Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: The Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum came under new scrutiny last week. A Supreme Court decision and an announcement by U.S. Steel were key developments. First, U.S. Steel announced the idling of two blast furnaces, due […]
By CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison April reports related to manufacturing indicate a potential softening in the sector going forward. Since total IP growth for Q1 was revised down to register a decline of 0.5 percent q/q, we have reduced our forecast for 2019 IP growth to 2.0 percent from 2.7 percent previously. The ISM […]
Today, June 6, is D-Day. I know there are many who read this newsletter who are well-removed from those who served in World War II. For us baby boomers, the children of the men and women who served either in the military or supporting the war effort at home, we learned early in life about […]
The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users issued the following statement on the one-year anniversary (June 1) of full implementation of the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports: The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU) is encouraged by the termination of Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs on Mexico and […]
Promises of steel tariff relief were short-lived for Mexico as President Trump’s latest tariff move adds new penalties and dashes hopes for quick ratification of the USMCA. Trump announced on Thursday that 5 percent tariffs will be imposed June 10 on all Mexican goods, including steel, until such time that Mexico stops the influx of […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: President Trump announced his intention to impose new tariffs on imports from Mexico on Thursday afternoon. Beginning June 10, 5 percent tariffs will be imposed on all imports of goods from Mexico. On the first of July, the […]
Metalforming companies are expecting a downward trend in business conditions for the next three months, according to 119 metalforming companies surveyed by the Precision Metalforming Association. The PMA Business Conditions Report for May shows only 19 percent of those surveyed expected economic activity to improve. About 24 percent expected orders to decline, an increase from […]
Strong and healthy competition has always existed between the steel and aluminum industries as each vies to capture and retain market share through innovation, advertising, pricing and other strategies. However, beyond this story of upstream competition, both materials are integral to a wide range of manufactured products and are widely purchased, fabricated and distributed by […]
Major steel producers in the U.S. had hoped the president wouldn’t blink on the Section 232 tariffs on Canada and Mexico—but he did—in an apparent effort to clear the way for passage of the new North American free trade agreement. Now the mills are supporting the administration’s demand that steel trade in North America be […]
Like everyone else in the steel industry, members of the Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) are wondering what will happen to supply and prices now that the Trump administration has lifted the Section 232 tariffs on steel imports from Canada and Mexico and cut in half the tariffs on steel imports from Turkey. […]
The competitiveness of steel continues to lose ground against aluminum and plastic, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Cold rolled steel sheet has become less competitive against aluminum sheet in the last year and this has carried through to steel and aluminum cans. Steel tubular goods have lost ground to […]
The agreement to terminate Section 232 tariffs on Canada and Mexico and all retaliatory tariffs was welcomed by many industry associations. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in his announcement remarks on Friday, it was “pure good news.” “On behalf of the membership of the CSPA, we thank the Government of Canada for its significant […]
The U.S. has agreed to lift steel and aluminum tariffs on Mexico and Canada, removing a major roadblock to the ratification of the new North American trade agreement. The Section 232 tariffs, imposing a 25 percent tax on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum, have been in place just over one year. The tariffs […]
The Washington Post reports that the U.S. has agreed to lift steel and aluminum tariffs on Mexico and Canada in 48 hours in return for tougher measures to prevent Chinese steel from entering the U.S. via Canada or Mexico. According to sources, the agreement does not include previously discussed quotas for the two North American […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Several notices have been published in the last few days, signaling the new reality of the contentious trade negotiations between the U.S. and China. USTR issued a notice, which has not yet been seen in the Federal Register, […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: The announcements over the last few days have substantially altered the steel and aluminum trade policy priorities of the United States. I am referring, of course, to the following: (1) the U.S. has dropped steel and aluminum tariffs […]
Opponents of the proposed Section 232 tariffs on imports of autos and auto parts have won at least a temporary reprieve. On Friday, President Trump announced that he will wait six months before reconsidering the tariffs to give the U.S. Trade Representative time to negotiate new agreements on automotive trade with Europe and Japan. In […]
Metal fabricators are worried about how content provisions in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement will impact their industry. The proposed trade agreement for North America includes provisions on steel and aluminum regional content for automobiles, but may extend to other manufacturing sectors. “Too many people view NAFTA as just about cars when the agreement impacts virtually every […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Friday marks a turning point in the “trade war” between China and the United States. A widely expected breakthrough in negotiations was supposed to happen this past week, when the Chinese Vice Premier brought a trade delegation over […]
Steel Market Update is dedicated to assist the greater steel community to attract and maintain young people to the industry. The SMU NexGen Leadership Award, which is in partnership with the Steel Manufacturers Association, is but one step in the process that was begun many years ago. Our Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: President Trump’s Twitter finger twitched on Sunday. He announced via his favorite social media platform that he has grown tired of China’s stalling. He said he will increase the 10 percent tariffs on goods imported from China to […]
Note: this article was corrected on 5/3/2019; scrap will be down by $20-$30 per ton-in May, not falling to $230 per ton as previously stated. Ryerson Holding Corp. is expecting a better second half for the steel industry despite some weakening economic data and inventory issues. “Last year was a very unusual time for our […]
May 20 is the launch date for a new digital marketplace and online community that aspires to streamline the way steel is bought and sold. The new e-commerce site known as FeLUX.com (pronounced fee-lux) is a digital platform designed to allow users to connect, transact and manage their businesses with greater efficiency. Buyers and sellers […]
U.S. Steel announced a major $1.2 billion investment in new thin-slab casting technology, a new rolling mill and a co-gen power plant at its Mon Valley Works complex. This investment is not adding new steelmaking capacity to USS Mon Valley, which is rated at 2.9 million net tons. In a note to her clients, Bank […]
Coking coal, scrap and zinc prices have weakened in the last month. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through April of the five materials considered in this analysis. It reports the month / month, 3 months / 3 months and 12 months / 12 months changes and tells us that at the three-month level only […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: President Trump’s Twitter finger twitched on Sunday. He announced via his favorite social media platform that he has grown tired of China’s stalling. He will increase the 10 percent tariffs on goods imported from China to 25 percent […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum posted a good first quarter with net sales of $2.96 billion, increasing 7.2 percent year-over-year and 4.1 percent from the fourth quarter. Net income jumped 122 percent from the fourth quarter to $190.1 million. Tons sold increased 5.2 percent from the fourth quarter to 1.5 million tons, but were slightly below […]
Like the mills, service centers enjoyed robust returns in 2018. With one quarter in the books, it appears this year is setting up to be more challenging. Steel Market Update has recruited three of the industry’s top distribution execs to share their perspectives on steel demand in 2019 during SMU’s Steel Summit Aug. 26-28 in […]
Like the mills, service centers enjoyed robust returns in 2018. With one quarter in the books, it appears this year is setting up to be more challenging. Steel Market Update has recruited three of the industry’s top distribution execs to share their perspectives on steel demand in 2019 during SMU’s Steel Summit Aug. 26-28 in […]
Steel Technologies is assessing the operational impact from a fire early Monday morning that knocked out power and damaged the pickle line and pickle bay at its Ghent, Ky., plant. No injuries were reported from the incident. State and local officials have confirmed that chemicals used in production were contained in designated storage vessels, the […]