In this Global Economic Outlook, we look ahead to 2023 and outline our top ten calls for the global economy. These include predictions on inflation, the war in Ukraine, electric vehicles and Covid-19 in China. No. 1: Global Growth Will Slow From 2022 We expect both the US and Europe to experience recessions over the […]
2022: A Year of Unprecedented Change and Volatility We entered 2022 expecting plenty of change in aluminum and the market delivered more than its fair share of twists and turns. There were 3 macroeconomic effects that rippled through the entire global economy: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent global energy prices soaring, as they “weaponized” their […]
Hot-rolled coil lead times have been bouncing around four weeks on average since July. HRC prices over that time have fallen from $955 per ton ($47.75 per cwt) to $630 per ton as of last week, a 34% decline. The question now is whether we bottom out around $600 per ton. Will sheet prices and lead […]
The Biden administration has, from its early days, presented a “worker-centered” trade policy. Katherine Tai, the US Trade Representative (USTR), has used that term consistently. What does that mean exactly? The “worker-centered” narrative includes, as is common in most policy debates, addressing the disparate impact on minorities and the disadvantaged. When a factory closes, those […]
Prices of steelmaking raw materials moved in differing directions over the last 30 days, as they did the month prior, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis. Through the latest data available as of Nov. 16, pig iron and aluminum increased 7% in the last month, coking coal prices rose 6%, and zinc prices increased 4%. […]
New Commitments in Middle East Around Carbon Capture and Alcoa Gives Updates on Elysis Technology We were struck this week by reports from Saudi Arabia that the Ma’aden smelter intends to pursue a carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) approach to reducing its carbon footprint. During the current COP27 event in Egypt, Ma’aden’ Senior Vice […]
Producer prices came in below expectations in October, adding to hopes that inflationary pressures are beginning to ease, the US Labor Department reported. Last month’s Producer Price Index (PPI), a measure of the prices received for final-demand products, advanced just 0.2% month-on-month (MoM) and 8% from a year ago, the smallest annual gain in more […]
The Tampa Steel Conference – which SMU does every February together with the Port of Tampa Bay – offers the tantalizing prospect for those of us in the Midwest of getting out of the cold to network outdoors in Florida. We’ll again hold the conference at the Tampa Marriot Water Street hotel. We’ve got a solid agenda […]
The prices contractors pay for construction materials and services — chiefly for new nonresidential construction — jumped 20.2% year-on-year (YoY) in October and were up 3% month-on-month (MoM), the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported in its latest analysis of government data. AGC cautioned that higher construction costs could undermine demand for projects, and urged […]
Metal products service center Gerber Metal Supply Co. has been purchased by All Metals Industries Inc. (AMI). Gerber is a New Jersey-based distributor of carbon sheet steel, strip, blanks, and edge processed material. Belmont, New Hampshire-based AMI is a finisher and distributor of carbon, aluminum, stainless, and coated sheet and coil products serving the Northeastern […]
The London Metal Exchange (LME) consultation with industry has come and gone with no action. The Exchange on Friday, Nov. 11, published its response to submissions from the industry on the issue of Russian metals. As a refresher, the LME asked for opinion on three options: • Do nothing • Impose limits on the warranting of […]
The Hard Work Starts Now, Executing on the Announced New Aluminum Capacity After the flurry of announcements in May and July of this year, the three new greenfield aluminum rolling mills are in various stages of execution. Novelis Breaks Ground Official ground breaking took place on Novelis’ Bay Minette, Ala., mill on Oct. 7. The […]
Just a day after announcing its acquisition of West Coast fabrication and machining company Excelsior, Ryerson reported solid third quarter earnings results on Thursday, Nov. 2. Despite decreasing metal prices and declining industry demand, the Chicago-based service center group maintains a positive outlook. “Ryerson delivered strong operational and financial performance,” said Eddie Lehner, Ryerson president […]
Marubeni-Itochu Steel America Inc. (MISA) has acquired Worthington Specialty Processing (WSP), a joint venture between Worthington Industries and United States Steel Corp. The New York-based value-added steel and aluminum processor and North American subsidiary of Japan’s Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc. acquired WSP’s only remaining facility in Jackson, Mich. in an all-cash deal for an undisclosed sum. […]
It’s official. Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) will build its $1.9 billion flat-rolled aluminum mill in Columbus, Miss., where the company already operates an electric-arc furnace (EAF) steel sheet mill. The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker said it would also construct a “biocarbon” facility in Columbus to reduce reliance on anthracite coal in its EAFs and to […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) appears poised to announce that its new aluminum flat-rolled mill will be located in Mississippi, according to state records and recent comments by the state’s governor. Governor Tate Reeves said he would convene a special session of the state legislature on Wednesday, Nov. 2, to finalize “the largest economic development deal […]
