The annualized GDP growth rate in the third estimate of the first quarter of 2016 was 1.08 percent, up from 0.83 percent in the second estimate and from 0.53 percent in the first estimate. The first quarter result was down from 1.38 percent in Q4 last year. Normally there are two revisions of the first […]
Baosteel and Wuhan Iron and Steel Group (Wisco) are contemplating a merger that would unseat Hebei Iron and Steel Group as China’s largest domestic producer and rival European steelmaker ArcelorMittal. A merger of China’s second largest steelmaker Baosteel with fifth ranked Wisco would create a combined output of approximately 70 million tonnes. The merger would […]
There have been a number of articles written recently regarding the move by the Chinese government to remove some of the tax incentives in the form of rebates to the Chinese steel producers who export certain steel products. Any move to remove export tax rebates on steel is seen as a positive by the rest […]
The United Kingdom surprised the world by voting for an exit from the European Union on Thursday. Steel Market Update asked John Anton, Principal Economist-Steel at IHS Global Insight to provide us his insights into what this might mean for the global market. GDP growth in the EU27 is expected to lose 0.2 percent in […]
New orders for manufactured durable goods fell 2.2 percent in May to $230.7 billion after a revised gain of 3.3 percent in April, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. A Wall Street Journal survey of economists forecast a 0.4 percent drop while Bloomberg predicted a decline of 0.5 percent. May’s decline was broad-based across almost […]
The following is the monthly report on exports by the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS): Falls Church, VA. June 24, 2016. Steel exports increased 2.5 percent from March to April, as both Mexico and Canada increased their purchases from the United States. The 794,537 net tons of exports were almost 6 percent lower than […]
Chinese steel trade data was recently released for the month of May 2016, providing updated data on iron ore imports, scrap imports, and flat rolled imports and exports. Chinese imports of iron ore in May were 86,750,000 metric tons, an increase of 3.4 percent from the previous month and an increase of 22.4 percent from […]
Production in the month of May, at 139,154,000 metric tons, was up by 3.2 percent from April and the three month moving average (3MMA) that we prefer as a measure was up by 4.5 percent. Capacity is 2.3 billion tonnes per year and the 3MMA of capacity utilization in May was 70.5 percent. This report […]
The new locks at the Panama Canal are set to open on June 26th with the passage of a single vessel, the container ship Cosco Shipping Panama. The ship selected by lottery and sailing from Greece, will pass from the Caribbean locks of Agua Clara in the morning and end in the locks of Cocoli […]
SMU received a couple of inquiries about sheet shipments and one of our Premium customers had a specific question about the data presented in one of our Premium supplemental issues last week. We thought that we should share the data and then present at the end the question and our response for all of our […]
According to the latest data released from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute, apparent steel supply for the month of April 2016 was 8,634,917 net tons. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished US steel imports, then subtracting total US steel exports. April apparent […]
April steel exports totaled 794,536 net tons (720,792 metric tons), up 2.5 percent over March but down 5.9 percent from April 2015. Total April figures are above the thee month moving average (average of February, March, and April 2016 figures) but below the twelve month moving average (average of April 2015 through April 2016 data). […]
Licensed data for May was reported by the Steel Import Monitoring System of the US Commerce Department on June 3rd. An explanation of the methodology that we at SMU use to analyze the trade data is given at the end of this piece. Total rolled product licensed imports in the single month of May were […]
This report summarizes total steel supply from 2003 through April 2016 and year on year changes. It then compares domestic mill shipments and total supply to the market. It quantifies market direction by product and enables a side by side comparison of the degree to which imports have absorbed demand. Sources are the American Iron […]
Recent reports on India’s steel sector are providing mixed signals on the industry’s health. The nation’s steel industry has suffered two years of low prices and subdued demand but rising GDP and the onset of monsoons after a severe drought may stimulate new orders. “Indian steel demand rose 4.5 per cent in the financial year […]
