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 […]
Ryerson Holding Co., a processor and distributor of metals in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and China, reported net income of $8.2 million for third quarter. Sales for the quarter totaled $735.1 million, essentially unchanged from second quarter. Shipments fell 5.0 percent sequentially and 2.4 percent year-over-year to 480,000 tons. The lower volume was partially offset […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) reported a shift in steel pricing “Momentum” at the end of October as our Steel Price Momentum Indicator was adjusted first to Neutral and then to Higher. Our expectation is for domestic flat rolled steel prices to increase over the next 30-60 days. Sentiment, however, has been trending lower with our […]
The World Trade Organization requires members to inform the organization of any domestic subsidy programs they are providing to industries. The WTO said compliance with the obligation to notify “remains discouraging low.” “As of today, a total of 89 members have not yet made their 2015 new and full subsidy notification, for which the deadline […]
AK Steel’s efforts to focus on higher value products, cut costs and reduce exposure to commodity products has resulted in a net income of $50.9 million and the company’s best third quarter since 2008. Adjusted EBITDA margins improved to 10.8 percent from 7 percent a year ago. “De-emphasizing commodity products and introducing new products, such […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum reported sales of $2.19 billion, down 0.8 percent from Q2 and down 4.4 percent from Q3 2015. Tons sold were down 4.9 percent from the previous quarter to 1,445,500 tons with average selling price per ton up 4.4 percent, sequentially. Reliance was able to maintain during most of the quarter the […]
On Friday this week the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its series of producer price indexes, for more than 10,000 goods and materials. For an explanation of this program see the end of this piece. The latest release this week reported results through September. We run this analysis every three or four months to […]
Steel Market Update spoke with two sources regarding the most recent complaint filed by the domestic mills against Vietnam and China for circumvention of duties (China) on cold rolled and CORE (corrosion resistant steels such as galvanized and Galvalume) products. One of the tenants behind the accusations made by the domestic steel mills is the […]
Freight reports are mixed for August and September. Seaborne freight is seeing a resurgence in volume and pricing while U.S. truck, rail and river freight has been somewhat weak. August was reported as a good month for cargo shipments on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. Seaborne An increase in China demand for coking […]
On Thursday, September 22, 2016 four steel mills: ArcelorMittal USA, Nucor, AK Steel and US Steel submitted petitions asking the US Department of Commerce to review imports of cold rolled and corrosion resistant steels (galvanized and Galvalume) arriving in the United States from Vietnam as actually being a way for China to circumvent antidumping and […]
U.S. ports contacted by Steel Market Update report steel imports are beginning to increase in recent months after dropping in the first half of the year. Port of Houston Authority reports that steel imports were down 59 percent through August 2016 for a total of 1.56 million tons. Steel exports also plunged by 45 percent […]
Australia has initiated a review of antidumping measures on imports of Aluminum Zinc Coated Steel from China. Jiangyin Zongcheng Steel Co. and Angang Steel Co. applied to the Antidumping Commission to review the import duties assessed on August 5, 2013. Angang Steel currently has AD duties of 5.8 percent and Jiangyin 18.1 percent. The review […]
Olympic Steel, a leading national metals service center, announced the promotion of Andrew Greiff to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Office, as of August 19, 2016. Greiff joined Olympic Steel in 2009 and was promoted to President, Specialty Metals in 2011. In that role he managed sales and distribution of stainless steel and aluminum […]
As I wander around the industry talking to buyers and sellers of steel I am always asking and listening for the signs of change. These are “warnings” to my ears and I heard one earlier today that needs to be pursued further and I think we will have the opportunity to do so at our […]
China has issued a new policy that outlines steps it will take to address overcapacity in major industrial areas. The report focuses on adherence to market rules and environmental and energy guidelines with punishment for those who fail to meet governmental standards. China has pledged to reduce overcapacity by 2020 in the iron and steel, […]
California Steel Industries, Inc. (CSI) announced that Marcelo Botelho will be the new president and CEO of CSI, effective August 1, following the retirement of Toshiyuki Tamai. Botelho most recently served as Controller Global Director at Vale S.A. His background also includes positions in the utility, aerospace, and aluminum industries in Brazil. Tamai will retire […]
AK Steel reported net income of $17.3 million for second quarter 2016 compared to a net loss of $64.0 million a year ago. Net sales were 1.49 billion a decrease from $1.69 billion in in Q2 2015 as a result of lower automotive contract pricing as well as a decrease in shipments. Shipments totaled 1,555,500 […]
What we like to hear for our member companies: One of the largest service centers in the U.S. told us earlier this week after registering for our Steel Summit Conference, “Our guys tell me your conference is very good, I’m looking forward to attending. Also, several mills tell me that your conference is turning into […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. reported net income rose 11.9 percent to $100.9 million in second quarter 2016. Sales of $2.20 billion were down 9.1 percent from a year ago but up from first quarter by 1.9 percent. Gregg Mollins, President and CEO of Reliance, said, “The metals pricing environment for carbon steel products was […]