Tag: economy

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.)

Rising geopolitical tensions may threaten stability, while other factors like a climbing stock market and growing government investment point to one thing in the economy: it’s complicated. “It’s an interesting contradiction out there,” said Dr. Walter Kemmsies, managing partner of The Kemmsies Group, at the Tampa Steel Conference this week. In his keynote speech on […]

Trade is not the major focus of the campaigns for the 2024 elections, either at the presidential or congressional level. But it is there as a live issue for business. And last August, former President Trump suggested a 10% tariff on virtually all imports as a “ring around the collar” of the US economy.

When I started in the scrap business many years ago as a rookie trader in Luria’s Cleveland office, I saw an industry composed of family-owned businesses stretching across a great industrial nation.

While there was little change in economic activity since its last update, the Federal Reserve reported declines in manufacturing in nearly all districts in its January Beige Book update.

SMU’s Current Steel Buyers Sentiment Index jumped this week, while the Future Sentiment Index remained flat, according to our most recent survey data.

What are people in the steel marketplace talking about this week?

The LME three-month price was moving down again on the morning of Jan. 12 and was last seen trading at $2,215 per metric ton (mt). We expect a test of the $2,200/mt support to be imminent. A break would be bearish as it could mean a complete reversal of the gains seen in December, although we still estimate that as being unlikely.

The Global Steel Climate Council (GSCC) was formed to advance the steel industry's climate strategy. And its intentions are clear: establish standards and advocate for carbon emission reductions by industry members.

Domestic manufacturing activity receded for the 14th straight month, according to the latest Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing PMI report.

SMU doesn’t do forecasts. We leave that to our colleagues at CRU. But we’re pretty good at surveys, and we’ve got a great group of readers. That’s why we decided to ask you what’s in store for 2024. The results are below, along with some insightful comments in italics.

The Mexican government has placed anti-subsidy (CVD) duties of almost 80% on cold rolled (CR) sheets from Vietnam, with the caveat that if the importer can prove the steel comes from a country other than China then it is exempt from the levy.

US Sens. JD Vance (R., Ohio) and John Fetterman (D., Pa.) have come out against the sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel.

Mexican steel association Canacero has responded to a Dec. 13 letter from US senators, and disputes the claim of a “surge” of Mexican steel imports.

Over many years—even centuries—the wisdom and utility of tariffs as an instrument of government policy in peacetime have been debated. That incessant debate continues, and is likely to persist. 

SMU’s Community Chat on Wednesday, Dec. 13, featured Bank of America SVP Ira Kreft.

Most steel markets will be more balanced in 2024, according to the latest sector outlook from Fitch Ratings.

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects, including steel sheet prices, demand, inventory, imports, and what people are talking about in the market. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we are sharing some of them in each buyer’s own words. We want to hear your […]

The number of open construction jobs reached a record high in October as workforce shortages persist, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported.

The US presidential elections will take place on Nov. 5, 2024.

The LME Aluminum 3-month price is moving up again on the morning of Dec. 8 and was last seen trading at $2,157 per metric ton. The way the price increased first thing in the morning suggests a support may have finally been found, but resistance could hit quickly at $2,200 /metric ton. SHFE cash was […]

Activity in the US manufacturing sector contracted once again in November.

In its Beige Book report released on Nov. 29, the Federal Reserve noted slower economic activity since October's report.

Sector fundamentals for US steel companies remain solid overall, according to ratings agency Fitch’s 2024 outlook report.

New orders for manufactured durable goods fell in the US in October.