The US and European Union are making good on their efforts to speed up global steel discussions. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis met on Oct. 30 for the second time in several weeks. At the forefront of their meeting were discussions about carbon intensity and overcapacity in steel and […]
Steel prices declined each week in October, with all sheet products now back in line with late-2020 levels. Hot rolled prices averaged $736 per net ton ($36.80 per cwt) in October, falling from $765 in the beginning of the month to $710 as of last Tuesday. The SMU Price Momentum Indicator for sheet products was […]
The Brazilian ambassador to the US said it’s time for the removal of Section 232 tariffs and quotas in an editorial sent to the Wall Street Journal. The 232 tariffs and quotas have been in effect for more than four years – since 2018, when then-President Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff on steel and a […]
People who purchase imported steel don’t like Section 232 tariffs. And domestic steel producers don’t like exclusions to the 25% duties. Recent cases have highlighted a legal problem that mirrors commercial reality. If a domestic steel producer benefits from protective tariffs, does it have a right to participate in litigation against importers challenging the denial […]
The Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum Just over a year ago, on Oct. 3, 2021, the EU and the US signed an agreement to negotiate on carbon intensity and global overcapacity in both steel and aluminum. This lofty goal seemed to have been trumped by the agreement that the US suspended Section 232 […]
The reshoring of US manufacturing, nonresidential construction, and semiconductor manufacturing are key areas where Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. remains incredibly bullish. Speaking on the company’s third quarter earnings conference call with analysts on Thurs., Oct. 27, executives expressed their optimism for these markets. Reshoring/nearshoring is “legit,” and the company is “pumped up about it,” […]
Prices of steelmaking raw material moved in differing directions over the last 30 days, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis. Through the latest data available as of Oct. 27, coking coal prices increased 15% over the last month, aluminum prices rose 8%, and zinc prices increased 2%. Pig iron prices remained stable. Busheling scrap […]
Somewhat better-than-expected demand helped service center behemoth Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. achieve strong third-quarter sales. And despite macroeconomic uncertainty, inflation, continuing supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical issues, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company anticipates healthy demand trends to continue in the current quarter, according to its Q3 earnings report released on Thursday, Oct. 27. The company […]
With September’s quarter close comes the wave of corporate analysts’ reports. Several were released this week, and all warn of challenging times ahead. Demand and prices are falling, as costs are rising, leaving the aluminum value chain scissored in the near term. As context for these results, CRU has refreshed June’s base economic forecast and […]
Well, earnings season is now well underway. We’ve seen the early reporters like steel processor Worthington Steel (who announced it will be splitting off its steel segment and creating two separate, publicly traded businesses), as well as tube producer Webco, and steel and metal manufacturer Commercial Metals Co. all report strong results in their latest earnings. […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. plans to announce where its new aluminum flat-rolled mill will be located within the next few weeks. Site selection is wrapping up, and the purchase of equipment packages and major mill components has been completed over the past few weeks, SDI chairman, president, and CEO Mark Millett said on the company’s third-quarter […]
Steel service center NIM Group is adding a new processing line to its Norfolk Iron & Metal facility in Windsor, Colo. Installation of a new precision cut-to-length line from Red Bud Industries and a hydraulic cassette leveler from Braner USA will begin at the end of this year. Operations are slated to begin in the […]
The international consensus on expanding international trade has shattered. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote a piece last week in the Times outlining some of the factors that led to the demise of this consensus. In the 1990s, with the advent of NAFTA and the WTO, the prevalent view among policymakers was that trade […]
News that the Biden Administration is considering a total ban on Russian aluminum imports lifted the market Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 11. The LME aluminum three-month price increased sharply to a high of $2,400 per ton before some of the gains were reversed by the close. The price saw some volatile shifts during the week but […]