The LME aluminum three-month price continued to make steady gains on the morning of June 2 and was seen trading at $2,308/t. The move marks the successful test of the key $2,200/t support earlier last week. SHFE aluminum prices also traded higher on that day. The cash price settled at RMB18,585/t and last traded at RMB18,665/t, […]
Steel prices continued to erode in May, following a trend that began halfway through the previous month. Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices ended May at $990 per ton ($49.50 per cwt) on average, falling by $130 per ton throughout the month. The SMU Price Momentum Indicator for sheet products remained Lower during May after shifting to […]
The US and EU affirmed their intention to reach a common framework on carbon emissions in steel and aluminum by October at the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) meeting in Luleå, Sweden, on Wednesday. At the meeting the EU and US said that via the Transatlantic Initiative for Sustainable Trade they are “strengthening engagement towards […]
Swedish steelmaker SSAB is urging ambitious standards for the steel industry’s transition to green steelmaking as the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) meeting takes place in Luleå, Sweden, on May 30-31. Martin Lindqvist, president and CEO of SSAB, said that to succeed in the transition, effective frameworks, political leadership, and action are needed. “It is also […]
Bend, Oregon-based Origami Solar has announced its Gen 2 steel module frame, which can be sourced from domestic steelmakers. The solar panel company said the steel solar module frame represents “a game-changing opportunity to disrupt high-risk Asian supply chains.” It can achieve this by leveraging US steel resources to end the solar industry’s reliance on […]
Two separate developments suggest that the Biden administration may have concerns that more tariffs would damage the US economy by harming consumers. First, we saw the president suspend action to impose additional tariffs on solar cells and modules from four countries in the face of an antidumping “circumvention” proceeding. Circumvention determines whether operations in third […]
A weary market worn down by the absence of any positive demand reports ran below the critical $2,300-per-tonne trading line. Falling all the way to $2,200 before settling in the $2,270 – 2,290 range, the LME is in a new lower range as of the week ending May 19 as bearish sentiment pervades the market. […]
United Auto Workers (UAW) members at a Constellium plant in Michigan are on strike after failing to reach a labor agreement with the aluminum products producer. 160 members of UAW Local 174 at Constellium’s automotive structures plant in Van Buren, Mich., opted to strike as of May 17 “after weeks of the company refusing to […]
Lourenco Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs’ chairman, president, and CEO—as well as the newly elected AISI chairman—and Kevin Dempsey, AISI president and CEO, discussed issues ranging from Section 232 tariffs and hydrogen in steelmaking, to steel imports from Mexico, along with a host of other topics on Tuesday at the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) General Meeting press […]
US non-farm payrolls data showed stronger than expected job growth in April and a further drop in the unemployment rate. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that 253,000 jobs were created in April against an expectation of 180,000, while the unemployment rate fell slightly from 3.5% to 3.4%. US non-farm payrolls data showed […]
Private equity firm Apollo has been looking to add Arconic to its portfolio for some time. Almost since its spin-off from its upstream parent, Alcoa, in 2016, Arconic’s assets and key position in the aluminum semis value chain have been on Apollo’s radar. The deal is expected to close before the end of 2023, at […]
The Congressional Steel Caucus (CSC) has urged the US Department of Commerce and the US Trade Representative to take action to address what it calls a “surge of Mexican steel imports” into the US. The CSC claims the imports are in violation of the US and Mexican 2019 Joint Statement on Section 232 Duties on Steel and Aluminum, […]
Steel prices peaked at the start of the month, with hot-rolled coil reaching $1,160 per ton ($58 pet cwt) on average on April 10. Tags began to decline near the month’s halfway mark and closed out the month $40 per ton lower at $1,120 per ton. The SMU Price Momentum Indicator for sheet products was […]
Mississauga, Ontario-based service center group Russel Metals reported sequential improvement in its business segments in the first quarter, while results weakened year over year. The company reported Q1 net income of Canadian $73.9 million (US$55.2 million) on sales of nearly CA$1.2 billion compared to net income of CA$98.7 million on sales of CA$1.34 billion in […]
The 21st century has shown technology transforming the auto industry. From hybrids to pure electric vehicles, even to hydrogen, popping the hood these days can be more microchip than sparkplug. Beyond that, there’s the interplay with AI. Think self-driving cars. One thing our current technology can’t do, though, (yet) is build the cars itself. That […]
