Flat rolled steel price momentum, for spot pricing out of the domestic mills, continues to be in transition, and the SMU Price Momentum Indicator is at Neutral. Neutral means spot mill pricing could go in either direction over the next 30 days. However, SMU and our parent company CRU have both been reporting lower spot […]
Flat rolled steel price momentum, for spot pricing out of the domestic mills, continues to be in transition, and the SMU Price Momentum Indicator is at Neutral. Neutral means spot mill pricing could go in either direction over the next 30 days. However, SMU and our parent company CRU have both been reporting lower spot […]
The U.S. auto industry is facing a slew of challenges as it emerges from the COVID-19 crisis and plunges into preparations to meet USMCA compliance on July 1. The Center for Automotive Research presented a discussion with Gov. Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council and former governor of Missouri, on the state […]
The U.S. dollar weakened against 13 of the 16 steel and raw materials trading nation currencies in the last 30 days, which follows a decline against 11 in our previous report. The biggest change was in the value of the Brazilian real, which led the pack of strengthening currencies. Experts suggest that the coronavirus pandemic […]
Steel buyers’ attitudes, as measured by Steel Market Update’s Sentiment Indexes, have improved steadily since their low point in the first week of April and are now approaching pre-coronavirus levels once again. Industry executives are clearly feeling more positive about their prospects as the economy begins to normalize. Current Sentiment has improved by 40 points […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Section 232 keeps cropping up in the news; this week, it’s no different. In 2017, the Commerce Department initiated several investigations (on steel, aluminum, autos and auto parts, and uranium). Trade restrictions ensued on steel and aluminum, but […]
By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Monitor In the U.S. Midwest market this week, sheet prices were somewhat mixed with HR coil near steady w/w while HDG coil fell by $19 /s.ton to $650 /s.ton and CR coil inched up by $4 /s.ton to $697 /s.ton. Our full HDG coil price, reflecting […]
U.S apparent steel supply fell to 6.54 million net tons in April, according to recent U.S. Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute data. This is the lowest supply level in our limited 10-year history. Apparent steel supply, a proxy for demand, is determined by combining domestic steel shipments and finished U.S. steel […]
Markets are vastly improved from where they were two months ago, said James Banker, Executive Vice President of NLMK USA, during Steel Market Update’s Community Chat on Wednesday. Conditions seem good, mostly because they are coming off a “really awful period,” he said. NLMK USA relies on its customers for information about the market, and […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor In the past week, iron ore has fallen by $11 /dmt, the largest price drop since August 2019. The price fall comes after declining steel margins and slightly lower steel production levels in China. At the same time, offloading activities at Chinese ports have […]
China’s steel exports in May decline by 23.3 percent compared with May 2019 to about 4.4 million tons. Global demand for Chinese steel products remains weak as economic activity around the world is hampered by the coronavirus. “Customers in each country are losing their willingness to buy,” said a Steel Market Update source in the […]
Recently released Census data shows final April steel imports totaling 2.77 million net tons, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. This is just 1,700 tons higher than the preliminary April import figures SMU reported in late-May and up 58.4 percent over March figures. Finished imports in April were 1.32 million tons, down 13 percent […]
Imports of rolled products through May, year over year, were not affected by the pandemic, but the longer-term decline continued, according to the latest Commerce Department data. Year over year, total rolled product imports in May were down by 24.8 percent on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis. This was the seventh consecutive month where […]
This week’s SMU comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that U.S prices remain advantageous over foreign imports, but at a slightly lesser level compared to mid-May figures, according to SMU and CRU indices. The price gap between domestic HRC compared to German imports is just over $100 per ton, while the Italian […]
Section 232 tariffs will likely remain in place no matter who is the White House in January, said trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz during the SMU Community Chat on June 3. Legal challenges to the tariff measures, however, could cause a change. Firms are challenging the Section 232 exclusion process that appears skewed toward U.S. steel […]
