Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following update on trade issues in Washington: Greetings from the West Coast. I just attended the National Association of Foreign Trade Zones Spring conference. Foreign trade zones have been targeted by the Trump administration in the tariff proclamations, including the Section 232 tariffs on steel […]
Metal manufacturers and users are calling the Section 232 product exclusion process “onerous” and “chaotic.” The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users expressed their concern about the tariff exclusion process in a letter to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on May 18. More than 8,200 exclusion requests have been filed with Commerce with no […]
I spent most of today canvassing the flat rolled and plate steel markets. A portion of the results of my inquiries can be found in our pricing article (indexes) and Tim Triplett’s article entitled, “SMU Q&A: No Signs of a Price ‘Breakout’ Either Way.” Many steel buyers are confused by the lack of clarity in […]
Steel demand has remained surprisingly strong in 2018, even as prices have escalated and trade disputes have made purchasing riskier. But Steel Market Update data suggests that demand may be weakening. SMU canvasses the flat rolled steel market every two weeks. A clear majority (62 percent) of the respondents to the May 14 questionnaire indicated […]
Michael Barnett has been appointed president and chief operating officer of Grand Steel Products, Inc., Wixom, Mich., transitioning the company leadership from his father Jim Barnett. “It is with great pleasure, excitement and confidence that I announce Michael Barnett has been appointed president and COO of Grand Steel Products, Inc.,” stated company founder Jim Barnett. […]
Lewis Leibowitz, a trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following update on trade issues in Washington affecting the steel industry: • Section 301 Hearing on Proposed Tariffs: On May 16, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office will kick off three days of hearings on the proposed Section 301 tariffs on China announced […]
Demand remains strong and prices for galvanized steel have begun to level off after rising for most of the year, which is positive news for the HVAC industry. However, a big decline in foreign imports could dramatically reduce the availability of coated steel later in the year. “In the fourth quarter, there could be quite […]
Steel prices are way up and likely to move even higher given events on the trade front. But, so far, they have not hurt demand in the HVAC sector, reported members of the Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) on Tuesday during the trade association’s monthly steel conference call. John Packard, publisher of Steel […]
Demand remains strong in the HVAC sector despite the high steel prices, but distributors share an uncomfortable feeling that the favorable conditions may not last. “Business is good, and prices are high, but they are going to fall. When is anyone’s guess. You just have to try to protect yourself and have the least amount […]
Distributors of products for the HVAC sector expect prices for steel, especially galvanized, to drop in the coming weeks or months. Demand remains strong, they report, but they are keeping inventories lean in anticipation of declining prices. “There is a greater likelihood that prices will go down than go up. With the lead times being […]
Tinplate steel manufacturers received the backing of a bipartisan group of House members who urged the administration to exclude steel used for can manufacturing from Section 232 tariffs. In a letter dated May 10, Congress members implored Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross not to impose 25 percent tariffs on steel used exclusively for can manufacturing, citing […]
Last year, it took Steel Market Update until the middle of July before we reached the number of registrations that we have already booked for the 2018 SMU Steel Summit Conference. We are approaching 500 registered executives and we are well on our way to smashing last year’s record attendance and meeting our self-imposed goal […]
Carbon steel prices have escalated at a lower rate than aluminum, but higher than plastic and wood. Truck transportation prices are rising faster than rail, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Last week, the BLS released its series of producer price indexes (PPIs) for more than 10,000 goods and materials […]
Manufacturing activity in New York State was strong in May, according to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported the general business conditions index rose four points to 20.1 for a faster pace of growth than April. Forty percent of survey respondents said business conditions had improved during […]
Registrations for the 2018 SMU Steel Summit Conference continue to come in at a steady pace. It took us until July 10 last year to reach the number of registrations that we already have as of the beginning of this week. There are 211 companies registered and we still expect 300+ companies and 800 steel […]
