Bank of America Merrill Lynch sees market conditions lining up for a strong first quarter with hot rolled coil prices that could even hit $800 per ton. “Even without Section 232 support, a weaker U.S. dollar, good demand, Chinese supply curtailments and recent trade case action can support prices well through the second half,” predicts […]
The JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI was only slightly lower in January than December’s near seven-year record. Inching down to 54.4 from 54.5, manufacturing is off to a good start for 2018. The Global PMI is produced monthly by J.P. Morgan and IHS Markit in association with the Institute for Supply Management and the International Federation […]
ArcelorMittal’s NAFTA segment saw crude steel production decrease 5.2 percent to 5.6 million metric tons in the fourth quarter due to operational issues in Mexico, planned maintenance at Dofasco, and a slower U.S. market. Steel shipments declined 8.9 percent to 4.2 million metric tons, primarily driven by lower volumes in flat and long products. Sales […]
Of the four raw materials tracked by Steel Market Update, scrap and zinc prices advanced in January, iron ore took a small step back and coking coal declined by 10 percent. Each January, Bloomberg and U.S. Global Investors compile their Periodic Table of Commodity Returns. Figure 1 shows the returns of commodities each year of […]
Three weeks ago, the expectation for February ferrous scrap was for prices to be firm to slightly higher than January. This was due to rising prices on exports of ferrous scrap to Turkey, as well as cold weather in the north and large buys by the domestic steel mills as they restock after running inventories […]
Durable goods orders increased at their fastest pace in six months, gaining 2.9 percent after an upwardly revised 1.7 percent advance in November. On a year-over-year basis, orders increased 5.8 percent from 2016, the most in six years. Durable goods are items that are meant to last at least three years. Civilian aircraft orders jumped […]
The growth of U.S. Gross Domestic Product in the fourth quarter of 2017 declined from the strong performance of the second and third quarters, but the overall trend is good. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released its first estimate of GDP growth in the fourth quarter on Friday. Growth was reported to be 2.57 percent […]
Auto and light truck production continued to decelerate in December, even in Mexico, according to the latest Steel Market Update analysis of auto production in the NAFTA region. U.S. Vehicle Sales Economy.com reported that a tumultuous 2017 ended on a high note. “U.S. December vehicle sales posted a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 17.85 million […]
NAFTA negotiations officially resumed on Sunday, Jan. 21, in Montreal and will continue through Monday, Jan. 29. Three days will be devoted to automotive rules of origin, one of the most contentious items on the agenda. While arguments continue about automotive content in NAFTA discussions, Canada is ensuring its place in automotive global trade by […]
The pile of unfinished paperwork on President Trump’s desk just got a little taller with Friday’s delivery of the Section 232 report on aluminum. It joins the Section 232 report on steel that hit the president’s desk on Jan. 11, starting the clock on a 90-day deadline for possible trade action. On Jan. 19, the […]
Steel is a core business for the port in Tampa, Fla., which handled steel and scrap imports and exports totaling about 900,000 tons last year. Hundreds of industry executives will also pass through the port as attendees of the 29th annual Tampa Steel Conference to be hosted by Port Tampa Bay and Ports America on […]
The pile of unfinished paperwork on President Trump’s desk just got a little taller with Friday’s delivery of the Section 232 report on aluminum. It joins the Section 232 report on steel that hit the president’s desk on Jan. 11, starting the clock on a 90-day deadline for possible trade action. On Jan. 19, the […]
Steel is a core business for the port in Tampa, Fla., which handled steel and scrap imports and exports totaling about 900,000 tons last year. Hundreds of industry executives will also pass through the port as attendees of the 29th annual Tampa Steel Conference to be hosted by Port Tampa Bay and Ports America on […]
Popular economist Alan Beaulieu of ITR Economics will make another appearance as a keynote speaker for Steel Market Update’s premier event, the 2018 Steel Summit Conference, set for Aug. 27-29 at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta. Beaulieu will offer an insightful overview of U.S. economic trends and their implications for the steel industry. […]
The year is beginning with numerous weather-related disruptions to shipping. Ice in the Great Lakes region has made loading of iron ore difficult, freezing port equipment and the ore itself. Sources report carriers on the Great Lakes will be expediting ore shipments to the steel mills that were shorted, once the Soo Locks reopen in […]