We had a good webinar with Lewis Leibowitz yesterday (Wednesday). Our next SMU Community Chat webinar will be held next Wednesday, June 10, and our featured guest speaker will be James Banker, Jr., Executive Vice President, NLMK USA. Banker will be the first steel mill to participate in one of our webinars. Jim has a […]
By CRU Analysts Alexander Ordosch and Iris Speelmanns, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor: The Covid-19 crisis has resulted in a rapid fall in market activity and steel demand, which has resulted in steelmakers across the globe responding quickly by lowering steel production. Steelmakers have two options to reduce steel output in response to lower […]
Harry Moser’s phone and email have been ringing off the hook. Moser is the founder and president of the Reshoring Initiative, whose mission is to convince companies to bring manufacturing, and manufacturing jobs, back to America. Reshoring was already gaining momentum prior to the coronavirus outbreak, but the pandemic has infected the marketplace with a […]
The Institute for Supply Management’s May Report on Business showed improvement, with the manufacturing PMI rising to 43.1 percent from a reading of 41.6 percent the previous month. The PMI score was at a contraction level not seen since April 2009, but the slight uptick was a promising sign. Manufacturers, however, continue to be guarded regarding […]
Domestic steelmakers raised prices twice during the month of May, by a total of $90-100 per ton, hoping to establish a floor and set the stage for recovery in anticipation of improving demand as coronavirus restrictions ease in June and July. Service center and manufacturing executives responding to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Editor’s note: Lewis Leibowitz will be the featured speaker during the next SMU Community Chat at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. Register for the free webinar by clicking on this link. It is hard to believe that three months […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: As an international trade attorney, I work hard to explain why we as a nation engage in international trade; this week, two senior administration officials weighed in on that subject. Everyone should take note. I think Ambassador Robert […]
“Resilient” is how Barry Zekelman, executive chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, characterized steel markets during the SMU Community Chat Webinar yesterday. “We went through a rapid shock and adjustment at the end of March and early April, but April was actually pretty decent and May is basically back on track,” he said, expressing a fairly […]
Recently updated license data shows preliminary April steel imports were 2.77 million net tons, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. This is a downward adjustment of 200,000 tons compared to the license data reported last week. Finished imports in April are at 1.32 million tons, down 13 percent over the previous month. Nearly 230,000 […]
Ferrous scrap remains in limited supply, prompting predictions that scrap prices will settle still higher in June, on top of the big increase in May. Steel Market Update sources forecast an increase of $10-20 per ton for obsolete grades and $20-30 per ton for prime grades in June from May levels. Higher scrap prices may […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Today, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security published a notice in the Federal Register entitled “Notice of Inquiry Regarding the Exclusion Process for Section 232 Steel and Aluminum Import Tariffs and Quotas.” The notice asks for […]
By CRU Analysts Ryan Smith, Andrew Gadd and Ben Carstein Oil markets have had a torrid 2020, with the combination of demand losses due to Covid-19 and the breakdown of coordination between major producing countries resulting in plummeting prices. In this Insight, we assess how the oil price shock influences steelmaking costs through both raw […]
The U.S. dollar weakened against 11 of the 16 steel trading nation currencies in the last 30 days, through May 18. The biggest change was that the Brazilian real headed in the other direction and declined by 9.2 percent. The effect of the coronavirus pandemic was not evident at the three-month level when the dollar […]
Neither rosy nor the voice of doom, IHS Markit analyst John Anton offered a realistic assessment of the U.S. economic recovery post-COVID-19 during Wednesday’s SMU Community Chat Webinar. Recovery from the current recession will not be a quick V-shaped rebound, said Anton, who is associate director of IHS Markit’s Pricing and Purchasing Service. Instead, he […]
Wholesalers of HVAC products for the construction market report surprisingly strong sales given the coronavirus situation, but also concerns about construction demand in the second half when current work is completed and there are fewer new projects in the pipeline. In a conference call this morning, members of the Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors […]