Today we are celebrating our 14th year of being in business. What began as an attempt to keep my steel-buying customers aware of the dynamics effecting steel prices and their mill orders morphed over the years into the Steel Market Update newsletter. I stopped selling steel during the first half 2008, and by early August Steel […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group US International Trade Commission hearings provide little direction Last week in DC, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) held a series of public meetings and hearings to take comments on current Section 232 tariffs. Representatives from throughout the value chain were in attendance. The Aluminum Association participated in a […]
Foreign hot-rolled steel imports have all but lost their appeal this week and are now at levels comparable to domestic steel prices, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis. Since mid May, US steel prices have generally declined at a faster rate than foreign prices, meaning the potential discount on imported products has been shrinking […]
Inflation and slowing demand are hampering ArcelorMittal’s short-term outlook, but the global steelmaker remains bullish on steel’s long-term prospects. As it released its second quarter results, the Luxembourg-based company said the period was “overshadowed by the outbreak of war in Ukraine,” where it maintains steel and mining operations. “Globally the conflict is impacting growth and […]
By CRU Economists Filippos Papasavvas and Veronika Akhmadieva, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook. Contribution from CRU Sr. China Economist Henry Hao. We have further upgraded our US Trade-Weighted Index (TWI) forecast, which we now forecast to average 122.7 in 2022 Q4 from 120.5 previously. The change reflects our more pessimistic outlook for all other major […]
Steel made by US electric arc furnace (EAF) producers emits 75% less carbon than steel produced by traditional blast furnace-based production. That’s according to an independent study conducted by Steel Market Update parent company CRU Group for the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA). The results of that study were released today. Washington, D.C.-based SMA represents the […]
Stelco Holdings Inc. expects its second quarter earnings results to be notably higher sequentially and year-on-year but is warning that a weakening steel market will mean lower results for the second half of the year. In a preliminary earnings report, the Canadian flatrolled steelmaker said it expects its Q2 adjusted EBITDA to be Candian $460-470 […]
Backward physical integration comes to the aluminum rolling industry SDI’s decision to “jump the fence” and enter the aluminum rolling sector was, in and of itself, blockbuster news. However, the repercussions on the aluminum scrap market may be even more profound. CRU has argued for some time that the big aluminum rolling mills would eventually […]
The appeal to import cheaper foreign hot-rolled coil (HRC) instead of domestic steel continues to lessen, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign versus domestic price comparison. For the past two months, domestic steel prices have generally declined at a faster rate than foreign prices, meaning the potential discount on imported products has been shrinking. After […]
Steel Dynamics (SDI) this week announced plan to enter the aluminium flat-rolled products market. Pledging a $2.2 billion investment in rolling and recycling operations, SDI seeks to leverage its recycling expertise and technology, alongside its performance culture, to penetrate the underserved domestic can sheet and automotive flat-rolled markets in North America. With a nearly 30-year history […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Puneet Paliwal, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor on July 14 The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) registered its third consecutive double-digit percentage decline in July, falling by 18.5% month over month (MoM) to 313.9, its lowest value since February 2021. Bearish sentiment in the metallics market, prevalent since May, has been […]
Kaiser declares force majeure due to an inability to secure its required magnesium Kaiser Aluminum, which operates a major aluminum can sheet rolling mill in Warrick, Ind., declared force majeure on July 8, citing its inability to obtain enough magnesium to sustain its production. Kaiser’s mill specializes in the production of food container and beverage […]
We are now 38 days away from the start of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. Registrations are now approaching 900 attendees and we still expect another 200+ executives to register over the next five weeks. If you have not yet registered, you can do so by clicking here. The following companies registered for the […]
We are now 38 days away from the start of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. Registrations are now approaching 900 attendees and we still expect another 200+ executives to register over the next five weeks. The following companies registered for the conference over the past few days (those with an * mean more than […]
