Vehicle sales improved slightly from the previous month, but they were slower compared with the first quarter average and year-ago numbers. According to J.D. Power, incentive spending in April averaged about $3,500 per new vehicle—or approximately 10 percent of the average transaction price—which surpasses the previous peak for the month of April in 2009. Furthermore, inventories […]
How Much Power Does Section 232 Give the President to Restrict Steel Imports? Commentary by Lewis LeibowitzThe Law Office of Lewis E. LeibowitzWashington, D.C. We have had many questions about the power of the President under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The statute gives the President considerable power to take action […]
The following article was provided and first published by ArcelorMittal USA news: After experimenting with aluminum in its luxury models, Audi’s next A8 will switch back to steel. Scheduled for release in 2018, the body structure of the new A8 will be made up of more than 40 percent steel, following the trend of automakers […]
As I mentioned in one of the articles in tonight’s edition of SMU, I have been speaking with trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz on a whole host of subjects. We will be working on an article to help our readers better understand the ramifications of the Section 232 review (national security) and what powers the President […]
Ryerson Holding Corporation, a distributor and value-added processor of industrial metals, reported net income of $14.8 million in first quarter 2017 on revenue of $814.5 million. Increased shipment volume combined with higher selling prices led to strong results for the quarter. Total tons shipped were 497,000 compared to 440,000 tons in first quarter and 478,000 […]
Olympic Steel reported a very positive first quarter. Higher shipment volume and pricing resulted in a 30 percent increase in net sales to $334.9 million resulting in net income of $7.7 million. Sales and margins increased in all three segments of Olympic Steel due to increased demand and higher pricing. Carbon flat products turned in […]
I have received a number of comments on the LinkedIn posts that I have put out there over the weekend. I shared our “Black Swan” article on my personal LinkedIn account as well as our Steel Market Update LinkedIn group account. I also received a question about the “average margin for a service center” that […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum turned in a strong first quarter with sales up 17.4 percent to $2.42 billion from Q4 2016 and net income up 81 percent to $111.7 million. On a year-over-year basis sales were up 11.9 percent and income 21.1 percent. “Improved demand, higher metal pricing and continued strong execution resulted in record […]
The industry is abuzz with all kinds of speculation as to how the Section 232 investigation will impact traders and steel buyers. Another Section 232 was announced and should have been signed by President Trump today covering aluminum. I was texting with one of the steel mills this morning about their access to aluminum for […]
There have been a slew of Executive Orders coming out of the Trump White House aimed at impacting manufacturing and the steel industry. The “Buy American, Hire American” order is just one of the orders from last week that the manufacturing and steel industry need to watch and understand the potential impacts to your company. […]
Earlier today, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order requesting the U.S. Department of Commerce conduct an investigation under the Section 232 statutes (national security) to see if steel and imports of foreign steel are important to National Security interests of the United States. “We’re going to use American steel, we’re going to use American […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released the latest update on foreign steel import license request on Tuesday evening. The data suggest that April will be similar to that of March where license data is at 3.5 million net tons. Both March and the April trend a well above both the 12 month and 3 month […]
We managed to squeeze in an extra day off for our crew due to the Easter Holiday. So, if you were looking for a newsletter on Sunday evening – sorry, we skipped a day. But, we are making up for it today with an issue that if you printed it you could use as a […]
There have been many press reports regarding the rumor that the Trump Administration is going to call for an “investigation” aimed at steel and aluminum. What our readers may find interesting is there are suggestions that the order may include manufactured products We have seen reports from the press and attorneys for steel service centers […]
On Monday, Flack Global Metals announced the merger of Kenwood Painted Metals with Flack Global Metals. With the addition of KPM, Flack Global Metals is projecting sales for 2017 to be close to $400 million. Steel Market Update spoke with Flack Global Metals CEO, Jeremy Flack about their company’s drive to grow as a “Next […]
