This Steel Market Update analysis breaks down the imported tonnage of six flat rolled steel products by district of entry and source country through September 2017. We believe that misinformation (or a lack of) about regional import volumes is often used to influence purchase decisions. Our intent with this analysis of tonnage by district of […]
ArcelorMittal reported its best third-quarter shipment performance since 2008. Shipments of 21.7 million tons were 1.0 percent higher than second-quarter due to a 1.2 percent increase in Brazil shipments, a 4.3 percent increase in NAFTA shipments, and a 3.2 percent increase from the ACIS segment. Shipments from the three segments offset a decline of 3.3 […]
Oil prices have topped $63 in recent weeks, up from $43 in June, but don’t expect a big uptrend in the price per barrel in 2018. Experts expect oil to continue trading in a tight range, keeping demand for oil country tubular goods in check at least through the first half next year. High energy […]
There was a surge in foreign steel imports during calendar year 2014. That high rate continued into the first half of 2015 at which time the domestic steel mills filed antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) cases on CORE (coated steels), cold rolled and hot rolled steels. The U.S. Department of Commerce investigation found most […]
Ryerson Holding Corp. posted net income of $1.7 million in the third quarter, up from $600,000 in the second quarter, but down from $8.2 million in third-quarter 2016, as commodity challenges pressured margins. “The third quarter of 2017 can best be described by margin compression, driven primarily by nickel and chrome deflation in the second […]
Foreign steel imports for the month of October 2017 were just over three million net tons, based on the license data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) earlier this week. The 3,110,002 net tons were essentially unchanged from the Final Census Data released for the month of September when the U.S. imported 3,086,196 […]
Republican legislators are too worried about passing tax legislation to stand up to Trump on NAFTA, reports Inside U.S. Trade. Although legislators are receiving heavy pressure from the business community to stop the president from withdrawing from NAFTA, behind closed doors Republicans say they won’t publicly intervene due to possible negative consequences from the White […]
Chinese steel production and consumption took a downturn in September, though they trended ahead of 2016 for the first three quarters of this year. China’s exports to the rest of the world are down considerably in 2017, however, according to data from the China Iron & Steel Association and Bradford Research. Year to date, China’s […]
The real news coming out of this week’s flat rolled steel market trends analysis is the jump in the SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index when looking at the index as a single data point, as opposed to a three-month moving average, which is our preference. Measured as a single data point, the average among those […]
With the notable exception of AkzoNobel, leading suppliers of paint and coatings to the prepaint market have announced price hikes of 5-7 percent, effective in January. And some coil coaters and their customers are not happy about it. One prepaint buyer who closely tracks raw material costs questions whether the current hike is justified. “While […]
U.S. manufacturing slowed a bit from September but remained robust in October, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business from the Institute for Supply Management. The headline PMI registered 58.7 percent, a 2.1 percentage point decrease from September’s score of 60.8 percent. A reading above 50 indicates growth. Comments from respondents suggest that […]
Today the U.S. Department of Commerce released foreign steel import license data for the month of October. Based on the license data imports for October will be approximately three million net tons. This is essentially unchanged from the 3,050,618 net tons reported as Preliminary Census Data for September. As you can see by the table […]
Steel market indicators look good in the October data, but the trends took a turn for the worse. In the data released in October, our view of the present situation is that 47.2 percent of the 36 indicators are historically positive with only 19 percent negative. The balance are within the band of historically normal. […]
Growth of U.S. Gross Domestic Product in the third quarter appears to have maintained the strong performance of the second, according to the first estimate of 3Q GDP growth released Friday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Growth was reported to be 2.98 percent quarter on quarter and 2.26 percent year on year. (At the […]
Market economy status for China is out of the question, according to a 205-page memo from the Commerce Department. The detailed memorandum, published on Oct. 26, was released just days before President Trump is to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and in close timing with a preliminary AD/CVD determination against China regarding imports of […]
AK Steel reported a net loss of $5.8 million in the third quarter compared to net income of $50.9 million in Q3 2016. Results were impacted by $13.1 million in acquisition and debt refinancing costs and a LIFO charge of $49.0 million, compared to a LIFO credit of $24.2 million in the prior-year third quarter. […]
Nearly as disturbing as the steel imports themselves are repeated delays in promised trade relief, say steel industry executives, who find themselves doing business in a state of “perpetual uncertainty.” While there is no official confirmation from the Department of Commerce, SMU’s sources have confirmed reports that the Commerce Department has again delayed a preliminary […]
Market economy status for China is out of the question, according to a 205-page memo from the Commerce Department. The detailed memorandum, published on Oct. 26, was released just days before President Trump is to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and in close timing with a preliminary AD/CVD determination against China regarding imports of […]
Steel imports into the U.S. increased by nearly 20 percent in the first nine months of the year, giving imports an estimated 28 percent share of the U.S. steel market—much to the ire of domestic steelmakers. Citing preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute on Wednesday reported that steel imports year to […]
NLMK USA posted revenue of $424 million in the third quarter, a 3.0 percent decrease from the second quarter due to a 5.0 percent slide in the average sales price. Shipments increased 2 percent to 558,000 metric tons. EBITDA for the segment was $38 million, down 9.0 percent from the second quarter due to higher […]
In a preliminary ruling on Wednesday, the Commerce Department found that seven countries have sold carbon and alloy steel wire rod in the United States at less than fair value. Subject to antidumping duties ranging from 2 to 148 percent are imports from Italy, Korea, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Wire […]
Commercial Metals Co., a Texas-based long products producer and scrap recycler, reported a profitable fiscal 2017 despite imports of rebar and other products that continue to squeeze margins. CMC management is hopeful the company will get an assist from Washington in the coming year. “The need for infrastructure renewal is overwhelming, but the issue is […]
If the Trump administration restricts steel imports under Section 232, it will open the United States to a host of retaliatory measures by other nations and will do little to address the root cause of the problem, which is China, argues the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS), a trade group representing foreign steel producers. […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures markets 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 […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum experienced an uptick in orders for energy and nonresidential construction during the third quarter. Demand, in general, was stronger than anticipated, however tons sold are expected to decline 4.0 to 6.0 percent in the fourth quarter due to seasonal slowdowns and fewer shipping days. Reliance anticipates the average selling price in […]
The trend for foreign steel imports into the United States continues to be right at 3 million net tons for the month of October. The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) updated license data collected for the month of October through today, Oct. 24. We take the license data for the first 24 days of the […]
Cleveland Cliffs posted net income of $53 million in the third quarter that included an $89 million loss after paying down debt and a $32 million gain from discontinued operations. Debt was reduced to $1.7 billion compared to $2.2 billion in Q3 2016. “We are very pleased with our accomplishments so far this year, in […]
Two popular appliance manufacturers, Samsung and LG, are facing potential quotas and tariffs on imports of their products to the United States. Earlier this month, following a global safeguard petition by Whirlpool, the U.S. International Trade Commission voted unanimously in a Section 201 investigation that a surge of large residential washer (LRW) imports was injuring […]
Steel Dynamics and CEO Mark Millett are expecting a tighter steel market in the fourth quarter. After surging ahead of possible Section 232 trade action, import levels have declined and, coupled with strengthening order rates and longer lead times, steel prices are expected to appreciate significantly, said Millet in remarks during the company’s quarterly conference […]
The delay by the Trump administration in making a decision on Section 232 is allowing further damage to the steel industry, said Nucor CEO, Chairman and President John Ferriola during the company’s third-quarter conference call. Ferriola said he is not surprised by the surge of imports that have come into the U.S. since spring. Countries […]