I will briefly discuss the new app for the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference, which will be released later this week. I will then talk about the NexGen Leadership Award nominations, which will close on July 15, and the NEXGEN Metals Community organization that you, or members of your organization, may wish to join. SMU […]
By CRU Research Analyst James Mills, from CRU’s Multi-Commodity Monthly Report The upside risk to commodity prices created by the war in Ukraine diminished in June as markets assessed the impact of a slower global demand growth outlook, higher inflation expectations, and a continuation of Covid-19 lockdowns in China. Bearish Economic Forecasts Are Downside Risk […]
Century and Alcoa Close Smelter Capacity We talked about the INTALCO saga in a recent column and its inability to find competitive power to re-open this smelter. Power has again reared its ugly head and delivered another serious bite to the industry. Century Aluminum announced on June 24 that it would be immediately curtailing production […]
We are now ~45 days away from the start of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference, which is being held at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta on Aug. 22-24. Registrations are nearing 900 executives representing 318 separate companies. Over the past few days the following companies have registered (an * means more than […]
Contract talks covering more than 22,000 dock workers at 29 West Coast ports will continue past the expiration of a current agreement on July 1 at 5 p.m. PST. That’s according to a joint statement released on Friday afternoon ahead of that deadline by the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime […]
The appeal of foreign hot rolled coil (HRC) over domestic steel is slowly diminishing, according to SMU’s latest foreign versus domestic HRC price comparison. Between mid-April and late May, foreign steel prices generally declined at a faster rate than domestic prices, resulting in greater potential discounts on imported products. Now, domestic prices are declining at a faster […]
US Steel plans to stop making steel at its Granite City Works near St. Louis in the second half of 2024, a company spokeswoman told Steel Market Update on Tuesday. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker expects that the mill’s blast furnaces will switch over to pig iron production as part of a deal with SunCoke Energy Inc., […]
On July 5th I will celebrate the 45th anniversary of when I first joined the steel industry. I never intended on joining the industry after I left college. It was the love of a woman, and a broken heart that led me to the door of Seymour Waldman and Rolled Steel Corporation in Skokie, Ill., […]
John Packard the founder of Steel Market Update will be retiring at the end of August 2022. Here is what Packard had to say during his announcement to the SMU customers: On July 5th I will celebrate the 45th anniversary of when I first joined the steel industry. I never intended on joining the industry […]
We are now eight weeks away from the start of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. Behind the scenes, there are dozens of SMU and CRU team members working diligently to ensure this year’s conference is exceptional for all our attendees. By exceptional, we mean entertaining content that is valuable and timely. And we also provide […]
We are now eight weeks away from the start of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. Behind the scenes, there are dozens of SMU and CRU team members working diligently to ensure this year’s conference is exceptional for all our attendees. By exceptional, we mean entertaining content that is valuable and timely. And we also provide […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Prices for sheet products continued to fall rapidly around the globe this week. Mills in the US have become increasingly aggressive with their offers and are shifting their focus towards value-added products in order to obtain higher margins over costs. As a result, […]
By CRU Research Managers Sarah Macnaughton and Paul Butterworth, and contribution from CRU Sustainability Analysts Zsombor Garzo International trade is an essential part of the global steel industry, with over 20% of steel production traded today. However, as the world moves towards decarbonization, CRU finds that established trade flows are at risk. The green transition […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group Century Aluminum Falls Prey to the Pitfalls of Day-Ahead Electricity Pricing When we wrote our column last week about INTALCO and the shortcomings of US energy policy, little did we know that we would see another example of this within a week. On Wednesday, June 22, Century Aluminum (CENX) […]
The temptation to purchase foreign hot rolled coil (HRC) over domestic steel is beginning to ease, according to SMU’s latest foreign versus domestic HRC price comparison. Foreign products now hold potential discounts of 9-15% over domestic steel, versus savings of 12-26% one month ago. Between mid-April and late May, foreign steel prices generally declined at […]
There are now two short months to go before we kick off the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference at the Georgia International Convention Center. As you prepare to join us in Atlanta on August 22-24 we want to give you more details regarding the program for Wednesday, August 24th. You can find more information about […]