consumers, including market-leading OEMs, will pay a premium for it. What about the potential for premiums in scrap too? Maybe not for green scrap. But what about for “prime grade” or prime-equivalent shredded scrap? Shred that transforms into prime – maybe we could call it […]
The United States and European Union are quarrelling about several trade issues. None is more far-reaching than the trade impact of measures to address climate change. While some still doubt the need or ability of the world’s nations to tax or subsidize their way out of human-caused global warming, governments, at least in Europe and […]
Not since World War II has North America been at the center of a metals manufacturing investment boom. Three new aluminum rolling mills are coming up out of the ground as testament to over $6 billion in new investments to secure domestic aluminum supply. It has been over 80 years since the last metals manufacturing […]
Arbor Metals Inc. and Tube Supply LP have purchased the assets of Marco Steel and Aluminum Inc., a processor of carbon, alloy, and stainless steels, aluminum, and hot-rolled steel plate with operations in the southwestern US. Arbor Metals, a division of service center Triple-S Steel, will now own and operate Marco’s assets in Lubbock, Texas, […]
We’ve reached a milestone on the trade litigation front. Nearly all the cases (save two) have been decided regarding the legality of Section 301 tariffs on China and of Section 232 tariffs (and other measures) on steel and aluminum. The US government has prevailed. The Supreme Court last week declined to review one of the […]
Fresh off another rate hike from the Fed, US macro data came in mixed during the month of March. The final update for GDP in Q4 2022 showed 2.6% growth, which was down slightly month over month and below expectations. Consumer spending has also been revised down consistently over each update on the Q4 figures. […]
Ternium SA and its affiliates aim to take a majority stake in Brazilian flat-rolled steelmaker Usinas Siderúrgicas de Minas Gerais SA (Usiminas). The Latin American flat-rolled steelmaker said it and related companies had agreed to pay $111 million in cash for 57.7 million in ordinary shares of Usiminas. The shares will be purchased from Japan’s […]
Chevrolet recently announced it was retiring the sixth-generation Camaro. An iconic muscle car that first went on sale in late 1966 for the 1967 model year, it had already gone through a few changes. Recall that in 1967 a gallon of gas cost around 35 cents in the USA. That’s for those who can recall […]
On March 17, the Court of International Trade, the federal court with jurisdiction over most cases involving international trade regulation, issued a major ruling giving control over China tariffs to the discretion of the US Trade Representative (USTR). The case dealt with legal challenges in nearly 4,000 separate cases to the “List 3” and “List […]
The LME aluminum three-month price steadied this week despite a whirlwind of upsetting news, finding its footing near $2,300 per metric ton. That’s below the $2,500-per-ton mark we saw as 2023 opened on a more optimistic tone. The recent news from across the geopolitical and macroeconomic scene has dampened demand sentiment in the near term. […]
It’s not always easy to be a market disruptor, but when done right, it’s worth it. Reibus International is one of those companies hoping to bring change, increased efficiencies, and new ways of doing business to an older industry steeped in tradition. SMU sat down this week with John Armstrong, the founder and CEO of […]
It’s not always easy to be a market disruptor, but when done right, it’s worth it. Reibus International is one of those companies hoping to bring change, increased efficiencies, and new ways of doing business to an older industry steeped in tradition. SMU sat down this week with John Armstrong, the founder and CEO of […]
The macro environment in the US has proven to be extremely volatile and continues to change on a month-by-month and sometimes even week-by-week basis. Last year ended with worries about an incoming recession as the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates to slow the economy. As 2023 opened and year-end economic data trickled in, the figures were […]
The US International Trade Commission issued a report to Congress last week on the impact of the Section 232 import restrictions on steel and aluminum and the tariffs on imports from China under Section 301. The report catalogued significant injury to downstream industries. Namely, those that use steel or aluminum in manufacturing. The losses were […]
Canada will no longer accept imports of Russian aluminum and steel, Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Canada, announced on March 10. “Through regulatory amendments under the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations, the importation of all Russian aluminum products, such as unwrought aluminum, aluminum sheets, and finished products including containers and other […]
The LME aluminium three-month price eased lower again last week and was seen trading Friday at around $2,300 per tonne. Still below the high mark for 2023, recent news from the macroeconomic scene has dampened demand sentiment and prices accordingly. Market participants awaited Jerome Powell’s semi-annual congressional testimony, with Friday’s focus the nonfarm payrolls report. […]
The Biden administration has announced a plan to provide approximately $6 billion to speed up the decarbonization of US industry. The program, administered by the US Department of Energy, will target carbon emissions associated with the production of iron and steel, aluminum, cement, and concrete. It is part the administration’s goal of creating a “net-zero […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has broken ground on its previously announced aluminum rolling mill outside of Columbus, Miss., according to local media reports. When local TV station WCBI asked SDI chairman, president, and CEO Mark Millett why the company chose the area, he said it was in large part because of opportunities in the beverage […]
Despite the economic concerns that lowered consumer sentiment towards the end of 2022, aluminum products demand has held up throughout the first three months of the year. A slowdown from the frenetic post-pandemic pace is apparent. Overall, though, both rollers and extruders comment that conditions are better than expected. The new order index as released […]
The Biden administration has hit Russian pig iron as well as other steel and metal products with tariffs of up to 70%. The move was made with less fanfare than the 200% tariffs on Russian aluminum announced in a presidential proclamation last week. The tariffs were included in an annex attached to that proclamation. The […]
Sometimes it’s hard to know who your friends are. What starts offs as a simple disagreement escalates. Things can soon spin out of control. And that’s just for people. When dealing with nation states like the US and Mexico, things get a bit more complex, and the stakes a whole lot higher. At the beginning […]
President Biden devoted a significant portion of his State of the Union address earlier this month on Buy American issues. As on most issues, “the devil is in the details,” but his general sentiment is clear. America, he believes, has sent jobs and wealth overseas by allowing Americans to buy imported products. This is a […]
On the morning of Feb. 24, the White House issued a proclamation to adjust aluminum imports and taking further action under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Following the guidance of the Secretary of Commerce, the president issued an order adding a 200% duty to Russian metal coming into the US. Imported […]
The US government will impose a 200% tariff on aluminum products of Russian origin starting on March 10, the Biden administration announced Friday. Additionally, starting on April 10, a 200% ad valorem tariff will be applied to products that contain any amount of primary aluminum used in the manufacturing of aluminum products that are smelted or cast in Russia. The […]
Olympic Steel’s earnings tumbled in the fourth quarter, but the company remains focused on growth opportunities in 2023. The Cleveland-based service center reported net income of $4 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, down 84% from $24.9 million a year earlier on net sales that fell 17% to $520 million. However, for full-year […]
Thirteen US senators from both major political parties wrote to top trade officials last week requesting that Section 232 tariffs be reinstated on some Mexican steel products, notably steel conduit. “In recent months, it has become clear that Mexican steel imports ‘now exceed historic volumes of trade’ and are ‘surg[ing] meaningfully” into our market,” the […]