Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive subscribers. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. July was the ninth consecutive month where imports were down by more than 20 percent compared to the same month last year, according to the latest Commerce Department data. […]
“The second quarter has been one of the most challenging quarters I can remember,” said Ternium CEO Máximo Vedoya. Steel demand fell in the second quarter with steel companies in many regions shutting down blast furnaces. Ternium operations in Brazil and Argentina were able to keep operating, albeit at reduced volumes, and increased shipments to […]
By CRU Research Analyst Eduardo Tinti, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Last week, iron ore prices rallied, rising by $10.7 /dmt w/w. This was mainly due to very strong Chinese demand driven by high steelmaking margins, BFs operating at historic high capacity utilization rates and bullish market sentiment. Albeit rising iron ore inventories at […]
Ferrous scrap prices are likely to trade flat to down a further $20 per ton in August, following on a $20-40 drop in July, lending little support to the mills’ hopes to raise finished steel prices as the economy slowly recovers from the pandemic. CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley said stronger demand for scrap exports […]
By CRU Analyst Iris Speelmanns, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor The following is excerpted from CRU’s weekly report on steel supply disruptions and restarts. Several weeks after national lockdowns were eased, activity in steel-consuming sectors continues to resume and mills are restarting or ramping up production in some regions. Outside China, the spread of […]
The U.S. share of global scrap trade has been increasing since Q1 2016 and in Q1 2020 was 23.3 percent. This is a quarterly analysis that SMU performs using data from the Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau (ISSB) in the UK. Some nations are slow to report, which results in the analysis being two months […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Matthew Watkins, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service Strength in China has continued. Over recent days there has been a renewed surge upwards in Chinese export prices, especially for HR coil, which rose by a total of $17/t in just three trading days this week (see chart 1). This comes at […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Iron Ore Market Outlook Iron ore prices fell by $2 /dmt in the past week as port stocks continued to rise on high arrivals from Australia, while steel production in China declined slightly. On Tuesday, July 21, CRU has assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $111.0 […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: China tariffs first took effect on July 6, 2018. In the two years since then, tariffs were imposed on nearly all U.S. imports from China. Recent developments suggest that changes may be coming—some which may mean fewer tariffs […]
NLMK Group reported a 2 percent year-over-year increase in sales during the second quarter of 2020 for total sales of 4.4. million metric tons. The increase was attributed to higher exports of slab and pig iron. Sales declined 3 percent from Q1 2020. Overall steel output declined to 3.9 million tons as a result of […]
By CRU Analysts Irina Melkonyan and Iris Speelmanns, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Market Outlook Russia is among the biggest steel exporters in the world, delivering to a wide range of destinations. However, steel demand in all regions diminished as the world was hit by Covid-19 and most steel producers globally have struggled. Unlike steelmakers […]
Total rolled product imports in June were down by 25.4 percent on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis, year over year. This was the eighth consecutive month in which imports declined by more than 20 percent compared to the same month last year. This early look at June’s import volume is based on Commerce Department […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen, from the Steel Sheet Products Market Outlook There is widespread agreement that the dollar is overvalued by around 10 percent. CRU expects the trade weighted dollar (TW$) to remain overvalued and broadly stable for the rest of 2020, as pandemic uncertainty continues to support the dollar as a “safe-haven” […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: The Trump administration’s trade policies make for interesting reading; but the results of those policies are, if anything, more interesting. Tariffs are the hallmark of the Trump presidency, especially the Section 301 tariffs on China and the Section […]
U.S apparent steel supply rose slightly in May to 6.61 million net tons, according to recent U.S. Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute data. This is the second lowest supply level in our limited 10-year history, just behind the April 2020 figure of 6.54 million tons. Apparent steel supply, a proxy for […]
U.S. steel exports in May slipped 13 percent past April’s low to their lowest level in more than 24 years as the coronavirus took a toll on economies all over the world. At 353,000 tons, May exports were down 44 percent from levels one year prior, according to recent U.S. Department of Commerce data. The 2020 […]
The Department of Commerce has initiated an investigation to determine if seamless carbon and alloy steel standard, line and pressure pipe from the Czech Republic, Korea, Russia and Ukraine is being sold at less than fair value in the U.S. market and whether such pipe is being subsidized by the governments of Korea and Russia. […]
In stark contrast to the mostly bad news related to the coronavirus pandemic, the North American steel industry is celebrating the new USMCA trade agreement that took effect last week. “Entry into force of the USMCA represents a significant achievement by the United States, Canada and Mexico that will benefit the North American steel industry […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: You may have seen news stories in the last two weeks about U.S. threats to impose tariffs on aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico because of “surging” levels of imports from those countries. Don’t believe everything you read: […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg and Prices Analyst Rory Knight In the past four weeks, freight rates have nearly doubled as Brazilian iron ore shipments have increased while an increasing proportion of global exports are being shipped to distant markets, reducing fleet availability. This is benefiting European steelmakers, while hurting iron ore miners, particularly […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary, from CRU’s Zinc Monitor U.S. industrial production increased by only 1.4 percent in May, well short of expectations, but market sentiment is generally positive as the Fed has confirmed it will do “whatever it takes for as long as it takes” to help get the economy back on track […]
By CRU Prices Analyst Estelle Tran, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service U.S. automaker restarts in May drove an increase in steel demand and helped to prop up sheet prices. There is concern, however, over whether there is enough new demand to support mills restarting or if manufacturers are mainly managing pent-up demand. We’ve heard […]
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. I hope you got to enjoy some quality time with your kids earlier today. There has been a call on the Commerce Department to review exports of steel and aluminum from Canada and Mexico. There is a question if exports of these products have “surged” since […]
U.S apparent steel supply fell to 6.54 million net tons in April, according to recent U.S. Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute data. This is the lowest supply level in our limited 10-year history. Apparent steel supply, a proxy for demand, is determined by combining domestic steel shipments and finished U.S. steel […]
United States steel exports slumped to a 21-year low in April, down 39 percent from March and down 33 percent from one year prior, according to recent U.S. Department of Commerce data. April steel exports totaled 403,949 net tons, just a hair above the December 1998 low. Recall that March export levels were at a five-month […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor The suspension of iron ore production at Vale’s Itabira Complex resulted in prices surging after the weekend. On Tuesday, June 9, CRU has assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $105.0 /dmt, up $4.5 /dmt w/w. In China, demand has remained robust as […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor In the past week, iron ore has fallen by $11 /dmt, the largest price drop since August 2019. The price fall comes after declining steel margins and slightly lower steel production levels in China. At the same time, offloading activities at Chinese ports have […]
China’s steel exports in May decline by 23.3 percent compared with May 2019 to about 4.4 million tons. Global demand for Chinese steel products remains weak as economic activity around the world is hampered by the coronavirus. “Customers in each country are losing their willingness to buy,” said a Steel Market Update source in the […]
Imports of rolled products through May, year over year, were not affected by the pandemic, but the longer-term decline continued, according to the latest Commerce Department data. Year over year, total rolled product imports in May were down by 24.8 percent on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis. This was the seventh consecutive month where […]
Section 232 tariffs will likely remain in place no matter who is the White House in January, said trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz during the SMU Community Chat on June 3. Legal challenges to the tariff measures, however, could cause a change. Firms are challenging the Section 232 exclusion process that appears skewed toward U.S. steel […]