Tag: economy

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced on Monday six projects that will receive up to $1.5 billion in funding to further decarbonize the iron and steel industry.

I’ve had questions from some of you lately about how we should think of the spread between hot-rolled (HR) coil prices and those for cold-rolled (CR) and coated product. Let’s assume that mills are intent on holding the line at least at $800 per short ton (st) for HR. The norm for HR-CR/coated spreads had been about $200 per short ton (st). That would suggest CR and coated base prices should be ~$1,000/st. Good luck finding anyone offering that.

Data on US industrial production, capacity utilization, new orders, and inventories remained overall steady and strong through January and February figures, indicating a healthy manufacturing sector. The strength of the manufacturing economy has a direct bearing on the health of the steel industry.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. “To govern is to choose.” Those words, reportedly first uttered by the late French Premier Pierre Mendes-France in the 1950s, resonate vividly in our time. It means that choices have consequences and that priorities must be set based on goals. Interested parties, in and out of government, raise their voices in […]

The spot rate trend in the flatbeds has seen a positive upturn. There are potential rate accelerators and decelerators, however, likely to influence spot and contract flatbed rates. The flatbed market for spot rates is showing signs of improvement as we move through the new year. February increased slightly from January, marking the third consecutive […]

The construction sector added 23,000 jobs in February, boosted by nonresidential, according to the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).

U.S. Steel has announced an investment in Freespace Robotics, a Pittsburgh-based manufacturer of robotic storage and retrieval systems.

Reaction to the price announcements last week by domestic mills varied just a little depending on who you were speaking to. I heard rumblings before the announcements that a price hike of $100 per short ton (st) was coming. After the announcements were made, I had some questions as to whether they were increases at all.

Worthington Steel began trading publicly on New York Stock Exchange on Dec. 1. In one sense, this marked the “finish line” of the company’s separation process. As the company gets ready to release its first earnings report as a standalone company, president and CEO Geoff Gilmore reflected on the journey, and what lies ahead.

What are folks in the steel industry talking about at present? Respondents to SMU’s mini-survey this week shared some of their thoughts with us about what's going on in the market. Rather than summarizing their responses, here’s some of what they had to say in their own words.

Consumer confidence in the US declined in February after accelerating to a two-year high the month prior, The Conference Board reported. Results came in amid ongoing concerns regarding the US economy. The headline Consumer Confidence Index declined to 106.7 in February from a downwardly revised 110.9 in January. The index, which measures Americans’ assessment of […]

US manufacturing activity continued to slump in February, contracting for the 16 consecutive month, according to the latest report from the Institute for Supply Management.

IAI reports aluminum industry greenhouse gas emissions declined in 2022.

Mexico has said it will place retaliatory steel tariffs on the United States if the US acts to reimpose Section 232 on its neighbor, according to an article in Reuters.

What are some “Black Swans” to watch out for? With the war in Ukraine entering its third year, your mind might understandably move to conflicts overseas. Here is one closer to home to consider: US trade relations with Mexico taking a turn for the worse. I mention that because the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) dropped a (virtual) bombshell earlier this month.

Domestic prices have been sliding since the beginning of the year, and I don’t see any obvious reasons why the slide might stop this week. But let’s put the timing of a bottom aside for a minute. The question among some of you seems to be whether we’ll see another price spike, or at least a “dead-cat bounce,” before the typical summer doldrums kick in.

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai has voiced the United States’ unease at a marked increase in steel and aluminum imports from Mexico, and what she termed a lack of transparency about Mexican imports of the metals from third countries.

The US already had strict regulations on air-quality standards for particulate matter, but they are going to get even tighter.

At SMU, our goal is not to tell you what to think but to keep the conversation going. We asked you in our survey this week what you were seeing when it comes to steel prices, demand, imports, and wildcards. In your own words, with minimal editing, here’s what some of you in the SMU community shared with us this week.

I’ve had discussions with some of you lately about where and when sheet prices might bottom. Some of you say that hot-rolled (HR) coil prices won’t fall below $800 per short ton (st). Others tell me that bigger buyers aren’t interested unless they can get something that starts with a six. Obviously a lot depends on whether we're talking 50 tons or 50,000 tons. I've even gotten some guff about how the drop in US prices is happening only because we’re talking about it happening.

The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) reading from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Deltek showed a slight uptick in January but continued to signal soft conditions. The index inched up from 45.4 in December to 46.2 in January. While the index has moved higher consecutively each month since October, it remains in contraction territory. […]

Australia's BlueScope Steel has begun making plans to potentially add cold rolling and coating capabilities in the US.

Everyone knows the old saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Just because it’s a cliché doesn’t mean that it’s wrong. A lot of inked has been spilled trying to figure out why prices are falling now. I thought it might be as simple as this: Market dynamics in the fourth quarter (UAW strike, companies buying ahead of an anticipated post-strike price spike, etc.) pulled forward restocking activity that typically happens in the first quarter.

The International Trade Commission (ITC) voted earlier this month against imposing antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of tin mill products from four countries. When Cliffs filed trade cases on tin mill products in early 2023, the company claimed that the failure to get massive duties on imports would result in the closure of its mill in Weirton, W.Va. We don’t know the reasoning behind this decision, only that all four sitting Commissioners voted not to impose duties. We do know that Cliffs plans to close Weirton.

What's the steel market talking about at present?

The US Environmental Protection has announced more stringent air quality standards that could impact domestic steel producers.

What are folks in the steel industry talking about? SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects this past week, including domestic steel prices, import offers, buying activity, and more. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we are sharing some of them in each buyer’s own words.

Domestic manufacturing activity continued to draw back in January, receding for the 15th straight month, according to the latest Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing PMI report.

The recession many predicted did not materialize in 2023, leading industry experts in several key end-user markets for steel cautiously optimistic for 2024.

I participated in the 35th annual Tampa Steel Conference last week, a conclave of steel producers, consumers, traders, logisticians, and (a few) trade lawyers. I participated in a panel discussion concerning challenges in managing supply chains in these troubled times. Things appear to be heading in the wrong direction in this field. Supply chains were shown to be vulnerable to pandemics in 2020 and 2021, and, in 2022 and 2023, to regional conflicts and weather slowing or stopping the free movement of goods through trade bottlenecks (the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal, the Bosporus, etc.)