January foreign steel imports were finalized yesterday at 2,879,076 net tons (2,611,857 metric tons), according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. This is up 17.5 percent from December, and up 4.2 percent from November. It is also slightly greater than import levels seen in January 2017 (2,814,233 tons). Current February license data has imports down […]
Reaction to the official announcement and signing of the Section 232 proclamation brought swift reaction from the industry and Congress. Opinions ranged from unwavering support, “the era of American trade surrender is coming to an end,” to total dismay, “the sweeping tariffs announced today are like dropping a bomb on a flea.” Supporting the 25 […]
Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull warned that the steel and aluminum tariffs planned by President Trump will have consequences for construction in California. Australian producer BlueScope sends about 300,000 metric tons of steel slabs per year to its Steelscape facilities in California and Washington where it is transformed into metallic-coated and pre-painted steel used in […]
U.S. Steel announced it will restart one of its two blast furnaces at Granite City Works later this year. The “B” Furnace will be placed back online to support anticipated increased demand for steel in the U.S. as a result of the pending Section 232 tariffs. “Our Granite City Works facility and employees, as well […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) is calling for President Trump to exclude semi-finished steel from the 25 percent tariff he is expected to impose on steel imports under Section 232. CSI is a “slab converter” mill, relying almost entirely on imported slab as feedstock to produce coil steel sheet and electrical resistance welded (ERW) pipe. Because steel […]
With steel imports mostly on hold awaiting the final word on Trump’s tariffs, supplies of prime steel are tightening, putting distributors of secondary material in the catbird seat, at least for a while. But the supply of secondary is tightening, as well, say service center executives, who aren’t sure how long the window of opportunity […]
Nucor Chairman, President and CEO John Ferriola remains an unabashed supporter of strong trade action by the Trump administration to level the playing field for domestic steelmakers against unfairly traded imports. “I’m encouraged that the president will take action that is both decisive and meaningful and will help restore the steel industry to its former […]
The threats of Section 232 tariffs and the possible withdrawal of the United States from NAFTA have not swayed ArcelorMittal from its commitment to invest $1 billion in its Mexican operations. In a statement reported on Friday, a spokesman for the integrated steelmaker said the company has no intention of changing its plans for Mexico, […]
The following article was written by trade attorney Lewis E. Leibowitz. Whenever you hear someone say that a policy move is vital and trivial at the same time, watch your wallet. The Sunday talk shows today featured spokesmen and commentators debating the impact of steel and aluminum tariffs. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and National […]
Last week, President Trump let it slip of his intention to place a 25 percent tariff on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum coming from foreign sources, including our NAFTA partners. Over the weekend, countries around the world have pledged to respond to any tariffs on steel and aluminum with tariffs of their […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel import prices (delivered to USA ports) and domestic (USA) hot rolled coil prices (FOB Domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and […]
Most service centers are raising spot prices to their end customers following President Trump’s announcement that he plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports this week. But some are taking a more wait-and-see approach to spot business. Following are some insightful comments from the marketplace: • “Absolutely we’re raising prices!” • “Inventory […]
Turkish steel producer Borusan Holding is considering expanding its steel pipe plant near Houston. CEO Agah Ugur made the announcement on Friday following the proposal by President Trump to increase tariffs to 25 percent on steel imports. “The U.S. tariff decision on steel imports is important for Borusan…. We are considering expanding our production facility […]
The White House announced that it would be formally announcing the remedies under Section 232 on steel and aluminum this morning. Then they said no, there would not be an announcement this week. Shortly after that information was shared by the White House, President Trump was asked a question… SMU advice to steel buyers: Do […]
The White House announced that it would be formally announcing the remedies under Section 232 on steel and aluminum this morning. Then they said no, there would not be an announcement this week. Shortly after that information was shared by the White House, President Trump was asked a question… SMU advice to steel buyers: Do […]
The following article was written by trade attorney Lewis E. Leibowitz. In the article, he discusses what the president said he would do (25% tariff on steel, 10% aluminum) and what happens next (assuming the president actually announces the tariffs officially next week). Leibowitz will be at this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference where we […]
The following article was written by trade attorney Lewis E. Leibowitz. In the article, he discusses what the president said he would do (25% tariff on steel, 10% aluminum) and what happens next (assuming the president actually announces the tariffs officially next week). Leibowitz will be at this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference where we […]
President Trump says he will sign a measure next week calling for a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports under Section 232 because they pose a threat to the domestic industries and thus national security. Trump had looked set to make the trade action official today, even […]
President Trump’s announcement today of his intention to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports puts the steel industry on course for historic change. Historically good or historically bad, or perhaps some of both, depends on the individual’s perspective. Following are some of the reactions Steel Market Update received from readers, whose names were […]
President Trump met with representatives of the steel and aluminum industries at the White House today, during which he announced his intention to impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports next week. Following is a transcript of the president’s exchange with the industry leaders: THE PRESIDENT: Thank you […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Director of Risk Management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled futures market, and we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing futures articles for Steel […]
Steel imports surged more than 17 percent from December to January, reaching 2.87 million net tons, 2.1 percent higher than at the start of last year, according to data from the American Institute for International Steel. Imports from Canada increased nearly 13 percent to 558,000 net tons, 5 percent ahead of the January 2017 total, […]
President Trump now says he will sign a measure next week calling for a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports on national security grounds under Section 232. Trump had looked set to make the trade action official today, even calling industry executives to a meeting at the […]
Manufacturing expanded for the 18th consecutive month in February, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The PMI rose 1.7 percentage points to 60.8 percent in February. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion. New orders continued to expand last month, although softening 1.2 percentage points to 65.4 percent. Production dipped 2.5 points to […]
The U.S. steel industry reacted with enthusiasm to the president’s decision to impose a 25 percent tariff under Section 232 on steel imports to the United States. Nucor Chairman and CEO John Ferriola said in a statement, “The president has consistently been a strong advocate for holding other countries accountable that systematically and flagrantly violate […]
Steel buyers are confiding in Steel Market Update advising us of the “craziness” that is going on in the market as both buyers and steel mills react to both the “known” and “unknown.” The known are the issues at California Steel, which has been advising some customers to expect they will get only 50 percent […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) surprised customers with a whopping $120 per ton price increase on all its flat rolled products on Monday, the same day that its main West Coast competitor USS-POSCO (UPI) informed customers that its April order book is now closed. In its Feb. 26 letter to customers, CSI announced that it’s April […]
Ferrous scrap prices for March delivery are expected to increase by around $10 per ton, report Steel Market Update’s scrap market sources. “Strong demand for raw materials both domestically and internationally are allowing little chance ferrous scrap prices will drop in March,” said one East Coast dealer. “All the mills I sell to will have […]
Preliminary steel import data was updated Tuesday afternoon showing 2.88 million net tons of imports for the month of January, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. This is down from last week’s estimate of 3.08 million tons, but up 17.3 percent over December 2017 data. Preliminary data has been averaging 30,000 to 40,000 tons […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) surprised customers with a whopping $120 per ton price increase on all its flat rolled products on Monday, the same day that its main West Coast competitor USS-POSCO (UPI) informed customers that its April order book is now closed. In its Feb. 26 letter to customers, CSI announced that it’s April […]