Manufacturers and fabricators report that business is good, but it’s certainly not easy. Steel Market Update has recruited a dynamic group of executives who will explore topics ranging from trade and tariffs to automation and logistics on Wednesday, Aug. 29, at SMU’s Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta. The title of their panel is Manufacturing Forecast: […]
The Association for Iron & Steel Technology announced the appointment of a new president and slate of officers for 2018-2019. James Dudek, vice president, Asset Revitalization and Manufacturing Excellence, U.S. Steel Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa., will assume the presidency of AIST. Dudek succeeds Randy Skagen, vice president and general manager, Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa. Dudek said he […]
Last week, Steel Market Update conducted our early May flat rolled steel market trends survey. One of the key areas that we focus in on is the area of service center spot pricing to their end customers. We are interested in better understanding if steel distributors are raising, lowering or keeping spot prices the same […]
Members of Congress have asked the Commerce Department to clarify and improve the process by which manufacturers apply for exclusions from Section 232 tariffs for raw materials required to produce their products. The following is a statement from the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users commending the action and expressing concern over the use […]
Employment increases in manufacturing and construction are signposts for steel sales activity. 2018 is starting off well. Rising employment and wages are the basis of GDP growth because personal consumption accounts for almost 70 percent of GDP. Steel consumption is related to GDP; therefore, we need to be aware of changes to the employment picture. […]
Steel mill shipments are increasing, and the shipment-to-inventory ratio is decreasing, which is positive for the industry. According to American Iron and Steel Institute data, total steel mill shipments increased by 13.1 percent from January 2016 through January 2018 and by 2.4 percent in January 2018 year over year. Is this believable? This is the […]
The manufacturing sector can expect positive growth through the end of 2018, predicts the Institute for Supply Management in its Spring 2018 Semiannual Economic Forecast. Manufacturing revenue is expected to increase 6.6 percent overall for 2018, an increase from the December 2017 estimate of 5.1 percent for this year. Manufacturers were much more optimistic about […]
Lewis Leibowitz, a Washington trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, reports on announcements this past week on Trump administration tariff exemptions/quotas: • Argentina reached a quota agreement on steel, which means that imports from that country (mostly seamless pipe for energy use) will not pay the 25 percent tariff. They agreed to an annual […]
Last week Steel Market Update conducted our early May 2018 flat rolled and plate steel market trends survey. We sent invitations to 640 individuals representing approximately 620 companies mostly located in the United States and Canada. The purpose of our inquiries is to better follow various trends affecting the flat rolled and plate markets. We […]
Compared to this time last year, flat rolled lead times are highly extended – on all products. Plate lead times, which is not on our graphic, are also highly extended, but we are treating it differently as the domestic mills are on controlled order entry/allocation with their plate customers. Hot rolled lead times are averaging […]
U.S. auto sales slipped in April after a robust March. WardsAuto estimated the seasonally adjusted annual rate at 17.1 million and actual light vehicle sales for the month at 1.35 million, down from 17.4 million and 1.5 million, respectively, from the previous month. SUVs and pickup trucks led sales again this month, despite gas prices […]
Global manufacturing started second quarter with a small hop rather than a jump. The JPMorgan Global PMI posted 53.5 in April, up slightly from March’s six-month low of 53.3. “April PMI data signaled a marginal pick-up in the rate of expansion of the global manufacturing sector, the first growth acceleration seen since the turn of […]
A ruling that will assist in the enforcing measures against circumvention was approved this week by the U.S Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The court ruled that the “substantial transformation analysis” is approved for use by Commerce in determining country-of-origin for products subject to antidumping and countervailing duties. The substantial transformation test determines […]
Construction spending dropped from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.285 trillion in March, but was still up compared to a year ago, according to an analysis of new Census data by the Associated General Contractors of America. AGC officials blamed the decline on drops in private sector construction as new […]
AK Steel reported solid first-quarter earnings but continued to advocate for trade action to curb unfair imports. “The high level of imports, particularly the ongoing surge of foreign electrical steel, remains a challenge, and we will continue to work proactively with the Trump administration to ensure fair and appropriate trade policies,” said AK Steel CEO […]