President Joe Biden has increased tariffs on some Russian and Belarussian steel, ferroalloys, and aluminum products to 35%, according to a presidential proclamation signed earlier this week and related documents. That’s a significant increase from already higher duties on some products that went into effect earlier this year when Russia and Belarus were stripped of […]
Prices for six of the seven steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis declined over the last 30 days, again receding from record-high levels seen 2-3 months prior. Through the latest data available as of June 23, coking coal prices decreased 28% compared to one month prior, aluminum prices fell 15%, iron ore and […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group Century Aluminum Falls Prey to the Pitfalls of Day-Ahead Electricity Pricing When we wrote our column last week about INTALCO and the shortcomings of US energy policy, little did we know that we would see another example of this within a week. On Wednesday, June 22, Century Aluminum (CENX) […]
I mentioned in my last Final Thoughts that you should keep your eyes open for potential catalysts for higher prices even amid all the signs that tags probably have nowhere to go but lower. It turned out we found one hiding in plain sight. It’s contract talk season in the US, with labor pacts between […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group The Saga of the Alcoa INTALCO Aluminum Smelter In April 2020, Alcoa announced its decision to close its Ferndale, Wash., primary aluminum smelter known as INTALCO. This smelter was built in 1966 by the French aluminum giant, Pechiney, and at its peak produced 284,000 metric tons per year. In […]
Despite inflation, rising interest rates, and faltering equities markets, the outlook is not all doom and gloom when it comes to the metals markets, says Rick Marabito, CEO of service center group Olympic Steel. In fact, the outlook for demand and consolidation is actually quite good, he told attendees of this week’s Steel Market Update […]
Olympic Steel CEO Rick Marabito will be the featured speaker on our SMU Community Chat on Wednesday at 11 am ET. The live webinar is free. A recording of it is free only to SMU members. You can register here. We’ll talk about why the sky is not falling even though carbon prices and futures are softening. […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group Global Deficit Reduced Again The headline on aluminum fundamentals is that the deficit is shrinking again. We now believe that the global deficit will be about 700,000 metric tons compared to 1,000,000 metric tons in April. This deficit is exclusively held in the World ex-China, as we believe China […]
By CRU Principal Economist Alex Tuckett, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook Energy costs for consumers – in the form of utility bills and the cost of filling a car – have risen sharply, but not as sharply as the cost of crude oil and natural gas. But this doesn’t necessarily mean a lot more pain […]
Flack Global Metals (FGM) will open a new metals service center near the port of Houston in the fourth quarter of this year, the company announced Tuesday. “FGM Houston” will be located on the campus of North Shore Steel and is FGM’s first physical location. The 60,000-square-foot facility will service flat-rolled steel, aluminum, and stainless […]
Olympic Steel CEO Rick Marabito will be the featured speaker on our next SMU Community Chat on Wednesday, June 15, at 11 am ET. The live webinar is free. A recording of it is free only to SMU members. You can register here. We’ll talk about why the sky is not falling even though carbon prices and […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group The First Movers Coalition (FMC) was launched in November 2021 at COP26 as a public-private partnership to decarbonize hard to abate sectors. At that time, the 25 founding members of FMC targeted eight sectors where innovative technology would need to be applied to effect change. The sectors of initial […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has changed how it supplies the automotive industry in response to chip and parts shortages that have thrown a wrench into automaker production forecasts, the company’s top executive said. “We no longer adopt their forecast as the final truth, like it was historically,” Cliffs chairman, president and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said. How did […]
Steel prices eased each week in May, following increases in March and most of April. Hot rolled prices were $1,440 per ton ($72 per cwt) the first week of May, just $40 lower than the mid-April peak. Prices then slipped between $15 and $75 each of the following weeks, with the SMU index averaging $1,255 […]
Commercial Steel Products LLC (CSP) has acquired Ace Steel Supply Inc. (Ace) in a stock purchase agreement. The deal between the two steel service centers represents an alignment of mutual strategic interests, CSP said. Dallas-based CSP is a supplier of steel products, including tubular, flat-rolled, and structural steel. Its acquisition of Houston-based Ace will enhance […]
Major capital investments come to the aluminum can sheet market By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group This month, the market has seen two new projects announced in the flat-rolled aluminum product sector: • Novelis will spend $2.5 billion for a new state-of-the art rolling mill in Bay Minette, Ala. • Ball Corporation will partner with […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is please to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Following record price increases in March and April, prices for six of the seven steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis declined over the last 30 days. […]
What a whirlwind last week was. I want to thank Wolfe Research and Bank of America for inviting me to speak, the former virtually, the latter in person. I also want to thank Stanislav Zinchenko and the GMK Center for taking time to join us for what I thought was one of our better Community […]
What a whirlwind last week was. I want to thank Wolfe Research and Bank of America for inviting me to speak, the former virtually, the latter in person. I also want to thank Stanislav Zinchenko and the GMK Center for taking time to join us for what I thought was one of our better Community […]
Tariffs on China put in place under the Trump administration are under review now because Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 requires it after four years. I thought it was surprising that President Biden continued the “China tariffs” after criticizing them during the 2020 presidential campaign. But it is not too surprising. The tariffs […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group The London Metal Exchange announced plans on May 13th to require its members to make weekly reports of their over-the-counter (OTC) transactions to the Exchange. It also set an unusually short consultation period of two weeks for member response. This action is in direct reaction to the debacle in […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. announced a series of executive changes this week. The company’s current senior vice president of operations, Michael P. Shanley will be retiring from the company at the end of the year. As of July 1, Shanley will shift to the role of special advisor, reporting directly to Reliance’s CEO Jim […]
We’ve been writing a lot about fob mill prices falling. That’s not happening in a vacuum. Service center resale prices are coming down as well. That’s notable because service center resale prices, like mill lead times, are usually a reliable indicator of which way steel prices will go in the months ahead. What’s also notable […]
International trade has become increasingly important to the US economy and national security over the last seven decades. But in recent years, we have lost our confidence in it. Donald Trump was the first post-World War II President to try to reduce the volume of international trade, principally by imposing tariff barriers on steel, aluminum, […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group The LME cash price for high grade aluminum continues to give ground, with prices at $2,715 per metric ton versus $2,861 per ton last week. There is still a lot of gloom and doom out there. Fear factor over demand is dominating price discovery Here are a few of […]
The prices contractors pay for construction materials and services – chiefly for new nonresidential construction – jumped by more than 21% in April versus the same year-ago period, reports the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) in its latest analysis of government data. The association has called for relief to hard-hit employers from tariffs, especially […]
AZZ Inc. completed the purchase of Precoat Metals from its parent, Sequa Corp., for approximately $1.28 billion. The deal continues the Fort Worth, Texas-based company’s buying spree in the coated metals space. “Today we welcome the 1,100 employees of Precoat to the AZZ family and begin the work of swiftly integrating Precoat into AZZ while leveraging […]
At the request of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, the US International Trade Commission has begun an investigation into the economic impact of the Section 232 and 301 tariffs on US industry. The Commission is asking for detailed information on US trade, production, and prices in the industries that have been most affected […]
We’ve gotten so used to thinking about issues as Democrat vs. Republican, us versus them, that it’s gotten hard for us to make progress even on issues that we generally agree on – like lowering carbon emissions. Renewable energy, and trade policy around renewables, are examples of an all-too-common problem facing the country: Interest groups […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group US equities market this past week were a microcosm of how fast sentiment can change. It reminded me of a favorite statement I use to explain commodity trading to people outside our world: “Markets move on fear and greed.” Welcome to the fear cycle. This cycle has plenty of […]