Major steel producers in the U.S. had hoped the president wouldn’t blink on the Section 232 tariffs on Canada and Mexico—but he did—in an apparent effort to clear the way for passage of the new North American free trade agreement. Now the mills are supporting the administration’s demand that steel trade in North America be […]
Like everyone else in the steel industry, members of the Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) are wondering what will happen to supply and prices now that the Trump administration has lifted the Section 232 tariffs on steel imports from Canada and Mexico and cut in half the tariffs on steel imports from Turkey. […]
Nucor Corp. and AK Steel were each recognized as a Supplier of the Year for Non-Fabricated Steel at General Motors’ 27th annual awards ceremony in Detroit on May 15. Recipients are chosen by a global team of GM purchasing, engineering, quality, manufacturing and logistics executives. Winners were selected based on performance criteria in Product Purchasing, […]
The competitiveness of steel continues to lose ground against aluminum and plastic, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Cold rolled steel sheet has become less competitive against aluminum sheet in the last year and this has carried through to steel and aluminum cans. Steel tubular goods have lost ground to […]
So, I don’t even need to be in the office to know what question(s) I am going to be asked all this week. Now that President Trump has removed the Section 232 tariffs from Canada and Mexico (without a quota, but instead a promise of no surge), everyone wants to know how this will affect […]
The agreement to terminate Section 232 tariffs on Canada and Mexico and all retaliatory tariffs was welcomed by many industry associations. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in his announcement remarks on Friday, it was “pure good news.” “On behalf of the membership of the CSPA, we thank the Government of Canada for its significant […]
Flat rolled steel prices continue to be under pressure even though mill capacity utilization rates continue to be above 80 percent. However, our own analysis of the flat rolled markets has been showing a steady decline in lead times, which suggests weakening order books. One thing those involved in the steel industry need to be […]
The following article discussing the global ferrous derivatives markets was written by David Feldstein. As an independent steel market analyst, advisor and trader, we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Note that Steel Market Update does not take any positions on HRC or scrap trading, and any recommendations made by […]
Business activity in New York State rose sharply in May, according to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The general business conditions index gained eight points for a reading of 17.8, its highest level in six months. Manufacturers reported a jump in new orders and shipments and an increase in backlogs. Inventories were slightly below […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to announce the new SMU NexGen Leadership Award in partnership with the Steel Manufacturers Association. The award is designed to recognize and celebrate the excellence of emerging leaders within the greater steel community. As an industry publication and supplier of market intelligence, and host of the premier steel conference in North America, SMU is […]
Metal fabricators are worried about how content provisions in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement will impact their industry. The proposed trade agreement for North America includes provisions on steel and aluminum regional content for automobiles, but may extend to other manufacturing sectors. “Too many people view NAFTA as just about cars when the agreement impacts virtually every […]
Material Sciences Corp., a producer of advanced materials and specialty coated metals, announced that private equity firm Sky Island Capital has purchased majority control of the company. “Bringing in the Sky Island team will allow us to be more aggressive with add-on acquisitions and continue to grow the company,” said MSC CEO Pat Murley. “We […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to announce the new SMU NexGen Leadership Award in partnership with the Steel Manufacturers Association. The award is designed to recognize and celebrate the excellence of emerging leaders within the greater steel community. As an industry publication and supplier of market intelligence, and host of the premier steel conference in North America, SMU is […]
There is no more debate, service centers are moving off inventories at deeper discounts to their end customers than they did just a few weeks ago. The lower spot prices to service center customers were captured during the Steel Market Update flat rolled and plate steel market trends analysis conducted this past week. As you […]
ArcelorMittal faced a number of challenges that impacted earnings in the first quarter resulting in net income plunging 66 percent to $414 million from $1.19 billion reported in both the fourth quarter of 2018 and first quarter of 2019. Earnings reflected a $150 million impairment charge related to the sale of assets to acquire ArcelorMittal […]
