The OECD Steel Committee convened its 96th session last week in Paris, along with the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity. The event brought together 250 government and industry delegates from 40 of the largest steel-producing countries. The Committee’s discussions and presentations were clear: Steel markets worldwide are in dire straits.
China is one of the elephants in the room as the transition to Trump 2.0 continues. While the people and policies are still being formulated, it’s possible to detect a strategy for the new Trump administration. I think there are two imperative issues that the new administration needs to balance. The Trump strategy will, I believe, follow the following points. First, trade is one of the issues that got President Trump elected in 2016 and 2024—it nearly got him elected in 2020, save for the pandemic. If President Trump had won in 2020, I might be writing chronicles about the end of his eight years in the White House now instead of projecting what the next Trump administration would accomplish or break. Oh, well—that’s life. Trade will necessarily be a key feature of relations with China for the next four years.
A look at this week's aluminum news
China’s steel export volumes reached 11.2 million metric tons (mt) in October, the highest monthly level since September 2015. Steel export prices were mostly stable in China and India this week, while in Turkey steel export prices increased week over week (w/w).
With the US presidential election decided, ‘wait and see’ has quickly turned into ‘we’re about to find out.’ Following Donald Trump’s victory, I had a chance to sit down with Kevin Dempsey, president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). He gave his thoughts on what he thought we might see in Trump’s second term in office, and what it means for steel.
Global steel mill output totaled 143.6 million metric tons (mt) in September, the lowest monthly rate recorded this year.
The Canadian government announced a remission process for businesses for recently announced tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum products and electric vehicles .
China’s burgeoning exports are causing major angst all over the world. In the US, the increases are spawning calls for more restrictions on China, some of which might work a bit, but will likely cause more harm than good for the world at large.
The Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity (GFSEC) reaffirmed on Oct. 8 what domestic steel producers have long known—the threat of excess steel capacity never disappeared and is evolving. China’s steelmakers are boosting capacity and exports, echoing the 2016 global steel crisis. There is no doubt that China is successfully weaponizing excess capacity across many industries, and the fatal damage to domestic production and national security undermines the interests of all market-oriented countries. The question now is: How will GFSEC countries respond?
The US has banned imports from a subsidiary of the world’s largest steelmaker because it is allegedly using forced labor to produce steel products.
Iron ore prices spiked as the Chinese market reopened after the country’s seven day holiday, but the rally started to lose steam on Tuesday afternoon.
China is challenging Canada’s decision to put tariffs on imports of Chinese steel, aluminum, and electric vehicles.
Steel mill output around the world totaled 144.8 million metric tons (mt) in August, the lowest monthly rate of 2024.
Last week, iron ore prices dropped below $90 per dry metric ton (dmt) for the second time in the past two years. However, prices rebounded strongly today and ended the week at $93.5/dmt, driven by the stimulus announcement in China.
The Commerce Department said imports of Chinese pipe will continue to benefit from significant government subsidies if the US countervailing duty (CVD) order against them is allowed to expire.
Global crude steel production fell by 4% month over month (m/m) in July, led by a major drop in Chinese output, which fell 9% m/m.
Nippon Steel and other Japanese steelmakers are lobbying for the Japanese government to limit imports of Chinese steel, according to a report in Reuters.
Canada has announced a 25% tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum, along with a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs.
The chair of China’s Baowu Steel Group recently predicted a “harsh winter” for the Chinese industry as it faces a structural economic slowdown and a property market crisis. As steel industries elsewhere know all too well, China’s “harsh winters” have an unfortunate tendency to blow back on them.
The global steel industry has been overshadowed by China’s surplus in steel supply, wreaking havoc in foreign markets.
Chinese steel export prices decreased for the eleventh week in a row, with all steel products recording losses of 2-3.7% compared to the previous week.
CRU Principal Analyst Henry Hao discusses China's recently reconfigured policy agenda, which could have significant implications for the global commodity markets.
Japan’s Nippon Steel announced it was withdrawing from a joint venture (JV) with China's Baoshan Iron & Steel (Baosteel) that served the Chinese automotive industry.
Nearly 1,200 people have registered for SMU Steel Summit, which is less than a month away now. That means we’re still on pace to meet or exceed last year’s record attendance despite a tough flat-rolled steel market over the last few months. So, a big thank you to everyone who already plans to go for your continued support. If you haven’t booked travel yet, don’t miss out on one of the greatest shows in steel – register here. (You can also check out the latest agenda here.)
Six steel industry organizations have urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to include the Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act in any proposed package of legislation against China’s "unfair" trade practices.
GrafTech cited a “challenging” part of the business cycle as its net loss widened in the second quarter.
Both iron ore and coking coal prices fell this week because of resistance from buyers. Iron ore prices have continued to fall throughout the past week, following sharp declines in steel prices in China, given no new policy announcement from the ‘Third Plenum’ meeting.
The majority of steelmaking raw material prices declined in June, following the same trend seen in May, according to SMU’s latest analysis.
High levels of steel imports, especially from China, in recent months are worrying steel makers in India and Vietnam.
Nucor’s top executive expressed concerns over unfair trade practices, highlighting increased steel imports from Mexico and Canada.