The following article is by contributing writer Damon Sun of Daido International. The Asian markets were anticipating the elimination of China’s export tax rebate, which has not happened yet. Likely, it will not happen. Anticipation of the elimination of China’s export tax rebate would have an impact of 9-13 percent increase in China’s exports of […]
Manufacturing ended the year with general global slowing as production and new orders declined. The JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI registered 50.9 in December, down from 51.2 in November. The global PMI average for 2015 failed to surpass the average reading for the prior two years. PMI indices for China, India, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia and […]
A quick note about December import license data reported as of this evening: Vietnam for December has requested 63,932 net tons of import licenses. Of those 42,114 net tons are cold rolled and 11,787 net tons are galvanized.The average for cold rolled and galvanized exports from Vietnam over the past twelve months was less than […]
The flat rolled steel price roller coaster did not do the steel mills or companies holding inventory any favors this past year. We saw hot rolled prices drop from just below $650 per net ton (average) at the beginning of the year to the low point of $360 per ton achieved the week of December […]
The China Iron and Steel Association reported that Chinese steel mills suffered losses of approximately $8.18 billion dollars in the first eleven months of 2015. Revenue fell 19.3 percent year over year for the 101 large and mid-sized steel mills that CISA tracks. With falling steel demand at home, China steel exports surged in the […]
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released the third estimate of Q3 2015 Annual Revision of the National Income and Product Accounts on Monday. The annualized growth rate in the 3rd estimate of the 3rd quarter was 1.99 percent, down from 3.91 percent, in the 3rd estimate of Q2. GDP is measured and reported in […]
Figure 1 shows historical gas and oil prices since January 2000. The daily spot price of West Texas Intermediate closed at $36.31 on December 14th, down from $45.91 on October 17th, according to the latest daily figure available from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Brent closed at $36.51 on December 14th. WTI was down from […]
Chinese steel trade data was recently released for the month of November 2015, providing updated data on iron ore imports, scrap imports, and flat rolled imports and exports. Chinese imports of iron ore in November were 82,130,000 metric tons, an increase of 8.8 percent from the previous month and an increase of 21.9 percent from […]
The following article is normally produced for our Premium level members, but we wanted to share it with our Executive level members as we think it is important and interesting as the world is flooded with excess steel capacity. If you find this article interesting you may be interested in upgrading your membership from Executive […]
On July 28, 2015 the U.S. steel mills filed antidumping and countervailing duty trade suits on cold rolled steels against China, Brazil, Russia, India and Korea. Of the countries named, China was by far the largest exporter of cold rolled steel to the United States and the country with the biggest target on its back. […]
According to the latest data released from the US Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute, apparent steel supply for the month of October 2015 was 8,868,427 net tons. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished US steel imports and subtracting total US steel exports. October supply […]
This report compares domestic mill shipments and total supply to the market. It quantifies market direction by product and enables a side by side comparison showing the degree to which imports have absorbed demand. Sources are the American Iron and Steel Institute and the Department of Commerce with analysis by SMU. Table 1 shows both […]
In the first ten months of this year bulk scrap exports were 10,889,000 tonnes for an annual rate of 14,519,000 tonnes, down by 15.6 percent from the first ten months of last year. The tonnages shown in Figure 1 are based on three month moving averages (3MMA) for 2015 and on the annual monthly average […]
Chinese exported 101.7 million metric tons, or 112 million short tons, of steel in the first 11 months of 2015, according to customs data reported by Bloomberg. Exports increased by 22 percent year over year, almost as much as the total annual capacity of U.S. steel mills of 120 million tons. As China’s economic slowdown […]
AISI and eight other steel associations met with government officials in Paris on December 1 to present arguments against granting China Market Economy status. The press release from AISI follows: PARIS – The American Iron and Steel Institute, the Steel Manufacturers Association, the Canadian Steel Producers Association, CANACERO (the Mexican steel association), Alacero (the Latin […]