Steel Market Update is dedicated to assist the greater steel community to attract and maintain young people to the industry. The SMU NexGen Leadership Award, which is in partnership with the Steel Manufacturers Association, is but one step in the process that was begun many years ago. Our Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & […]
By Paul Lowrey Editor’s note: Paul Lowrey is an industry consultant and president of Steel Research Associates, LLC. He will be a featured speaker at the upcoming Steel Market Update Steel Summit Aug. 26-28 in Atlanta. Click here for more information and to register for the summit. Recent announcements of new flat rolled capacity have […]
By Paul Lowrey Editor’s note: Paul Lowrey is an industry consultant and president of Steel Research Associates, LLC. He will be a featured speaker at the upcoming Steel Market Update Steel Summit Aug. 26-28 in Atlanta. Click here for more information and to register for the summit. Recent announcements of new flat rolled capacity have […]
Zekelman Industries plans to invest $150 million to construct what it claims will be the world’s largest continuous ERW tube mill, making welded sections above 16-inch square available to the domestic market for the first time. Startup of the new mill is scheduled for September 2021. The mill will be capable of producing hollow structural […]
Ronald J. O’Malley has been appointed president of the Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST) for 2019–2020. O’Malley succeeds James F. Dudek of United States Steel Corp. O’Malley is the F. Kenneth Iverson Chair Professor in Steelmaking Technologies and director of the Kent D. Peaslee Steel Manufacturing Research Center at the Missouri University of Science […]
Ferrous scrap prices are down again in May by roughly $30 for obsolete grades and $40 for prime grades, report Steel Market Update sources. May marks the fourth month this year that has seen scrap prices decline. With the mills reportedly cranking out steel at over 80 percent of their capacity, the apparent weakness in […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: President Trump’s Twitter finger twitched on Sunday. He announced via his favorite social media platform that he has grown tired of China’s stalling. He said he will increase the 10 percent tariffs on goods imported from China to […]
U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt urged attendees at AISTech 2019, under way this week in Pittsburgh, to seek innovation for the future while preserving and improving on what worked well in the past. “We must dream big, push hard, while always doing good things,” he said. “All of us recognize that steel is the material […]
The recovery from February’s very poor rate of job creation continued through April. Net job creation in April was 263,000, February was revised up by 23,000 to 56,000 and March was revised down by 7,000 to 189,000, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Rising employment and wages are the main contributors to GDP growth […]
Job creation in manufacturing has slowed dramatically in the last three months, but construction employment is still expanding rapidly. In April, 236,000 jobs were created in the private sector and government added 27,000. Table 1 breaks total employment down into service and goods-producing industries and then into private and government employees. Most of the goods-producing […]
Steel mill shipments have declined slightly since November on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the inventory-to-shipment ratio has increased slightly since October, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Census Bureau data. Steel trade association data from the AISI and MSCI is most widely used to assess the state of the industry. In addition, […]
I got a call earlier today asking about a steel publication changing the direction of some of their flat rolled pricing. I responded that I don’t read the other trade publications, and I don’t follow their indices. I do not want to be influenced as I go through the always difficult, and sometimes tedious, process […]
Global manufacturing activity appeared lackluster in April. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI hovered just above the no change mark at 50.3, down from 50.5 in March, and at its lowest reading since June 2016. “The global manufacturing sector remained subdued at the start of the second quarter, with the PMI barely above the 50.0 […]
Southwark Metal Manufacturing Co., maker of sheet metal duct and fittings, has opened a new manufacturing plant in Phoenix, Ariz. The new facility enhances Southwark’s presence, manufacturing capabilities, and customer support throughout the Southwest, allowing the company to service customers in all 50 states. The 75,780-square-foot facility is poised to service HVAC distributors in Arizona, […]
Olympic Steel reported a 19 percent increase in its first-quarter sales, netting $446 million, thanks in part to its January acquisition of manufacturer McCullough Industries. Net income for the quarter totaled $2.1 million, down from 7.6 million in the same quarter of 2018. Returns from Olympic’s manufacturing segment are considerably higher than service center margins, […]