The numbers 201, 232 and 301 are getting a lot of headlines recently. They are sections under three U.S. laws that President Trump has used to impose tariffs on a variety of goods and countries. Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 was used to place tariffs on imports of washing machines and solar […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: News reports abound on U.S. companies that are hurting as a result of the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum and the China Section 301 tariffs. Today, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: • Turkey Tariffs– President Trump tweeted on Friday that he “authorized a doubling of Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum with respect to Turkey as their currency, the Turkish Lira, slides rapidly downward against our very […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: While attending and giving a presentation to the SMU Steel Summit conference in Atlanta on Monday, word came that the U.S. and Mexico had reached a tentative deal on a revised trade agreement. President Trump […]
A major aluminum company has requested that Canada be exempt from Section 232 aluminum tariffs so that it can import alloy from its Canadian mills. Alcoa has three smelting facilities in Canada and three in the United States, as well as other global locations. The Baie-Comeau facility in Quebec produces specialty aluminum in 24-inch slabs, […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: Things are hectic these days. While the House has gone on recess until after Labor Day, the Senate is taking a mere two weeks off. Before taking their shortened break, the Senate passed the Miscellaneous […]
Earnings week for the steel industry revealed trade was foremost on the minds of steel executives. The steel mills expressed their approval of the administration’s tariff action that has boosted steel pricing and, along with higher demand, earnings for the second quarter of 2018. • U.S. Steel Corp. CEO David Burritt was a strong advocate […]
Olympic Steel Inc. announced significantly improved financial results for the three- and six-month periods ended June 30. Net sales for the service center increased 27 percent in 2018’s second quarter, to $453 million, the highest quarterly sales in the company’s history. This compared with $356 million in net sales during the same quarter of 2017. […]
Kloeckner Metals’ Greenville, S.C., branch is the fifth and latest to have been awarded an IATF 16949 management system certificate for processing flat rolled steel, stainless and aluminum, including slitting, cut to length, and configured blanks. The other branches include Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Calvert, Ala.; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Monterrey, Mexico. IATF 16949:2016 was jointly developed by International Automotive Task Force (IATF) members […]
Strong pricing and demand conditions boosted Ryerson’s second-quarter revenues by 20.8 percent from a year ago to $1.1 billion. Revenue increased 12.3 percent from the first quarter of 2018. Adjusted EBITDA, excluding LIFO, more than doubled from a year ago to $106.6 million and was more than 70 percent higher than first-quarter results. Ryerson CEO […]
The Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing ISM Report on Business expanded for the 111th month in July. The PMI registered a solid 58.1, although decreasing 2.1 points from the June reading of 60.1 percent. A reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally […]
The rate of expansion for global manufacturing slowed in July, according the J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI. The index reached its lowest reading in a year at 52.7, down from 53.0 in June. “The manufacturing upturn has lost sizeable momentum since the start of the year. However, with final demand growth having firmed in recent […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum announced it has completed the acquisition of KMS Fab, LLC and KMS South, Inc. The KMS companies specialize in precision sheet metal fabrication using a variety of metals ranging from prototypes to large production runs. The facilities are located in Luzerne, Pa., and West Columbia, S.C., and employ over 200 employees. […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: Finally, a good day? President Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker met Wednesday at the White House and issued a joint statement on their agreement to negotiate reductions in barriers between the U.S. and […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum, North America’s largest service center organization, set a new company record with net sales of $2.99 billion for the second quarter of 2018. Sales grew by 20.8 percent from a year ago and 8.4 percent from the previous quarter. Net income totaled $230.8 million, up 124.1 percent from Q2 2017 and […]
Steel Market Update’s latest look at commodity prices shows pig iron up, iron ore and zinc down, and coking coal and scrap stable in recent trading. Table 1 summarizes the current prices of the five materials considered in this report and the year-over-year change. Iron Ore The price of 62% fines delivered North China was […]
The ferrous scrap market is showing small signs of weakness looking ahead to August, report Steel Market Update sources, who say prices on obsolete grades such as shredded and heavy melt are likely to decline anywhere from $5 to $20 per ton next month, while pricing of busheling and bundles will remain unchanged. Demand for […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: The tariff story is getting broader and more complex. I will focus today on the lawsuit filed by the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) and two of its members challenging the constitutionality of Section […]
Have China and other nations taken advantage of the United States on the trade front? Nearly three of four respondents to last week’s Steel Market Update market trends questionnaire believe that is true and they support President Trump renegotiating the “bad trade deals” of the past. However, at the same time, only 20 percent of […]
Zinc prices were trading at $1.18 per pound this afternoon. Earlier this week, the metal traded as low as $1.13 per pound, but has since rallied off those one-year lows. Even so, the $1.18 per pound level is lower than at any point over the past 12 months (see graphic below). Does SMU expect galvanized […]
The European Commission has announced it will impose provisional steel quotas to prevent steel imports from being diverted from the U.S. to Europe. The safeguard measures will go into effect July 19 and will remain in place for a maximum of 200 days. The provisional measures will affect 23 steel product categories and take the […]
Olympic Steel, Inc., a leading national metals service center, has been awarded an IATF 16949 management system certificate for manufacturing flat rolled steel, stainless and aluminum, including slitting, cut to length and configured blanks. IATF 16949 was developed by the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) and the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), in conjunction with […]
A Missouri senator is calling for the end of the trade war instigated by Trump administration tariffs that are threatening agricultural producers and manufacturers in her home state. “Missouri jobs and livelihoods are at stake—and I don’t understand the decision to escalate this trade war with no end in sight, risking critical foreign markets and […]
The United States shot back at allies and China who have filed World Trade Organization disputes against Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs. On Monday, the U.S. Trade Representative filed five claims with the WTO challenging retaliatory tariffs launched by China, the EU, Canada, Mexico and Turkey. The tariffs of 10 percent on aluminum imports […]
The 2018 SMU Steel Summit Conference is on pace to become the largest conference we have ever hosted. Our conference will be the premium networking event for manufacturers, fabricators, steel distributors, steel mills, trading companies and toll processors, as well as the industries that supply those groups. Based on the current registration rate, we anticipate […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: I spoke with a good friend over the weekend about the Trump tariff policy. So far, we have tariffs against all countries on steel and aluminum (with very few exceptions), and China-specific tariffs on $34 billion […]
The industries that move the nations’ freight are scrambling to find ways to mitigate risks from U.S.-imposed tariffs and foreign-imposed retaliatory tariffs that will impact supply lines and trade flow. Volatility seems to be the new normal as industries face uncertainty over international trade conflicts. Ports Prepare for Tariff Disruptions The Trump administration’s addition of […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: In a sharp escalation of the trade war with China, the U.S. Trade Representative has released a list of about 5,000 items valued at around $200 billion that could be subject to new 10 percent […]
Constructions costs are escalating due to tariffs on a wide range of building and road construction materials, said the Associated General Contractors of America in a new analysis of Labor Department data. The producer price index rose sharply on construction inputs in June. Aluminum mill shapes jumped 20 percent year-over-year, copper and brass mill shapes […]
The Senate took a first step on Wednesday to reclaim some of the authority on trade that it has delegated to the president. The Senate passed 88 to 11 a motion to include language in the energy and water appropriation bill that would provide “a role for Congress in making a determination under Section 232 […]