The following letter to the editor was received over the weekend from Peter Brebach, CEO of Iron Angels of Colorado, in response to an article written about the Chinese Iron and Steel Association (CISA) who recently complained about the Chinese mills being pointed at as being responsible for the steel industry woes in the rest […]
Global manufacturing was lackluster in November according to the Global Manufacturing PMI produced by JP Morgan and Markit Economics. The headline index registered 51.2, barely changed from 51.3 in October. Commenting on the survey, David Hensley, Director of Global Economic Coordination at JP Morgan, said: “The global manufacturing PMI survey registered a second consecutive improvement […]
In early November, nine steel associations released a statement expressing their opposition to China’s bid to become a market economy by December 2016. In a November 25 rebuttal, the Chinese Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said it is “astonished” by the group’s claims that China is primary global contributor to steel overcapacity. CISA called the […]
We learned late this afternoon that two domestic steel mills are offering to pay higher prices for shredded scrap from east coast dealers. Shredded scrap buy offers have been made at $180-$185 per gross ton up $10 to $15 per gross ton higher than November numbers (and higher than October numbers since November prices moved […]
Trade protection is a driving concern for the U.S. steel industry that has seen prices and domestic demand plummet as low priced steel imports flooded American shores. Steel mills, unions and legislators have lobbied for stronger enforcement of trade policies and the additional safeguards from dumped and subsidized imports and currency manipulation. Currently the focus […]
This article was originally published in Steel Market Update newsletter dated November 15, 2015. We provide our members up to date analysis of the status of antidumping and countervailing duty trade cases affecting the flat rolled and plate steel markets. Trade protection is a driving concern for the U.S. steel industry that has seen prices […]
The following article is one produced for our Premium level members as we look to delve deeper into the overall steel industry picture in the United States. You can learn more about becoming a Premium member either online or by contacting our office: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com Net imports equals imports minus exports. We regard this as an […]
The following article is another example of Premium level content that is not normally seen by our Executive level members. If you would like to learn more about upgrading your membership from Executive to Premium please contact our office: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or by phone: 800-432-3475. This report compares domestic mill shipments and total supply to the […]
Essar Steel Algoma announced Monday that it has entered Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) protection. It is the third time Algoma will seek restructuring under CCAA—the first time in 1991 and again in 2001. In November 2014 Algoma completed a recapitalization and refinancing plan supported by Essar Global Fund Ltd. Essar Algoma has struggled to […]
(From AISI, Nov. 10, 2015) A report released today concludes that treating China as a market economy in antidumping investigations would “severely damage the NAFTA steel industries and harm NAFTA economies.” The study, comprised of three economic analyses, was conducted by leading economists from Capital Trade Incorporated in Washington, DC; the Centre for Spatial Economics […]
According to the latest data released from the US Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute, apparent steel supply for the month of September 2015 was 8,543,021 net tons. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished US steel imports and subtracting total US steel exports. September supply […]
In the first nine months of this year bulk scrap exports were 9,968,048 tonnes for an annual rate of 13,290,731 tonnes, down by 13.8 percent from the first nine months of last year. The tonnages shown in Figure 1 are based on three month moving averages (3MMA) for 2015 and on the annual monthly average […]
Steel Market Update saw a note from Bank of America Merrill Lynch metals and mining research group out of the UK regarding takeaways from their recent trip to China. In the note the group was skeptical of the push by the Chinese central government to remove another 80 million metric tons (88 million net tons) […]
September steel exports totaled 811,582 net tons (736,256 metric tons), down 1.8 percent over August and down 21.5 percent from September 2014. Total September figures are below both the thee month moving average (3MMA, average of July 2015 through September 2015 figures) and the twelve month moving average (12MMA, average of October 2014 through September […]
ArcelorMittal reported a $700 million loss for third quarter which it blamed on falling prices and dumping of steel by China. Third quarter EBITDA was $1.35 billion. “Operating conditions have deteriorated in recent months, both in terms of the international steel price environment which has been driven by unsustainably low export prices from China and […]