Steel prices continued to climb in November on strong demand and tight steel supplies. Steel Market Update’s hot rolled price index reached $770 per ton by the end of November, up 10 percent from the beginning of the month. The SMU Pricing Momentum Indicator remained at Higher, indicating prices are expected to rise further over […]
Kevin Dempsey has been named president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute by the AISI Board of Directors. Dempsey has been serving as interim president and CEO since the retirement of Thomas Gibson in June. “Kevin Dempsey has been a driving force for the steel industry’s advocacy on our key priorities for […]
Global manufacturing had its best month of the year in November, expanding for the fifth consecutive month. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI posted a 33-month high of 53.7 with growth in all three industry sectors: consumer, intermediate and investment. Nineteen of 30 territories reported expansion last month, led by higher output in China and […]
Stephen Eisenberg has been named chairman and CEO of Kenwal Steel, succeeding his father Kenneth to become the third generation to lead the company. Detroit-based Kenwal is one of the largest service center organizations in North America, listed at No. 17 on this year’s Metal Center News Top 50 Service Centers ranking with 2020 revenues estimated […]
The ISM Manufacturing PMI dipped 1.8 points in November to register 57.5, remaining in positive territory but indicating concerns related to the latest surge of COVID-19. “Manufacturing performed well for the sixth straight month, with demand, consumption and inputs registering growth, but at slower rates compared to October,” said Timothy Fiore, chairman of the Institute […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: At the end of 2020, rather than looking back I’d like to look forward. Anyone care to join me? We can anticipate some major changes in government and the economy. The Biden-Harris administration takes over in exactly one […]
Cleveland-Cliffs received the all-clear signal from the Federal Trade Commission to move forward with the acquisition of ArcelorMittal USA. Cleveland-Cliffs expects the transaction to complete before the end of the year. “We are pleased that the federal antitrust authorities have cleared our transaction ahead of schedule. With that, we have a clear path toward closing […]
Orders for manufactured durable goods gained 1.3 percent in October, said the Commerce Department last week, marking the sixth consecutive month of growth. Orders totaled $240.8 billion following a 2.1 percent gain in September. Transportation orders, up five of the last six months, grew 1.2 percent to $77.1 billion. Orders for commercial aircraft and parts […]
Residential construction spending expanded for the fifth month in October, rising 2.9 percent led by a 5.6 percent jump in single-family home building. Nonresidential construction, however, was flat in October as the private sector worried about the pandemic and budgets remained tight at the state and local levels. Total construction spending for the month was […]
“Market’s great if you have supply.” I was speaking with a service center this afternoon who told me on Monday of this week they were selling spot hot rolled out of inventory at $840 per ton. Then Nucor raised their spot HRC number for February to $840 per ton. Today, all items through this service […]
“Market’s great if you have supply.” I was speaking with a service center this afternoon who told me on Monday of this week they were selling spot hot rolled out of inventory at $840 per ton. Then Nucor raised their spot HRC number for February to $840 per ton. Today, all items through this service […]
Expect another two months of uneasiness and confusion on the future of the economy, says Armada Corporate Intelligence Managing Director and Economist Chris Kuehl. Although a recovery is under way, its sustainability will depend on consumer attitude, potential lockdowns and the speed of a vaccine. In a FABTECH webinar this week, The New Global Normal: […]
I am hearing the U.S. Steel Gary Works #4 blast furnace will be coming back up by the end of this year. According to AIST, the #4 furnace is rated at 1,390,000 tons of pig iron annually. So, this means we will have more supply added from USS and from Big River Steel as they […]
Timing is everything–I think we will have some interesting discussions at the upcoming Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals Workshop to be held on Dec. 8-9. The focus of this workshop is for the attendees to learn how steel is made (EAF and Blast/BOF), rolled, qualities produced, how it is used and […]
Manufacturing activity expanded only slightly in New York during November, says the New York Federal Reserve. The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business index fell four points to 6.3 indicating slowing growth in the region and widely missing analyst estimates of 13.5. Thirty-one percent of survey respondents reported that business conditions had improved, compared to […]