SMU scrap sources on Friday divulged that negotiations have been slow with many mills not yet having bought as of this past Friday. Price indicators are running from sideways on prime grades (busheling/bundles) to down $10, $20, $30 in the Ohio Valley, Midwest and Southeast. The east coast was referenced as being down by even […]
According to a report by Platts, Eurofer has petitioned the European Commission to expand its AD investigation into imports of HRC from China to include HRC from Turkey, Russia, Brazil, Iran and the Ukraine. Charles de Lusignan, Communications Manager for Eurofer, said he could not confirm or deny that report. It is Eurofer’s policy not […]
One of the most important indices a steel buyer (or seller) can follow is that of the value of the U.S. dollar vs. the currency of the key steel trading nations. As the dollar value rises or falls, commodities, including steel, tend to be affected. Currency update articles are normally reserved for our Premium Members […]
As we write this article we are aware that the US Department of Commerce will be releasing their “Final Determination” on corrosion resistant steels tomorrow (Wednesday). We will cover their announcement in a special edition of SMU once the announcement is made. We thought our readers would be interested in seeing both the build-up of […]
Chinese steel trade data was recently released for the month of April 2016, providing updated data on iron ore imports, scrap imports, and flat rolled imports and exports. Chinese imports of iron ore in April were 83,920,000 metric tons, a decrease of 2.2 percent from the previous month but an increase of 4.6 percent from […]
The following article was written by Lisa Reisman, Managing Director and CEO Of Azul Partners, Inc., on May 24, 2016 and is reprinted with permission of MetalMiner: Jennifer Diggins is the director of Government Affairs at Charlotte, N.C.-based Nucor Corp., the largest steelmaker in the U.S. and North America’s largest recycler of any material (Nucor […]
Last week the Department Commerce slapped AD/CVD duties totaling over 500 percent on China cold rolled steel flat products. China immediately challenged the determination, calling for removal of the penalties and reaffirming the rebates awarded to its industry to help with solving the steel and coal overcapacity. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce confirmed that it […]
We received this letter from a very large manufacturing company located in the United States. We are unable to identify the company but we think the questions posed to SMU should be aired and a dialogue begun within the manufacturing and steel industry. This is a topic which will be discussed at our Steel Summit […]
In this evening’s issue we have quite a bit of information about China and the debate regarding Chinese exports, over-capacity and perhaps implosion of steel prices by the end of June. We also have a letter from a manufacturing company who asked the question, why don’t we accept the transfer of wealth from China to […]
Our scrap sources are a little less optimistic today about June scrap price negotiations than they were a couple of short weeks ago. Those pesky Chinese are once again mucking up the waters with their billet offers to Turkey (billet can be used in place of scrap and cost less to convert to long products […]
Production in the month of April at 134,874,000 metric tons was down by 2.0 percent from March but the three month moving average (3MMA) that we prefer as a measure was up by 2.0 percent. Capacity is 2.3 billion tonnes per year and capacity utilization in April was 70.5 percent. There has been a significant […]
This report summarizes total steel supply from 2003 through March 2016 and year on year changes. It then compares domestic mill shipments and total supply to the market. It quantifies market direction by product and enables a side by side comparison of the degree to which imports have absorbed demand. Sources are the American Iron […]
March ferrous scrap exports totaled 1,096,231 net tons (994,485 metric tons) with Turkey, India, Mexico, Korea, and Taiwan being the top five countries receiving scrap from the United States. These five countries accounted for 73.5 percent of all scrap exports. Total March ferrous scrap exports were 3.6 percent lower than previous month. March figures were […]
“U.S. Steel Sinks as Another Wave of Cheap Imports Predicted” was the headline in Bloomberg on Friday morning. The article cites Axiom Capital Research analyst Gordon Johnson who wrote to his clients, “A boat load of imports are likely on the way.” This opinion permeates the financial community and the pessimism is, in our opinion, […]
US Steel has spearheaded an attempt to exclude all Chinese steel products from the U.S. market. But as is usually the case with drastic actions, there are a number of opponents to the move. Companies that use foreign steel in their products have asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to throw the complaint out. Steel […]