Popular economist Alan Beaulieu of ITR Economics will make another appearance as a keynote speaker for Steel Market Update’s premier event, the 2018 Steel Summit Conference, set for Aug. 27-29 at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta. Beaulieu will offer an insightful overview of U.S. economic trends and their implications for those associated with […]
China’s steel production has continued to grow year over year, contradicting all the hoopla about production cuts, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Chinese government data. Once each quarter, we publish the official statistics for Chinese GDP, industrial production, consumer price inflation and fixed asset investment. Many analysts don’t believe these self-serving Party […]
Apparent steel supply for the month of November totaled 8,723,547 net tons, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished U.S. steel imports, then subtracting total U.S. steel exports. November apparent steel supply […]
U.S. demand for steel sheet products continued to expand through November, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Apparent supply is a proxy for market demand. Demand momentum for sheet products in total was negative in the three months through […]
Imports of rolled steel into the United States have been on the decline since peaking in July, based on a three-month moving average of government import data through the end of 2017. In three months through December compared to three months through September, total rolled steel imports declined by 16.8 percent, while sheet products dropped […]
In Q1 2018, long product imports increased by 9.5 percent compared to Q4 2017. Total long product imports were down by 150,000 tons per month year over year on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis, but there was a turn for the worse in the first quarter, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of federal […]
In Q1 2018, tubular product imports increased by 3.8 percent compared to Q4 2017. Total rolled steel imports increased by 3.6 percent, and tubular products by 3.8 percent, in the three months through March compared to three months through December 2017, but on a year-over-year basis tubulars were up by 20.2 percent, according to Steel […]
This analysis breaks down the imported tonnage of six flat rolled products into the district of entry and the source country. We believe that misinformation (or lack of) about regional import volumes is often used to influence purchase decisions. Our intent with this analysis is to describe in detail what is going on in a […]
U.S. steel exports declined 1.5 percent from October to November, but were higher than the same month in 2016, according to data from the American Institute for International Steel. Exports of 882,665 net tons jumped 21 percent year-over-year. Nearly half of those November exports – 431,980 net tons, essentially unchanged from October but 17.7 percent […]
Is the United States violating World Trade Organization rules with its trade remedy methodologies? Canada says yes and has filed a complaint with the WTO alleging that the United States’ use of antidumping and countervailing duties violates international trade law. Spurred by recent duties on paper, lumber and airplanes, Canada filed a complaint last month […]
Cyclone Joyce is intensifying off Australia’s western coast, prompting the Pilbara Ports Authority to take emergency precautions. The storm is expected to reach Category 3 by Friday or Saturday with possible wind gusts of 102-139 miles per hour. Port Hedland, used as an iron ore export terminal by major ore producers Fortescue, BHP and Hancock […]
The January buy period saw ferrous scrap prices move significantly higher, lending support to recent mill price increases. While February is historically a down month for scrap, sources predict that February prices will be as high or even higher than January’s. January ferrous markets ended higher by $30 per gross ton for obsolete grades and […]
Vietnam steelmakers are asking for government assistance in defending the industry from U.S. antidumping and countervailing investigations on galvanized and cold rolled steels. The Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) has requested that the Ministry of Industry and Trade intervene, including filing a suit with the World Trade Organization to counter Department of Commerce actions that it […]
“We have much work to do to reach an agreement that serves the economic interests of the American people. Our goals are clear: we must achieve fair and reciprocal trade between our two nations,” said Ambassador Robert Lighthizer during a meeting Jan. 5 with Korean representatives in Washington to advance talks on the U.S.-Korea Free […]
Chinese steel trade data was recently released for the month of November 2017, providing updated data on iron ore imports, scrap imports and flat rolled imports and exports. Chinese imports of iron ore in November totaled 94,540,000 metric tons, an increase of 18.9 percent from the previous month, and an increase of 2.8 percent from […]