The Perfect Storm: Long lead times, late deliveries, low service center inventories, strong demand, higher prices, lack of foreign steel imports, mill outages both planned and unplanned, maximum capacity utilization rates at a number of mills, NLMK USA strike, higher ferrous scrap prices that are expected to go much higher in the coming months, restrictions […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Exchange rates make international transactions possible. If a trading partner (let’s call them Country X) could keep its exchange rate abnormally low against the U.S. dollar, its exports to the U.S. would be more competitive and sales would […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: The steel tariffs were in the news recently with the announcement of a settlement of a lawsuit brought to challenge denials of exclusion requests. This is the third case, by my unofficial count, that has been settled in […]
On Wednesday, Steel Market Update reached out to Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President & CEO Lourenco Goncalves to get his thoughts on the market as the U.S. is about to change leadership and Cliffs is about to complete their acquisition of ArcelorMittal USA operations (except for Calvert and Dofasco in Canada). SMU: Have you congratulated President-elect Biden? […]
I am hearing negotiations on 2021 flat rolled contracts are quite contentious. OEM buyers are telling me the domestic mills are so aggressive with their pricing offers that buyers are having to look for alternative suppliers. As one manufacturing buyer put it to me yesterday, “[The steel mills are] effectively asking us to review other […]
By Tony Barnes and Andrew O. Callaghan Although the COVID-19 pandemic has caused companies in many industries to scale back various improvement projects and expansion plans, it does not appear to be slowing the adoption of advanced digital technology in the metals industry. Recent survey data, reinforced by extensive industry observation, suggests that many metals […]
Russel Metals’ third-quarter results showed steady gains from rising steel prices and improved demand as the market comes to grip with the coronavirus. Russel also rationalized some assets during the quarter and is taking steps to reduce its exposure to the volatile energy sector. “Although business conditions remain challenging, they are improving,” said Russel President […]
Mexican steelmaker Ternium’s operating rates are approaching full capacity after strong improvement in shipments and demand in the third quarter. Total steel shipments rose 16 percent from the second quarter to 2.8 million tons. Higher finished steel shipments partially offset lower slab shipments to third parties. Pricing recovered significantly from the trough in the second […]
Steel prices continued to climb in October as demand rose further on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized products. Steel Market Update’s hot rolled price index averaged $665 per ton in October, up nearly $100 over the previous month and up over $200 compared to August. The SMU Pricing Momentum Indicator remained at Higher, indicating […]
By CRU Principal Analyst James Campbell, from CRU’s Long Products Monitor Most long product prices around the world increased this month as the recovery in demand continues. For some markets and products, the increase in supply has been outpaced by demand. Wire rod remains the strongest product right now as the increase in construction activity […]
By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Lack of supply and higher demand is causing sheet prices to diverge further from plate across regions, with U.S. sheet prices reaching their highest level since April 2019 this week. New lockdown announcements have not had an impact on the European market at this point, […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor The global sheet market has seen a few key trends emerge across a variety of regions. First, demand has continued to rise from the pandemic-related lows recorded earlier this year. While sheet demand continues to be driven by sequential increases in automotive demand, […]
By CRU Analyst Estelle Tran, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service The U.S. market is at a unique point where steel buyers could be convinced to buy imports because of extreme supply tightness. With about 7Mt of blast furnace capacity remaining idled in the U.S. and Canada, sheet mills in operation are effectively running at […]
By CRU Principal Analyst James Campbell, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service The recent acceleration in news of a pre-approved vaccine has led us to bring forward the economic recovery to the first half of 2021. Confidence has returned and spending is resuming. An earlier-than-expected vaccine provides upside risks to our automotive and construction outlook. […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor The impact of Covid-19 restrictions on global manufacturing this year has led to the loss of ~ 700,000 t of refined zinc demand compared to our pre-Covid-19 forecasts. Smelter output has been far less impacted, despite mine supply losses, and this has led […]