Premiums for aluminum in the US took fell again last week following a period of stability after the Federal Reserve stepped in the wake of the closure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Economic struggles have continued to depress shipment volumes into Q2, and many major macro data points are still muddied. Last week another bank […]
Weather events significantly disrupted commodity markets in 2022, fueling already significant price volatility. La Niña has ended in Australia, but other weather events and permanent climate change continue to impact global commodity supply chains. Weather – A Significant Disruptor in 2022 Heightened seasonal weather and extreme weather events disrupted multiple commodity markets in 2022. Heavy […]
Alro Metals Outlet has opened a new retail location in northern Indiana. The new 17,500-square-foot outlet located in Elkhart, Ind., stocks a variety of carbon steel, aluminum, stainless steel, tool steel, copper, brass, and plastic products. Alro aims to make metal buying simple for businesses and individual customers with its outlet locations, where no minimum […]
Ryerson saw strong shipments on better-than-expected demand during the first quarter, but weaker prices resulted in lower earnings for the Chicago-based service center group. “Ryerson produced good operating results during a period of better-than-expected composite demand and price support,” company president and CEO Eddie Lehner said. Q1 sales of $1.4 billion increased 9.2% sequentially, driven […]
Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. has made its first acquisition of 2023, announcing the addition of Southern Steel Supply Co. to its portfolio of service center companies. Southern Steel Supply is based in Memphis, Tenn., supplying merchant and structural steel, pipe and tube, steel plate, ornamental products, and laser-cut and fabricated parts to […]
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan recently gave an important speech on the direction of trade policy. It was not his speech alone, but part of a coordinated roll-out of the Biden administration on trade policy, including contributions from President Biden, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. It’s worth looking at […]
A year ago, the LME was $3,100 per metric ton (mt) and the Midwest Premium (MWP) was pressuring $0.39/lb. In early May 2023, the LME is resting near $2,300/mt and the MWP is settled at $0.25/lb. That marks a $0.50 /lb. reversal in underlying metal value year over year (y/y). The US Midwest premium continues […]
We’ve written in SMU about “green” steel and whether steel consumers, including market-leading OEMs, will pay a premium for it. What about the potential for premiums in scrap too? Maybe not for green scrap. But what about for “prime grade” or prime-equivalent shredded scrap? Shred that transforms into prime – maybe we could call it […]
The United States and European Union are quarrelling about several trade issues. None is more far-reaching than the trade impact of measures to address climate change. While some still doubt the need or ability of the world’s nations to tax or subsidize their way out of human-caused global warming, governments, at least in Europe and […]
Not since World War II has North America been at the center of a metals manufacturing investment boom. Three new aluminum rolling mills are coming up out of the ground as testament to over $6 billion in new investments to secure domestic aluminum supply. It has been over 80 years since the last metals manufacturing […]
Arbor Metals Inc. and Tube Supply LP have purchased the assets of Marco Steel and Aluminum Inc., a processor of carbon, alloy, and stainless steels, aluminum, and hot-rolled steel plate with operations in the southwestern US. Arbor Metals, a division of service center Triple-S Steel, will now own and operate Marco’s assets in Lubbock, Texas, […]
We’ve reached a milestone on the trade litigation front. Nearly all the cases (save two) have been decided regarding the legality of Section 301 tariffs on China and of Section 232 tariffs (and other measures) on steel and aluminum. The US government has prevailed. The Supreme Court last week declined to review one of the […]
Fresh off another rate hike from the Fed, US macro data came in mixed during the month of March. The final update for GDP in Q4 2022 showed 2.6% growth, which was down slightly month over month and below expectations. Consumer spending has also been revised down consistently over each update on the Q4 figures. […]
Ternium SA and its affiliates aim to take a majority stake in Brazilian flat-rolled steelmaker Usinas Siderúrgicas de Minas Gerais SA (Usiminas). The Latin American flat-rolled steelmaker said it and related companies had agreed to pay $111 million in cash for 57.7 million in ordinary shares of Usiminas. The shares will be purchased from Japan’s […]
Chevrolet recently announced it was retiring the sixth-generation Camaro. An iconic muscle car that first went on sale in late 1966 for the 1967 model year, it had already gone through a few changes. Recall that in 1967 a gallon of gas cost around 35 cents in the USA. That’s for those who can recall […]