Last Tuesday the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its series of producer price indexes (PPI), for more than 10,000 goods and materials. For an explanation of this program see the end of this piece. The latest release reported results through February. We run this analysis every three or four months to provide information for […]
President Trump announced on Wednesday the rollback of fuel economy standards that were established by executive action near the end of the Obama administration. Speaking to automotive executives and workers in Detroit, MI, Trump said, “Today, I am announcing that we are going to cancel that executive action. We are going to restore the originally […]
Ryerson Holdings saw a challenging year in 2016 with demand contracting but pricing improving. CEO Edward Lehner noted, “Carbon steel prices recovered from decade lows at the end of 2015, peaked in June of 2016, and deflated again in October of 2016 before starting in upward trajectory that has continued into the first quarter of […]
The following article was written by Mario Briccetti, one of our Steel 101 workshop instructors and the director of the consulting firm: Briccetti & Associates. Mario has written other articles about the costs associated with coating galvanized and Galvalume steels. Those articles can be found in our website in the “Steel Buyers Basics” section of […]
Freight shipment by various transportation modes seems to be moving fairly well as February winds down. Seaborne freight is improving and barge traffic is resuming normal operations after the winter. Trucking saw some seasonal slowdown after the holidays and rail traffic was up year over year in recent weeks. The Association of American Railroads welcomed […]
The Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) called on the Trump administration to create a strategy that will evaluate trade violations impacting the entire industrial metals supply chain. MSCI president and CEO Robert Weidner said trade enforcement measures must protect not only the mills but also distributors, fabricators and processors in the supply chain. MSCI has […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum reported sales of $2.06 billion in fourth quarter, up 1.7 percent from fourth quarter 2015 and down 5.7 percent from Q3 2016. Tons sold at 1,365,000 were down 1.1 percent from Q4 2015 and down 5.6 percent from third quarter. Average selling price per ton sold was $1,500, essentially the same […]
The following article is from one of our close iron ore & steel trading friends located in Asia: The market has changed or is in turmoil, if you want to call it that, here in SE Asia and China continues to out price themselves whereas the China domestic indicators lead to a different scenario. Ore […]
ArcelorMittal NAFTA segment results declined in fourth quarter 2016. Steel shipments decreased by 6.6 percent to 5 million tonnes from third quarter driven by an 8.5 percent decrease in flat volumes due to destocking in the United States. NAFTA sales were down 11.1 percent from the prior quarter to $3.8 billion due to lower average […]
Today is the last day in the month of January 2017. The following is our monthly review of key data collected by Steel Market Update during the month including a number of our own proprietary indices and indicators. SMU Price Momentum is ending the month pointing toward higher prices ahead. We do admit that there […]
Wilbur Ross, Trump nominee for Commerce Secretary, talked tariffs on China during Wednesday’s confirmation hearings. The billionaire investor, who was instrumental in turning around ailing steel mills such as LTV Steel in 2002, appears to be a solid supporter of President-elect Trump’s strong-arm approach to trade. “One of the things that we do need very […]
M&M Manufacturing, a subsidiary of MiTek Industries and a leading producer of sheet metal products, for the air distribution and ventilation markets, has acquired Snappy Company. Snappy is a leading supplier of metal duct systems for the residential HVAC market, with manufacturing facilities in Detroit Lakes, MN; Medina, NY; and corporate offices in Marietta, GA. […]
The fifteenth anniversary of China’s accession to the World Trade Organization has passed without China receiving its coveted market economy status. The United States, European Union and Japan said they will continue to treat China as a non-market economy. A change in status would protect Chinese exporters from tariffs that the U.S., EU and others […]
The Association of Women in the Metal Industries has elected a new President and Vice-President for 2017-2018. The election was held during the Association’s 2016 Annual Conference held in Florida in November. The positions are for a term of two years. The following roles were announced in a press release from AWMI. Carol Chizmar has […]
(ArcelorMittal press release, 8 November 2016) – ArcelorMittal is expanding its global portfolio of automotive steels by introducing a new generation of advanced high strength steels (AHSS). These innovative steels include the launch of new press hardenable steels (PHS) Ductibor® 1000 and Usibor® 2000 – both of which are already available for OEM qualification testing […]